Tag: religious freedom

Expect Diversity: Prologue and Epilogue

Expect Diversity in Teaching:

A Collection of Personal Stories and Reflections from Teaching that Mirror Multicultural Research

Know THYSELF, stories and reflections found here.

Know THY STUDENTS, stories and reflections found here.

Know THY SUBJECT, stories and reflections found here.

PROLOGUE

The parent of a former student of mine told me the following story. This story has had me thinking about my bias, as both a teacher and as a parent, for the past decade.

I think about this story often. How would I have reacted to the same situation? I want to raise my children without racial bias. I want to teach my children that the world is filled with good people that have a multitude of identities. I want my children to know that it is the diversity in the world that makes our world great. But, I understand that my bias (both inherited and developed) can come out in the most unexpected moments.

EPILOGUE

Returning to the story about the dinner guest, Ernie, I should tell the rest of the story because I wonder how I would have reacted. What if I was that father, standing there with my daughter? What if my friend ended the conversation there, turned and walked away in disgust? I would have ran after him and not been there for the rest of the story.

This former student of mine expected diversity. She expected Ernie to be orange. It was the bias of her father – and my bias hearing the story for the first time – that anticipated a social problem because of Ernie’s racial identity. I should expect diversity in my classroom too.

Know THYSELF, stories and reflections found here.

Know THY STUDENTS, stories and reflections found here.

Know THY SUBJECT, stories and reflections found here.

References:

Banks, C.A.M. (1996). Intellectual Leadership and the Influence of Early African American Scholars on Multicultural Education. In J.A. Banks (Ed.), Multicultural Education: Transformative Knowledge and Action (pp. 46-63). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Hillis, M. R. (1996). Allison Davis and the Study of Race, Social Class, and Schooling. In J.A. Banks (Ed.), Multicultural Education: Transformative Knowledge and Action (pp. 115 – 128). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Howard, G. (1996) Whites in Mulitcultural Education: Rethinking Our Role. In J.A. Banks (Ed.), Multicultural Education: Transformative Knowledge and Action (pp. 323 – 334). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

McIntosh, P. (2008) White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. In A.V. Kesselman, L. D. McNair, and N. Schniedewind (Ed.), Women; Images and Realities: A Multicultural Anthology (pp 388 – 392). New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Mvududu, N. (Director) (2015, May 1). Class Lectures. Diversity in America, Spring Quarter. Lecture conducted from Seattle Pacific University, Seattle.

Teaching Values: Choices, Influences, Future Choices

IMG_1784My Values: There are malleable values that collectively change over time; as Aristotle (Keuss, 2014) posited, the community has shared values derived from the city-state. Most of the values I have adopted from my city-state come from human rights movements, religious freedom, feminism, anti-slavery, workers rights, LGBTQ rights, etc. In general the majority of the human population has agreed (more so with some than others) that these values represented in these movements have cemented principles of right and wrong. In doing so, the historical context has given a code of morals and ethics that I share with my community. Additionally, like Augustine (Keuss, 2014), I have developed my own morals, values, and ethics through inward reflection and my own sense of what is virtuous. Though, this second framework has developed much more significantly in my adult life. Abstract thought and self-reflection are not skills found in children. These are skills that are developed over time.

Following the definition given by Pojman (2014), and given these two aspects in my development as an ethical person, I would put myself into the Pluralist Nonhedonist Camp. There is good in all things. This good is pleasurable. However, pleasure can become self-indulgent and one can seek “higher” virtues such as freedom, community belonging, and love. It seems that my formulation of right and wrong has been established in a nature and nurture relationship. My inner nature both initiates and harmonizes with values that evolve into my moral construct. At the same time, my praxis of ethics and morals comes from my community; my actions are affirmed by their approval.

The Influence of Values on Teaching: A teacher is an agent of the government and must represent the laws of the state and country; neutrality is crucial. Teachers should be fair, cover as many religions as possible, speak from experience, allow students to speak from their personal experience, and stay away from any prescriptions of how to be or what to do. These things should provide fairness to religion and non-religion alike. As Glenn Tinder (2014) suggests in the article “Can We Be Good Without God?” personal dignity disappears when “liberty for all human beings and equality under the law—becomes indefensible.” The classroom is an excellent place for dignity for all, religious and non-religious alike, because ultimately we live in a society with many different viewpoints and I, for one, would like my students to engage the world with respect and liberty. Tinder may call this agape. I call it common sense (E3). Continue reading “Teaching Values: Choices, Influences, Future Choices”