Relationships have always been the most important piece of my life. As a teacher we spend so much time with our students and if our relationships with them are negative it is a detriment to them, to us, and to their fellow students. Therefore, creating positive relationships through a culturally and otherwise responsive classroom will be my number one goal.
In order for this to happen, I will create a safe and welcoming place where students see themselves reflected in the classroom and in the work we do. I want them to know that in my classroom there is no normal because “normalisation is a man-made grid of intelligibility that attributes value to culturally specific performances and in doing so, privileges particular ways of being.”(Graham & Slee, 2008. p. 281) If there is no normal then there can be no insiders (normal) and outsiders (other). As a teacher I will use the principles of Universal Design for Learning to meet students where they are and take a strengths-based approach. Through authentic and regular communication, we will share our wins and our struggles in an effort to grow together. It is imperative for me that students understand they are in control of their learning and can take the skills from our classroom and apply them to everyday life.
My goal as an educator is to not only reach curricular outcomes, but to do so in a way that teaches critical life skills. Just as in Vetter’s 2010 article, empowerment is my main pedagogical goal.
References
Linda J. Graham & Roger Slee (2008). An Illusory Interiority: Interrogating the discourse/s of inclusion. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 40(2), 277-293, DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-5812.2007.00331.x
Vetter, A. (2010). Positioning students as readers and writers through talk in a high school english classroom. English Education, 43(1), 33-64. https://login.libproxy.uregina.ca:8443/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.uregina.ca/scholarly-journals/positioning-students-as-readers-writers-through/docview/755426172/se-2?accountid=13480