Today's discussion in class made me think a lot about the teaching profession and what it takes to be a good teacher.  I've always known that I love kids and am deeply passionate about working with them, but that isn't necessarily enough.  I am pretty sure I want to be a teacher, but I am now better prepared about what factors to consider other than the fact that I love kids.

      A good teacher should be optimistic about her workplace and be very well-motivated to trudge through difficult times with her particular school or district.  I sometimes wonder whether I am a positive enough person to handle this.  I also think about what kind of environment I want to teach in.  Public or private? What grade?  What state?  Urban or rural?  How diverse?  

      For some of these questions, I have no idea what my answer is.  I am fairly certain I want to work with younger kids, but I don't know how young.  I wonder if I have the patience to put up with 6 year olds or if I would be better working with 4th or 5th graders.  I also consider whether or not I have the courage to work in a challenging environment such as a diverse school, a school in an impoverished area, etc.  I want to be a good teacher, and diversity and challenges and things like that really excite me, but I want to be sure that I am capable of success before I make my decision.

      I also found our discussion about teacher status and salary to be very interesting.  Since I've wanted to be a teacher, I've thought a lot about the money issue.  Most of me thinks I shouldn't worry about something like that and it shouldn't matter.  However, there is that practical side of me that wonders if it will truly be ok.  I want to have a family and multiple kids, so I need to think about supporting them as well.  My dad is very practical and has given me a hard time about the salary issue, but in the end, he said all that matters is that I wake up every morning and am happy about going to work.  

      As far as the status of teaching, I've definitely experienced negative situations.  I've had family members ask me why I am not going to be a doctor or lawyer or something like that instead of teaching, and those questions always seem funny to me.  I don't want to be a doctor...isn't that a good enough reason?!  I don't care if I am "smart enough" to be a doctor...there are probably tons of intelligent people who COULD be doctors, but that doesn't mean they SHOULD be.  Teaching definitely isn't getting as much recognition as it deserves, because it is a very important profession.  To have such an impact on children's lives is a very serious matter, and teachers should be given more respect for their hard work.

A Good Teacher

      Greg Michie, the author of Holler If You Hear Me, is a very inspiring figure for me.  He represents the exact kind of teacher I hope to be some day, and he reminds me of a few teachers in my life who have truly impacted me.  It is so evident throughout his writing that he cares deeply about his students, and I'm sure his students could feel that too when he was their teacher.
      Some people underestimate the importance of this quality in a teacher that Michie so clearly embodied.  In my opinion, however, it is absolutely the most essential quality of a truly good teacher.  There is nothing more motivating to students than knowing that their teacher cares about them, respects them, supports them, and is there for them.  Students can feel their teacher's evident desire for them to succeed, and it is a very powerful thing.
      The lack of this quality in a teacher can be quite detrimental.  I don't see how any teacher could be a great teacher or even a decent teacher without being like Greg Michie in this regard.  How can students learn from someone who clearly does not respect them or expect anything from them?  They can't.  When the bar is set low and the teacher expects the students to fail, it takes away any motivation for students to achieve.  They know that their teacher thinks they are failures and incapable of success, and this affects them greatly even if they do not notice it.  They will not try to do their best if no one expects much from them at all.

Stages in Racial Identity Development

      As the various stages of racial identity development were being described in class today, I was definitely able to relate certain memories of past instances in my life that somewhat "fit" a certain stage.  As a kid, I can recall a few times that I remember actually thinking about race.  I grew up in Wauwatosa, a suburb of Milwaukee, and my neighborhood was predominantly white.  I went to Catholic grade school which was also mainly whites.  For the most part in my early school age years, I probably would have fit into the category/stage of "acceptance of status quo."  I went to school with people who were "like me," so I did not have many diverse experiences.
      However, I think there were definitely a few times during that same general time where I did "notice" my whiteness, falling into the "uncomfortable" phase.  My dad's sister married a black man, my Uncle Claude, and I remember being confused when I was little as to how I had cousins who looked black.  My Uncle Claude is a really big, happy guy, so he would always play Santa at the family Christmas party.  Although I don't actually remember it, my family has told me that when I was 4 or 5 years old, I did not want to go sit on Santa's lap, because he didn't look like the Santa I was used to seeing so I was uncomfortable and confused.
      Now, as a college student in a diverse city and community, I feel as though I fit the "acceptance of self" stage.  I am comfortable being white, and I understand that not all white people are or have to be racist.  Also, I find myself very interested and excited about diversity and meeting new people who might be different from me.  One of my roommates is Hmong, and I love talking to her about her culture and learning about the Hmong religion.  However, although I would put myself into the acceptance of self stage overall, there are also some occasions that I revert back to previous stages.  Last year when I was picking up my 4 year old neighbor from daycare because I had to babysit, I remember a somewhat "uncomfortable" situation.  When I got there, I asked him if he had been a good boy that day.  His teacher was right near us, and he replied "yep I was. that brown lady told me so and she's my teacher."  He is obviously just an innocent little kid just saying things the way he sees them, but I still felt uncomfortable because I didn't know how to address the situation or if I even should.  His teacher started laughing and said that Parker has said that to her before, so it ended up being just fine.  However, I was definitely at least a little uncomfortable with how to handle it.

