Lindsay Molnar

Lindsay, Represented:

What I do, How I think, and Who I am [D1]

Discussion 1 me represented

My personal learning history comes from as a middle class family, being the youngest of three kids. I was born in Washington and my family came from the east coast. My dad worked two jobs; his second job was his construction business that he worked on his days off. I was lucky enough have a stay at home mom to help going to and from school and who took care of the house.

As a child I was a perfectionist, who put more pressure on myself than my teachers or parents. As far as grades, I almost always did well and, (at times), was able to speak to the teachers easier than kids my age; but still had friends. I had an interest in Martial arts and wanted to learn it, and my mom was too scared to put me in until I was in fourth grade. From that moment on, it helped to shape me into the person I am today.

Martial arts teaches, above all else, discipline and control of yourself and your emotions. I could be an emotional kid, so this helped to ground me and stay focused; even at school. The teachers taught about feudal history and the way of the warrior or Bushido; and I grew up with these principles. As much as I enjoyed going to Martial arts, I didn't like regular school, not because I was learning, but the structure of it and only found that I learned to enjoy it at an older age. When studying subjects I enjoyed, it made learning easier. While the path of learning is multi-faceted, enjoying the subject is key when in a learning environment.

As a teenager, I had a teacher in high school who greatly influenced my thoughts on learning and how it is a personal journey. Her name was Ms. Fountain, and the first day of class she stated, "There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers." At first, I wasn't sure how to take this, but her point was to not be afraid to ask questions until you understand what someone is teaching. It gave me comfort knowing that her classroom was a safe space that I could ask questions without feeling judged, and I've taken that philosophy with me since that day forward. From this experience, its molded my view of learning as something that each person does differently and develops uniquely. There may be questions that I ask that someone else may not think of and vice versa. Its important to know that everyone is different, (along with teachers), and to remember that even if someone judges your thoughts in a classroom; developing these thoughts is what helps you learn.

Responding to Arianne [D2]

In response to Arianne:

I sympathize with the upbringing knowing that grades are important and commend you for passing high school. Covid had a lot of impact on everyone and its obvious knowing that you're a really good student, yet had trouble with a class due to what was going on in the world. Asking for help can be one of the most difficult things to do in life and having the courage to do so speaks to your character. Sometimes it takes an entire lifetime to learn and be insightful as to why we do the things we do. Additionally, being able to understand our strengths and weaknesses is what helps make a better person and another trait that some may never learn in their lifetime. I wonder if going to your advisor or parent and talking to them about wanting to ask for help would've influenced the way your teacher dealt with the situation?

When I was in high school, I had a time when I believed I wasn't going to graduate due to circumstances in my life; but I agree that one teacher, counselor, or even friend telling you; you can do it can make all the difference in the world. One teacher that made a difference for me was Ms. Fountain who encouraged me to continue going to school. I was in high school and had an abusive ex that threatened me; but she encouraged me to keep going and I would graduate, because I wasn't sure I was going to. She even helped me with other teachers who believed I didn't care about graduating.

I'm glad your experience turned out and you were able to graduate! My hope is that your experience at UW is amazing!

Responding to Handbook of the Cultural Foundations of Learning [D3]

With relation to Handbook of the Cultural Foundations of Learning, I understand that I have some limitations socially because I come from a primarily white background and have not experienced being discriminated against because of my race. This source is able to look at learning from a holistic perspective, and one that encompasses all aspects of what makes learning possible. In relation to that, one example is from this quote, "Social interactions among people are as essential to learning as the artifacts (physical and ideational) are that get used in such interactions to facilitate meaning making and problem solving." (Nasir, N.S., Lee, C.D., Pea, R., & de Royston, M.M., 2020, XVII). The article talks about culture influencing learning and teaching, and after experiencing several classrooms; some of which have been in Japan, I can say that this is true. Without having a cultural context, much of what is taught is lost. I would not have had a full picture of Japanese culture unless I physically went there and experienced it.

However, culture can include social hierarchies that are prevalent in the learning community and one example is that of the social outcast. Another quote, "The “other” has been associated with nation states, with religions, with racial or ethnic groups, with gender identity, sexual orientation, and with ideological difference." (Nasir, N.S., Lee, C.D., Pea, R., & de Royston, M.M., 2020, XVIII); brings being an outcast as a reason why some people choose not to like the education system; due to previous and current experiences. I at times, was seen as a social outcast because of being more of a "tomboy" growing up and didn't like a lot of what other girls liked growing up. It wasn't always easy, but I can't imagine how much harder that would have been if I was apart of the BIPOC community.

In relation to that, this also includes those that are seen as just "different" in what is considered popular and thus includes the idea of the "other." Those that dress different, maybe have different likes and dislikes; etc.

