Kelsey Hutnyk
Summary
The making space article is designed to help K-12 teachers in every subject find ways of promoting these two objectives “The awareness and understanding of the diversity that exists in our society” and “support for the achievement of social justice for all people and groups” (B.C government, 2008, p.3). The making space article was designed for teachers to implicate these objectives into their teaching and classrooms. Teachers should not only include this in their teaching practices but model this for their students. The article also includes a self-assessment guide for teachers to address social justice and diversity in their classrooms. The Making Space article also affirms that students’ varying attributes can both be visible such as race, ethnicity, sex and age they can also be non-visible such as culture ancestry, gender identity or socioeconomic background. It is important for teachers to understand these attributes as well as understanding their community. This will allow them to become more familiar with issues and concerns that they should be reflecting and expanding on this in their teaching, so learning is done from a local to the global level regarding social justice and diversity. The article moves to talk about managing conflict and gives examples of anticipatory measures (those placed before teaching situations) and responsive measures (unexcepted conflict). The four areas of the B.C social responsibility performance standards are listed and provide a framework to enhance social responsibility and show how those are represented in grades K-12. (B.C government, 2008, pp. 14-15). The last part of the article focuses on how to implement social justice and diversity in a variety of subjects and grades and finishes with thorough examples for all subjects grades K-3.
References:
British Columbia. (2008). Making space: Teaching for diversity and social justice throughout the K-12 curriculum. https://moodle.tru.ca/pluginfile.php/1247053/mod_resource/content/4/makingSpace_full.pdf
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Brien Frail
How do you see schools’ role in changing society’s views of diversity in general?
The purpose of attending school is more than just to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. School is an opportunity to promote diversity within the classroom. Learning the ability to connect with other individuals with diverse backgrounds and knowledge is just as valuable as the traditional teachings. Diversity can improve and promote student critical thinking, empathy, and encourage thinking differently. Ultimately, having an understanding of diversity allows students the ability to recognize that the people around them are unique all in their own ways. Although it should be a school’s role to help promote diversity within the classroom, what role does the school have regarding shaping views of diversity in society? How much influence and reach do schools actually have? Although the reach of schools is limited, that does not mean it lacks the means to create both change and understanding. Education has the power to prepare the next generation to both embrace and understand diversity, transforming society’s view in a responsible way. Schools and the classroom are a prime location to begin and have these conversations about diversity to better help educate them on the issue. Through initiating actual discussions about awareness, tolerance, and the important aspects of diversity, students can build a foundation which helps them grow and better themselves as understanding individuals. School and education are the foundation in which change and understanding can occur, which is necessary for the changing of society’s views of diversity.
Is the role that schools play enough to change views and create change for social justice?
As discussed in the Making Space reading, social justice “advocates for the full participation of all people, as well as for their basic legal, civil, and human rights” (Making Space, 3). The aims of social justice are to “achieve a just and equitable society. It is pursued by individuals and groups – through collaborative social action-so that all persons share in the prosperity of society” (Making Space, 3). As an educator, it is difficult to argue against the message of social justice. A core component of the BC Curriculum is the Personal and Social core competency. It is the role of the educator to help foster a student’s identity within the world, both as an individual and as a member of their society. The goal of the Personal and Social core competency “encompasses what students need to thrive as individuals, to understand and care about themselves and others” (BC Curriculum). Although the aims of an educator should be to promote social justice within the classroom, is it enough to create change and change views? For there to be any meaningful change, there must first be a strong foundation to build upon. To create this foundation of understanding, which can lead to growth and change can indeed be gained within a school. Although the reach of education is limited to those being taught, those who are effectively taught the values of social justice can go out into the world and help promote change. As time continues and more people are taught the values of social justice and what it means, a change in the mindset of society is inevitable. The goal of achieving a just and equitable society can and will begin within a classroom.
Works Cited:
BC’s New Curriculum. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2020, from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies/personal-and-social
Making Space. (2008). Retrieved February 9, 2020, from https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/making_space/mkg_spc_intr.pdf
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Taylor
The Making Space article focuses on ways to teach diversity and social justice in the primary grades. I wanted to create a hands-on activity that assisted Teacher Candidates in thinking about how to help students have “awareness and understanding of the diversity that exists within our society” (BC Government, 2008, p. 3).
The activity involves learning centres that focus on how people are similar and different and have commonalities. I will encourage the Teacher Candidates to reflect on how educators need to address and discuss differences because this will help their future students understand these differences are what hinder some from participating fully and equitably in “community, employment, and education” ( BC Government, 2008, p. 3). Then I will walk teacher candidates through some examples where they will need to consider differences in their teaching practices to ensure equitable learning, before explaining the learning centre instructions.
There will be four learning centres for the activity. The first three will be centres that Teacher Candidates could use in their future classrooms to teach students about diversity, regarding how people are similar, different and share commonalities. The fourth centre will focus on helping the Teacher Candidates reflect on their teaching practice to develop as teachers.
Here is a brief outline of the centres:
#1: Partner Venn Diagram: ‘Buddy up’ with someone in your group and compare likes, dislikes, and commonalities that you both share and add them to a Venn diagram.
#2: Needs vs. Wants: Cut out the pictures [from the worksheet] and decide whether or not the item is a need or a want. Glue the item in the correct box. Draw 1-2 individual wants. Discuss results with your group.
Discussion ideas:
-Did everyone agree on the same wants/ needs?
-Why do we all have the same needs?
-What do ‘needs’ do for us?
-Do we all have the same wants?
#3: “It’s Ok to be Different”: Complete a (quick) self-portrait and discuss your drawings with your group. Be Inspired by Todd Parr’s book “It’s Ok to be Different.”
Discussion ideas:
-What is the same about your portraits?
-What is different about your portraits?
#4 Self-Assessment: Take the self-assessment from the article to determine how you address diversity and social justice in your teaching practice. Reflect on your practicum experiences to answer the questions!
The teacher candidates will rotate from centre to centre, moving from one number to the next. The numbers will be activity popup cards numbered 1-4. The rotations will be verbalized by Kelsey, Brien, or myself using a cellphone timer. After exploring and partaking in each centre, I will facilitate a group discussion about the centres. Some guiding questions will be:
- How do these centres teach similarities/ differences?
- How does addressing similarities/differences help foster diversity and social justice in the classroom?
- How did the self-assessment go? What did you learn?
- Other thoughts
References:
British Columbia. (2008). Making space: Teaching for diversity and social justice throughout the
K-12 curriculum.
https://moodle.tru.ca/pluginfile.php/1247053/mod_resource/content/4/makingSpace_full.pdf