Double Journal 5

"Character education often dogmatically assumes that only a small set—a “laundry list” as Suzanne Rice calls it in her article (Rice and Burbules 2010)—of “conventional,” primarily Protestant work ethic virtues encom- passes ethical experience. Many character education programs are exces- sively self-assured, arrogant, and exclusive of difference and lack reverence."

I chose this quote simply because of the words character education.  While most will argue (and as I a parent I would have to agree) that character education should take place at home,we also have to be realistic and acknowledge that this isn't always the case.  As educators we also have a duty to help instill some basic virtues that can be considered universal such as honesty.  

1. What is reverent listening and how can it support culturally responsive teaching?

Reverence arises from an understanding of human limitation frailty and finitude therefor listening reverently is a key component in teaching it welcomes cultural differences and gathers other virtues it is the recognition of the need for aid an sustenance by others and the good of human relationship and communion.  By listening reverently we are genuinely interested in what the other person is saying and why they feel the way they do. 

2. Give an example from your own schooling experience of what this quote means:

    Reverent listening is not to be confused with humiliation and domination by others who force us to listen and even less so, with the kind of incompetence that wants to be told what to do. 

When I was a child you “listened to the teacher” that didn’t mean you understood the meaning or motivation behind what she had to say it simply meant you did what you were told. I remember being a little girl and we had to make a poster about our family.  Well, my aunt ran several night clubs and I had spent my summer helping my father paint and repair them. I was very proud of this and included pictures from magazines to represent this. My teacher didn’t bother to listen to my story or anything else I had to say all she say was pictures depicting “drunkenness and immoral behavior” and had my poor mother in the office the next day.  Thankfully the principal knew my family and also allowed me to tell him about my poster myself in front of my mother the teacher and principal.  The principal was a reverent listener and simply said “wow you sure worked hard this summer didn’t you” he then apologized to my mother for dragging her into the school and then asked to speak to  my teacher alone.  

3. What is meant by a "laundry list of value ethics"? Give an example from your own schooling experience. And then explain how this     approach to character education can be NON-culturally responsive.

The laundry list is what the “WASP” community would consider traditional moral values.  We all value hard work and honesty.  In school I was blessed in that I didn’t have to try too hard to achieve good grades and I think I often got looked down on by many teachers and students.  They assumed that I was cheating or otherwise being dishonest simply because I was able to achieve good marks with little effort.  I remember one teacher who would mark my math papers wrong if I left steps out even if I got the answer right.  He told me he knew I was cheating and since he couldn’t prove it he was going to mark it anyway if I left out anything.  I had to make sure to write down each and every step so he had no excuse to mark it wrong.   There are many reasons this is not culturally responsive.  One main reason is that many cultures value different traits.  In America we value ambition whereas in Asian cultures they value humility.  Another example is the different value placed on age and family different cultures have.  

4. Have you ever had a teacher that at one time or another exhibited the traits of a reverent teacher? What did they do? How did they make you feel?

I have had many great teachers who would be considered reverent.  I had a Spanish teacher in high school who encouraged me to write and even helped me get published in a few local literary magazines.  She knew I had a love for writing autobiographical stories and even though my stories weren’t “neat and tidy” or pretty with a happy ending she always encouraged me to write and pushed to have them included in the schools literary contributions.  It made me feel like a valid member of the school and of society.  My life and experiences weren’t like everyone else’s but that didn’t make them any less pertinent or real.  I felt validated and included and accepted.

5. What factors contribute to a "toxic" school culture?

The break down or dying of the ideal positive school culture where reverence and its attendant action, listening have escaped from the scene.  It is also the deflated irreverent school culture where listening no longer occurs or where only test scores are important.

6. Find a quote in this article that you would like to incorporate into your own philosophy of education and explain how it fits or changes your philosophy of education. “ A lack of reverent listening by school leaders is abetted by many factors in the larger culture, such as the “commercialization” of schools”  I see this in my sons school and many others.  Students shuttled from one class to another no talking no personality just teaching to the test and creating little robots.  It is not the way our students need to educated.  We need to foster lifelong learners not these mindless little drones currently occupying our hallways.  

7. MINDFULLNESS AND TEACHING