yishanzhao

Miracles sometimes occur, but one has to work terribly for them.

Time is a bird for ever on the wing.

It is always morning somewhere in the world.

If you do not learn to think when you are young, you may never learn.

Anger begins with folly, and ends in repentance.

Talents come from diligence, and knowledge is gained by accumulation.

Morality may consist solely in the courage of making a choice. 

He who commences many things finishes but a few.

Although the world is full of suffering， it is full also of the overcoming of it.

We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.

Dream big and make it possible.

Ideal is the beacon. Without ideal, there is no secure direction. Without direction, there is no life.

One’s courtesy is a mirror to see his image.

Do not be restless; do not be hasty.

Do not, for one repulse, forgo the purpose that you resolved to effort.

“I have many beautiful flowers,” he said, “but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.”

Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.

What interests me is living and dying for what one loves.

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

We can’t form our children on our own concepts; we must take them and love them as God gives them to us.

Life is a progress from want to want, not from enjoyment to enjoyment.

Dictionaries are like watches; the worst is better than none, and the best cannot be expected to go quite true.

Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.

  Naturally, at a young age, we human beings are susceptible to a fault. A reason for this might be the fact that at that stage of life, there is a lot that we still do not know. Additionally, at that stage, concepts of social interaction, as well as educational knowledge, take a huge chunk of the learning process. Therefore, as a teacher, it should not be a surprise to see children in school causing trouble. However, it is crucial to notice the behavior and come up with effective means of controlling such behavior before it morphs further. Some studies have suggested that the cause of bad behavior progressing through the life of a child is due to traditional forms of punishment. Further, they explain that these punitive measures interrupt the child’s education and they do not provide the crucial skills required to work out issues with their peers as well as their teachers. As such, it is crucial to employ restorative justice in our schools.

  From my point of view, I believe that the world we live in today is fragile. As such, a measure of discipline such as restorative justice should be employed in the classrooms. In its essence, restorative justice advocates for mediation and agreement and opposes punishment. In schools where there is a high number of indiscipline cases, restorative justice can be employed. In this way, it is advantageous since it fosters relationships, provides room for dialogue and participatory decision-making, encourages responsibility of all parties, and above all it strives to be respectful. For instance, in a classroom setting, if two students are caught up in a fight, I as a teacher will first work to de-escalate the situation between them. With help from student peer mediators and supporting staff such as counselors, both the students can have a sit down to help calm the situation. By doing this, the students will better understand each other and with the help, they will foster respect towards each other. 

  In my experience, I have seen some educators try to employ restorative justice measures when dealing with students who have bad practices. I admired the measures taken as they encouraged a sense of responsibility from both parties. In my case, a student arrived late to class. The teacher did not scold him before his peers but instead, he waited until class was over and confronted the student about it. By doing this, the teacher was able to understand the reasons that contributed to the situation. Further, I saw the teacher take responsibility for ensuring that the student was properly counseled on the matter. On the other hand, through counseling and support from the teacher, the student accepted responsibility for his actions. As such, he was more welcoming to ideas that would assist him in changing his behaviors. 

  In practice, I believe that we should strive towards approaching discipline cases with subtlety. As such, we minimize the risk of exposure to trauma and stress on the students as well as ourselves. Having this in mind as well as putting it into action, we can create an environment that is conducive for change as well as enhancing learning. Further, I think that restorative justice practices in schools teach students important life lessons such as taking responsibility for their actions and encourage voluntary participation in changing bad behaviors. If such practices are widespread across our schools, then it is much easier for students to hone in on their abilities and maximize their potential by living lives that are full of purpose.

3. Takeaways

1. When we realize that students can not automatically absorb the information and ideas they encounter in the world through the experience and theory they bring to the school, the connection between learning and teaching will become more complex. It can be said that learning itself is “problematic”. Teachers can create learning opportunities for students, but teachers can’t control students’ understanding.
2. Three concepts form the basis of most current academic and practice: learning is a process of active participation; Learning as an individual and society; Learners’ differences are the resources to be used, not the obstacles to be faced.
3. Knowledge and practice are inseparable. Students can understand and learn through practice. This means that we need to observe people when they do something meaningful, that is, if we want to “see” what they know, we need to study real problems: “Community of practice” or “learning community” is the key to learning. By becoming a full participant in social and cultural practice, one’s learning intention is to participate, and the meaning of learning is configured.

