Throwback Thursday: The Classroom - a much bigger community than we think.

Teacher Candidates have much to learn when they are immersed in a different community from their own. This difference may be a disadvantage to some as they may fail to fully understand the dynamics of their students’ lives, or may not fully regard the political, cultural, and socioeconomic structures that surround them. If a teacher were to simply ‘teach’ within the practices shaped by their community that is much different from the one they are serving, they are doing their learners a great disservice. But if teachers commit to experiencing life like their students within their community, they can enhance their instructional practice and have a deeper understanding and connection to it. This immersive experience can influence the education they teach. The result will be a more enriched learning environment for both teacher and student; and a better, mutual contextual understanding of the structures that shape and/or inhibit them.

Teachers bring a wealth of knowledge and experience into the classroom despite the different experiences they may have from their students. Living in a different community from their students is not necessarily a disadvantage. My experiences academically, professionally, and personally, has made me the person that I am today. And whether we do it deliberately or not, “we teach who we are (Palmer, 1997, p. 15).” Our teaching will always stem from our core values and experience. And it’s from these variables that make us the complex beings that we are – something that can’t be removed when we enter a class. If we share our experiences, it will garner the interest of our students because it’s “the best way to portray [our] realities (Palmer, 1997, p. 17).” It’s also a way to build on their existing knowledge and experiences, introduce new learnings, and connect global and local issues that affect students. In the past, I’ve connected global issues to my students’ reality to give them a better understanding of their world. And with diverse groups, it’s imperative to teach students about our differences and “solve complex [challenges] related to living in a multicultural [nation such as Canada] (James A., 2006, p. 201).” I learned that it’s our responsibility as educators to recognize our differences, embrace them, and put our current challenges within our community into context. I also learned that the students' lived experiences are relevant, as it’s often felt across the globe.

When a teachers and students share past experiences and develop new ideas, they can be contributing force for political, cultural, and socioeconomic change beyond the walls of the classroom. By doing this, students and teachers alike can work and converse with community members and develop relationships to be the change they envision.

In 2018 – the summer before the pandemic, I worked on a community arts project with three elementary schools in the City of Markham, Ontario Canada. I began by visiting their classrooms and asked them what community meant to them. Students as young as grade four came up with interesting answers stating that their own family is a community, their school is a community, and their neighbourhood is a community. Then I asked them to identify what they learned from these communities. They replied and said teachings from their family are unique from what they learn in their school community or amongst their peers. My goal was to help students identify the different experiences they receive from a variety of communities; it is these experiences that shape who they are, and the rest of the communities they interact with. Students painted murals based on our conversations and have since hang at The City of Markham’s Aaniin Community Centre. This is a reminder to those who view these paintings how ideal communities should look like and function.

A project such as mine, if further developed could lead to further collaboration, cooperation, and education to enrich their communities and/or challenge the structures that inhibits them. In addition, implementing reflective and inquiry-based learning for students, that challenges the systems in which they live, for example, is one of the many ways to promote growth and change beyond the classroom – which is, ultimately the goal. When the students put what they learn into practice beyond the school doors, the teacher's role become not only an instructor, but also a mentor, guide, counselor, and ambassador for that community. Not to mention, an experienced learner too.

References:

Banks, James A. Chapter 18: Democracy, Diversity and Social Justice: Educating

Citizens in a Global Age. Race, Culture, and Education: The Selected Works of James A. Banks. London: Routledge, 2006. Web.

Palmer, Parker J. “The Heart of a Teacher Identity and Integrity in Teaching.”

Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning 29.6 (1997): 14–21. Web.