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Noelle Halikman
Noelle Halikman
I am a Secondary Education- History major with a minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. I tend to gravitate towards gender equality throughout schooling and how I can, as a future educator, incorporate inclusion in my daily life.
Equity and Social Justice in Teaching and Teacher Education
Equity and Social Justice in Teaching and Teacher Education
Equity in schools has become one of the most important goals of educators. While it is claimed to be one of the most difficult portions of multicultural learning, but with practice, education, and prior knowledge of how to properly teach in a diverse community-a lot of progress can be done. The current difficulties are regarding equity in classrooms for all learners. Many educators have found high levels of difficulty when trying to achieve educational equity throughout their teaching methods. The goal of this essay is to reflect back on prior research to then greater understanding for future teaching methods.
Implementation in the Classroom:
When encountering LGBTQ+ and multicultural students, creating a drop box to place introductions before class begins I believe will increase inclusivity by providing an approachable atmosphere.
Continually checking in with students throughout the academic year will make equity in classrooms more apparent. A way to do so could be individual conferences to check into their state of equality throughout the classroom and school district in general.
The “Messiness” of Teaching/Learning Social (In)Justice: Performing a Pedagogy of Discomfort
The “Messiness” of Teaching/Learning Social (In)Justice: Performing a Pedagogy of Discomfort
This article explains the disorganization of social justice and "messiness" of educational equity. The main goal is to explain how to make social justice in schools more safe and inclusive. There is clearly an issue with teaching social justice in schools which can be combated through many different avenues. Many schools and educators have found social justice to be unreachable this past year due to the disadvantages that some schools and families had with the COVID-19 pandemic.
We can combat this from happening again by preparing ahead of time and reflecting on past experiences in social justice that can then be used as a drive for forward progression and equality in schools. By bringing in discussions and actions of topics and situations that have been put to a silence in schools, progression and acceptance is more likely to occur.
How I Would Implement Educational Equity in My Classroom:
The inclusion of guest speakers of multicultural diverse backgrounds that can relate to students that are experiencing inequality in schooling would be incredibly beneficial. While this may not be a portion of the curriculum that is required, having younger students connect with more experienced guest speakers will make them feel appreciated and more equal opposed to ignoring their differences.
Taking time out of class time to learn about individual's background can increase understanding throughout the school and allow other students to be more accepting and aware of social justice in schools.
Confronting the Right-Wing Attacks on Racial Justice Teaching
Confronting the Right-Wing Attacks on Racial Justice Teaching
Many schools that I have observed and been enrolled in have left out many important factors of history. As a history major, many of my professors discuss the "Silenced Past" and how the portions of history that have been ignored. The impact of leaving out valuable information from the past results in a lack of education and knowledge as a future educator. Many teachers in states such as Texas are forced to leave out all topics of sex, gender, religion, and many other topics of controversy.
As a future educator, I will make it a point to incorporate important current issues into my students' curriculum in order to provide an inclusive learning environment. The concept of white-privilege is outlined in schools, as well as this article, but not nearly to the extent that it should be recognized. As a white woman, I am familiar with white-privilege, but had never taken it into account that I could be subconsciously contributing to the system. This article emphasizes the concept of allowing educators to teach what they feel is important because students need to be taught the truth and not lies.
Bringing it into the classroom:
Simply, introducing new, diverse reading material will increase knowledge of history that has been silenced. Acknowledging the list of "Banned Books in Schools" will not only make the students aware of books that have been outlawed, but exactly why they have been eliminated from the curriculum.
Stemming from the book acknowledgement, the inclusion of multicultural, racially different, and/or LGBTQ+ authors will increase acceptance of individual's differences. In schools, white men are typically the chosen authors for educational reading material, by implementing new authors that are diverse will decrease the narrow minded curriculum that we are currently engaged in.
Human Rights and Schooling: An Ethical Framework for Teaching for Social Justice by Audrey Osler, and: Restoring Dignity in Public Schools: Human Rights Education in Action by Maria Hantzopoulos (review)
Human Rights and Schooling: An Ethical Framework for Teaching for Social Justice by Audrey Osler, and: Restoring Dignity in Public Schools: Human Rights Education in Action by Maria Hantzopoulos (review)
Audrey Osler advocates for human rights and the incorporation of the concept in schooling throughout her writing. The push for support and justice that she shows, allows her to describe how she feels human rights education could benefit children and other students in schooling. By introducing new ways of equal learning and teaching, the school system will likely improve by allowing a space for educational equality. It is stated that Osler's book will challenge future, current, and past educators to reflect and acknowledge the ways they are teaching, and ways they can become more inclusive.
Inclusivity is more than we think. Basic human rights should not be challenged in a space of learning and personal growth. By adding the barrier of inequality, learning becomes much more difficult and exclusive to those that are least discriminated against.
Inclusion in my classroom:
Educating my students of their differences and backgrounds of their life can help them feel more confident and motivated in a schooling atmosphere by being surrounded by accepting and understanding fellow classmates.
Group discussion and open forums at the beginning and end of classes regarding deeper thought prompts, similar to our in-class discussions, provide a inclusive classroom that needs to be brought to light.
Race, Poverty and Educational Equity
Race, Poverty and Educational Equity
Educational equality stems from the root of personal identification. Many students don't feel as motivated or included when unable to identify as their own ethnicity. Multicultural identification is one of the main issues students and children are dealing with today. They have been forced to designate their ethnicity to one specific race, which is causing insecurities and discomfort in professional atmospheres. Knowing you have had to make a choice on a multicultural individual, does not sit right. Being designated to one ethnicity while obtaining many can, and has been, effecting how schools tolerate and accept those of multicultural identification.
One last type of inclusion:
Providing articles an podcasts that recognize race and poverty will include and acknowledge those who are feeling less appreciated.
I want to make sure that as a new and progressive teacher, I am providing materials that are most informative for the benefit of my students education and future progress.
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