1. Often times in a classroom, you will encounter students from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds. Royster argues that "we must be trained to respect points of view other than our own" (Royster, 32) when discussing topics across boundaries. How as a teacher can you encourage your students to respect opinions and perspectives that are different from their own during classroom discussions?
2. In the article on disability and accessibility, it states that "Teacher workshops should stress accessible course design and emphasize a dynamic, recursive, and continual approach to inclusion rather than mere troubleshooting" (Wood, et al., 148). How can we create a composition course that is more accessible to a wide range of students? Have you personally ever had a student with a disability in your previous classrooms, and, if so, how did you adapt your class to be more inclusive for them?
Hi Samantha,
ReplyDeleteTo attempt to answer your first question, I think it's essential that we encourage students to critically think about their own biases and assumptions. We, as teachers, also need to do this. While it is impossible for people to not carry biases and assumptions, having an awareness of them allows us to recognize that our perspective is limited. That recognition encourages us to respect that other people have different backgrounds that affect their perception, and that no one perception is "correct."
Answer to question 1:
ReplyDeleteAs a future instructor, I feel as though the best way to encourage students to respect opinions and perspectives that are different from their own is to openly discuss with them how one's race, identity, culture, and socioeconomic position certainly shape how one views the world around them. It is important for everyone to be aware that no one is going to have the same experiences and privileges that others may have. Some of the best English classes I have taken were able to discuss these issues in an open discussion format which proved to be extremely beneficial in expanding the minds and ideas of the students present in the classroom.