Additionally, what was interesting to find out is about the historically racist platform that teaching and learning is built on. I had no idea about the complexities of Eugenics and Darwinism being used to segregate those that were not seen with a larger intelligence. Also, the quote, "Not ironically, Hitler and the Nazi regime studied the Eugenics movement in the US as a model and used its writings as warrants for their ideology around hierarchies of so-called races." (Nasir, N.S., Lee, C.D., Pea, R., & de Royston, M.M., 2020, XIX). I was shocked to find out that the ideologies used by Nazis originated from teachings in the US. Learning this has completely changed my view of our education system from this moment on. In order for me to teach any subject effectively, I will continue to learn about our education system, so as not to affect a student negatively.

However, on the topic of learning, this author points out that your social environment is something that is not considered when teaching mathematics, the sciences, etc. What your cultural context and experiences are, is what allows your to learn and understand material. " To be sure, learning as a cultural process is deeply rooted in our biology and in our evolutionary history. We are hardwired for adaptiveness and these adaptation processes, along with developmental processes, underlie the cultural nature of learning. Recent research in the neurosciences has increasingly supported the idea that the brain is highly malleable in response to social input, thus highlighting the role of social and cultural contexts in the development of brain structures." (Nasir, N.S., Lee, C.D., Pea, R., & de Royston, M.M., 2020, XXI). Its important to remember that learning is not just about regurgitating information; its about processing, evaluating and understanding the material from your perspective. I wonder how the author would have changed their view on the outcomes of students learning in math and science, had they had an optimal environment to learn in? That is to say, what if a student learned in a classroom without the thought of being judged for not understanding and how would that have affected the outcome of this writing?

My Impact, Represented: [D4]

The impact goal I want to represent, is having a "safe space" for students in the classroom. That is to say, students should feel comfortable to ask questions on subjects they don't understand, and discuss what they think about a topic, in order to get the most out of their learning journey. This goes back to my story about Ms. Fountain and her talking about no "stupid" questions and wanting students to be able to ask a question without fear of being ridiculed. It's her influence that has most shaped my view of what an effective teacher is. This topic of no "stupid" questions, keeps coming up and I'd like to address the goal and hopefully work together with my group to find a way to achieve it. I have encountered this as a student, and its not conducive to learning and makes you feel like you can't ask questions to the teacher. When I was in middle school, I had a different teacher say to us the first day, "There are no stupid questions, so I want you to feel like you can ask if you don't understand.", which focused my attention on my learning journey making all the difference for me going through school. This is something that me and my group want to foster and hopefully this can be achieved.

In order to implement this, I would encourage students to ask questions and deter any negative talk about the questions asked in order to facilitate this goal. We would have a kind of open talk atmosphere where there would be ground rules of not making fun of anyone and there wouldn't be any name calling. Additionally, any subject that we may be learning about, (example, American history), I would encourage class discussions with students to help them feel as though they can contribute to the discussion and ask any questions that may come up for them. In many classes, its difficult to get through some topics fully because of the large amount of data to explore. So, I would encourage students to look into the topic and come prepared to speak about what they found and anything that came up that they either didn't understand, or needed clarification on.

The impact goal I want to represent, is having a "safe space" for students in the classroom. That is to say, students should feel comfortable to ask questions on subjects they don't understand, and discuss what they think about a topic, in order to get the most out of their learning journey. This goes back to my story about Ms. Fountain and her talking about no "stupid" questions and wanting students to be able to ask a question without fear of being ridiculed. It's her influence that has most shaped my view of what an effective teacher is. This topic of no "stupid" questions, keeps coming up and I'd like to address the goal and hopefully work together with my group to find a way to achieve it. I have encountered this as a student, and its not conducive to learning and makes you feel like you can't ask questions to the teacher. When I was in middle school, I had a different teacher say to us the first day, "There are no stupid questions, so I want you to feel like you can ask if you don't understand.", which focused my attention on my learning journey making all the difference for me going through school. This is something that me and my group want to foster and hopefully this can be achieved.

In order to implement this, I would encourage students to ask questions and deter any negative talk about the questions asked in order to facilitate this goal. We would have a kind of open talk atmosphere where there would be ground rules of not making fun of anyone and there wouldn't be any name calling. Additionally, any subject that we may be learning about, (example, American history), I would encourage class discussions with students to help them feel as though they can contribute to the discussion and ask any questions that may come up for them. In many classes, its difficult to get through some topics fully because of the large amount of data to explore. So, I would encourage students to look into the topic and come prepared to speak about what they found and anything that came up that they either didn't understand, or needed clarification on.