2. Questions

1. Due to the differences of students caused by background, living conditions and their own resources, how can teachers help students in a way that does not hurt them?
2. If a student, or most of the students in your class, join a religion, and some ideas of this religion will hurt the students themselves (for example, they think self Immolation is the greatest proof of their religion), as a teacher, should I take care of it, or how should I avoid students from doing such a thing?

1. Idea

    1. As a teacher, which way can best cheer up students’ attitude in study is one of the most important things. In China, one of the biggest questions for teachers is also how to encourage students in their work. There are lots of big tests that can affect a student’s whole life in China, and if we can’t make up students’ minds, it can cause a lot of problems. Nowadays, the rate of students’ suicide has been increased a lot in my home country, to help this, we should find the best way or the fittest way for each kids for their study. 

The prompt that I learned most is about the Bronfenbrenner Ecological System Theory. It shows us that everything that happens around kids can affect their development. There are five most important “systems” which are microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and chronosystem. Among them, the Exosystem is the one that makes me think the most. It is about how children don’t directly join but affects their development. For example, parents felt bad at work someday, when they went back home, they shouted at their child for no reason. This reminds me of my youth. There is a time when my father is having a very difficult time in his company, he always takes his bad temper back home. Although my grandparents told me that I need to understand him, I still hate him at that moment. This kind of thinking makes me feel bad, till now, there is a gap between me and my father. 

From this video, I found out that children are always more sensitive than other people. A lot of things can affect their growth. It is good in some way, as they are much quicker learners, but it can also show that they can quickly get hurt or be influenced by other bad things. It is really not good for their mental health. So, how to give children a better living community is really important for parents and also teachers, as both of us are in the microsystem which is in the smallest and most immediate environment in children’s life.

My autobiography explored some memorable and defining moments during my early years. In this paper, I critically reflect on the experiences and underlying assumptions of the autobiography based on the concepts of ethical relationality, indigenization, and global politics. Consequently, I seek to explain what the experiences mean to me and also to challenge the notion that they are typical early life experiences. As noted in the autobiography, the small restaurant beside the primary school was one of the key points of reflection at a young age. Considering that I could not afford the prices, I often felt incapacitated in my quest to experience the local delicacies. The situation was worsened by the fact that my financial challenges were a wider problem for my family. 

“The price of their food was expensive for me at that time, because my family had some trouble with the economy. A bowl of noodles with nothing inside will take about 7 yuan, for me it’s already a large number. So, every time when I cross that corner, I would stand there for a long time, and then leave”. (autobiography).

It was not just me who could not afford it, my family could not afford to eat at the restaurant. While this was a common experience for many kids in the school, I now realize that it was not the norm for all pupils in the country. Some came from wealthy families and could afford not just the noodles but also a car ride to school every day. Thus, my difficulty was an example of a larger social problem of poverty that went beyond me as an individual and affected many people in the community. Many people were poor because they did not have access to the financial resources required for purchasing goods and services. Despite the financial difficulties, I also experienced great kindness. The restaurant lady taught me that there were alternative forms of economic transactions that did not involve the use of money. 

“One day, the lady suddenly asked me to get in. I was puzzled and went in with her. She asked me to sit down in a corner, and went back to the kitchen. No more than 10 minutes, she went back and brought me a bowl of noodles. I was shocked at that moment. Maybe she saw that I didn’t move, she then told me that this noodle needs a price: talk with her after I finished the noodles”. (autobiography).