White Privilege

      In her article "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," Peggy McIntosh discusses the existence of a certain "white privilege" in our society.  She compares it to a more familiar privilege: male privilege.  Males, she says, are raised in a way to be unaware of the advantages that they have as males.  Many men will acknowledge that women are disadvantaged, yet they won't also say that they themselves are particularly privileged.
     Similar to this situation is that of white privilege.  It is "denied" and "protected" so that whites are not aware of their advantages.  Because of this, whites are raised in a way that makes them unlikely to recognize that they are at an advantage.  She describes white privilege as "an invisible package of unearned assets," which is a unique - and quite true - way of putting it.  Often, she says, white women appear to be oppressive in the eyes of women of color, even though they are completely unaware of it.    
     She analyzes how white privilege (or lack thereof) plays into every day life.  For example, she mentions things such as acceptance from neighbors, shopping without harassment, and ability/freedom to criticize the government.  These are things that I would never think of as being advantages in my life because I am white, and this is exactly the point of her article.  We often do not recognize advantages and privileges that we have simply because of who we were born as (whether it be gender, race, religion, etc.).
     One of the most interesting things that McIntosh includes in her list is that she is "never asked to speak for all the people of [her] racial group."  This reminded me of a scene in the movie Freedom Writers in which a black female student talks about how she is often singled out in class and asked to speak on behalf of "her people."  White people are never asked to represent all white people, so why are African-Americans supposed to be representative of their entire race?  It just doesn't make sense.
      Lastly, I found it intriguing that many white students are under the impression that racism has no effect on them, because they do not even view "whiteness" as a racial identity.  This must have something to do with the way our society teaches and raises white children.  White children are indirectly taught to view themselves in a certain way, without even realizing it.  Because of this common belief that is embedded in white students, whites often appear to be oppressive, but they do not even realize that they are privileged.  

Holler If You Hear Me

      In my teacher story, Holler If You Hear Me by Gregory Michie, there are many segments of the book that are told from students' points of view.  For me, it is these segments that make up the true "heart" of the book; they are the most insightful and most important passages and they successfully convey the overall theme.
      One particularly meaningful segment from a student's perspective is Paloma's story found in chapter 6.  Paloma describes what kind of teachers, in her opinion, are most needed by students.  She stresses that our society needs teachers who have a true passion and desire to make a difference in the lives of students.  She explains that students need to have teachers whom they trust and by whom they feel respected.  Basically, she says that teachers should listen to and believe in their students, and they should truly hear their students' voices.
      As I was reading Paloma's words, I thought about the teachers that I have had in the past - some that fit her description and some that definitely do not.  If I do decide to be a teacher, Paloma's version of a good teacher is exactly the kind of teacher I hope to be.  I have a true desire to help kids and to try my best to make a difference in their lives, whether it be great or small.  I want to be an important part in children's lives and I want to provide support and encouragement for them that some of them might not be getting from anyone else.  I would want my students to trust me and to come to me when no one else listens to them, and I want them to know that I respect them as people.
      Paloma is definitely on to something here.  She's right -these are the kinds of teachers we so desperately need.  These are the kinds of teachers all of us should strive to be.  It is what kids need most, and it is our job to make sure they get it.  Teachers are an important authoritative figure in children's lives, whether or not the kids actually feel that this is true.  The fact is that as kids, we spend a significant amount of time with our teachers, and they have an effect on us even when we don't realize it.  That is why quality teachers are so crucial in society.  People who want to be teachers need to realize the responsibility that they are taking on, and they need to have the kids' best interest in mind.  It is nearly impossible for children to learn from someone who clearly does not respect them and from someone whom they feel has no interest in listening to them.  They will automatically and subconsciously shut them out if this the vibe they get.  Teachers need to let their students know that they are on their side and are there for them, and this is what I will strive to be as a teacher.