Her approach made me understand that part of the existence of poverty was because those who held resources did not want to empower those who were lacking. She created an alternative transactional model, where I would give her the communication and company she needed, while I would get the noodles. Moreover, she was a caring teacher who exemplified the tenets of ethical relationality and indigenization. “She was always smiling warmly. She taught me a lot, not only basic techniques like how to wash plates and who to cook dishes, but also how to become a better person” (autobiography). The lady showcased key characteristics of caring by involving herself in taking care of my needs, committing herself to me, and shifting her attention from herself to me (Owens & Ennis, 2005). Besides being a friend, she became a home science and life teacher. Her education on character development combined communal norms with legal aspects. She was able to train me by adapting world knowledge to our social background. Her approach mirrored indigenous approaches to teaching that are culturally responsive in terms of curriculum and pedagogy (Allan et al., 2018). Currently, I perceive that such indigenous approaches to teaching are mostly lacking in many educational settings. My second experience involved teaching children how to sing. 

“I learned how to teach children to sing and how to lead a team as a small leader. Once, due to my negligence, the score of our team could not be found. At this time, I was very depressed and even wanted to launch the chorus”. (autobiography). 

Through this experience, I have learned that a teacher cannot be perfect in their work. The journey to excellence in teaching is a lifelong process with many pitfalls and new learning opportunities. My teacher helped me to learn that lesson through her empathetical support. “However, she comforted me that no one can do their best for the first time. Just try hard next time. As long as you don’t give up easily, you will become better” (autobiography). Through her response after my failure, she demonstrated a good example of ethical relationality. Besides, I also understood how to learn by observing others. 

“I will carefully observe how the big brothers and sisters in the team warm-up, cooperate, and practice with the team. Step by step, when those big brothers and sisters retired, I grew up as the deputy head of our choir. Slowly, I accumulated various experiences, from which I learned that giving the best care to a student is not only an encouragement when she is depressed, but also teaching her how to slowly learn how to deal with the thing that makes her depressed so that she is no longer afraid of it”. (autobiography).

From this example, I understand that teaching has to be a holistic process that encompasses all aspects of life and curriculum. However, not all teachers embrace this concept and a significant number tend to focus on delivering academic content at the only substance of the educational process. My experience with the headteacher shows that she did not have proper comprehension and appreciation of the emotional and social needs of the pupils in the school.

“So I asked my headteacher, the only thing she said is, “shouldn’t you find your reason for such a thing?” This sentence pierced my heart like a sharp thorn” (autobiography). Retrospectively, I believe that her perspective and response had the influence of global politics in education. One of the effects of global politics is the interpretation of education as a commodity and the student as the consumer (Gil, 2013). This approach reduces education from being a holistic experience to a commercial product. Consequently, the teacher is expected to refrain from providing social support to pupils and instead focus on fulfilling curriculum demands. The requirements for teachers to strictly adhere to the academic curriculum without building healthy relationships with students have become the standard in most developed nations. Teachers have little freedom to nurture students beyond what is permitted through national educational policies. This realization means students in the current decade are learning less of the indigenous aspects of their nations than in previous times. 

As evidenced in my story, the inability of the headteacher to protect me from bullying was also a reflection of deregulation. Deregulation is a consequence of the mercantilization of education, which results in the removal of various protections from those in need (Gil, 2013). Hence, the vulnerable are highly disadvantaged in the education system and are expected to individually figure out the weaknesses that make them susceptible. After examining my experiences, I now understand that while I held the assumption that teachers were holistic educators, the reality was that global influences on the education system were reducing them to sellers of commercial product. The influences are mainly from international bodies that shape the relationships between global processes and educational policies. 

References

Allan, B., Harrison, S., Biin, D., Simcoe, J., Smith, D., Chenoweth, J., & Stein, J. (2018). Pulling together: A guide for indigenization of post-secondary institutions. 

Gil, L. V. (2013). Global politics and education systems: Towards education markets? Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 2(2), 95-101. doi:10.7821/naer.2.2.95-101

Owens, L. M., & Ennis, C. D. (2005). The ethic of care in teaching: An overview of supportive literature. Quest, 57(4), 392-425. doi:10.1080/00336297.2005.10491864

I believe that everyone is equal but not same.

I believe students should not be afraid of going to school.

I believe everyone should feel safe during school life.

I believe respect is from both side.

I believe passing joy and smiles are my responsibility.

I believe that everyone should have a chance to learn and study.

I believe that school is a place for everyone to learn knowledge.

I believe student have their own right on learning whatever they want.