Negative Viewpoints about Alternative Types of Schooling

      Today in class when we were talking about alternative types of schooling, such as choice schools, charter schools, and home schools, I started to realize how negatively our typical society today views these alternative methods, and it is truly a shame.
      By trying to keep choice schools as almost a "secret" in many districts, we are basically concluding that they are a bad thing and are something of which the district should be ashamed or embarrassed... but why? Just because it's something different doesn't mean it's less effective.  Shouldn't we be proud of our district's ability to graduate even more students from high school because of these alternative options?  After all, without these programs, many of the students who benefit from them would instead simply drop out of high school.  We should be proud of alternative methods if they are effective, and an increased graduation rate definitely qualifies as being effective in my opinion.
      We have to face the facts... not all kids are able to learn in the every day school environment.  This does not mean, however, that they are simply unable to learn all together.  Different types of learners require different types of teaching, and this is exactly what choice schools and other alternatives can often provide.  Two of my closest childhood friends went through an alternative way of schooling, and it amazes me how negatively people view their method of education.
      One of my friends who has had a lot of psychological problems went in and out of 3 different high schools by the middle of sophomore year.  She was near failing out of her third school when her parents decided to send her to Cradwell, a unique school for students who have trouble going to school and learning in the typical school environment.  There is no doubt about it, Cradwell is definitely viewed as inferior schooling in my community.  People thought that because she only went to school for half of the day and had one-on-one teaching, she wasn't really learning anything like people at "normal" schools were.  This always really angered me because the fact that people look down on alternative education probably causes more and more students to try to stay away from it, when a different school could probably help them tremendously.  The choice program worked great for my friend.  Cradwell was able to cater to her learning style, and without it, she probably would not have graduated on track like she did...and maybe not even graduated at all.
      My point is that different is not equivalent to inferior, and our society needs to stop creating and encouraging this belief.  Alternative schooling is a wonderfully effective thing, and it is something for a district to be proud of rather than ashamed.

Response to the "Equity & Diversity Awareness Quiz"

            The Equity and Diversity Awareness Quiz that we did in class definitely made an impact on me.  The answers for many of the questions shocked me greatly, and many angered me as well.  One particular fact that made me angry was the fact that African American women in the U.S. are four times as likely to die in childbirth because they lack adequate prenatal care.  I guess I was being overly optimistic, but I would like to think that in this day and age, such a large gap –or any gap at all for that matter–would not exist in America. 

            Another shock to me was that immigrant men between ages 18-39 in the U.S. are five times less likely to be in prison than their American-born peers.  I have to admit that I would have thought they would be more likely to be in prison, and that seems to be what society repeatedly tells us.  This just shows how easily a misconception that large groups of people have can be fully accepted as being factual and can be obliviously believed by a majority of people because they have heard it so many times before. 

            The fact that the three richest people in the world have as much wealth as the 48 poorest nations combined is sadly what I actually would have expected.  It truly disgusts me to think that only three people could have so much wealth while millions of people in these poor nations are struggling to provide even a meal for their families.  It just astounds me that it is even possible to obtain that much money…what on earth do you do with it all?!

            Lastly, it also sickened me that the average full-time worker in the U.S. earns as much in a year as the average CEO earns in only one day.  I would have obviously guessed that CEOs earn a significant amount more than typical workers, but I never would have believed that it was to this extreme.  The saddest part is that it is not only comparing these wealthy CEOs to extremely impoverished people making a bare minimum wage; it compares them to the average worker, and the average worker likely earns a good amount more than minimum wage.  Overall, this quiz made me really disappointed in the way our society is today.  We can be so easily manipulated by skewed statistics and false judgments that we begin to accept completely false things as being true simply because we've heard them time and time again.