In the last week or so, I’ve been presented with a wonderfully exciting opportunity to broaden my knowledge of education, culture, and diversity. Brock University paired with an organization called Solidarity Experiences Abroad (SEA) organizes mission trips to countries like Peru, Brazil, and South Africa to provide medical, educational, and charitable resources and programs throughout the year. I’ve decided to take the leap of faith. So I’m going to Peru! The specific trip I am going on promotes Education and Development in Lima Peru for two weeks in May and June 2016. Essentially, we are teaching in classrooms in low-income schools and participating in a number of charitable activities. Throughout the trip I will not only have the opportunity to get experience in a classroom, but I will be immersed in a totally different culture, and experiencing diversity first hand. For those of you who know me, this is something that is totally out of character for me, but I know that it is opportunities like these that will define me as a teacher and hopefully give me a new perspective on education.
So I did my research and quickly realized that all of SEA’s projects and mission trips are all centred around the theme of Social Justice. In fact while filling out the application one of the questions was: What does Social Justice mean to you? I pondered this for a while as I tried to formulate my thoughts into a 250 word blurb. I then came to the realization as I was writing my answer that Social Justice should be incorporated in the classroom, whether it be explicitly through the formal curriculum or implicitly through the hidden curriculum. I then connected this to what Drake, Reid, and Kolohon (2014) would call curriculum integration, which ties together knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values across subjects to help develop a better understanding. Specifically the fusion approach, which is defined as the integration of one initiative into the curriculum (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014).
In British Columbia, they have integrated Social Justice into their curriculum. The specific document I am referencing (Making space: Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice) outlines teacher strategies, assessment tools, and rubrics to promote social justice (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014). In this document they define Social Justice as a philosophy that advocates for the full participation of all people and their legal, civil, and human rights and it aims for a just and equitable society for all individuals and groups (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2008). Further, they provide considerations that teachers need to account for in the classroom such as students needs that are visible (e.g. race, sex, age) and not as visible (e.g. culture, ancestry, language) by using inclusive language and examples whenever possible (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2008).
In addition to all this formal research, like any curious person would I browsed the internet for anyone that had gone on this type of trip before, or in some cases the exact same trip in previous years. I came across two resources that really helped sway my decision to go. The first was a blog post on the SEA website (http://solidarityexperiencesabroad.org) of a former Brock student who went on the Brazil trip with SEA, Nico Loureiro. In his post he describes his experiences with creating a program called “Physical Activity Campaign” and how he implemented this camp in the favelas, an extremely poverty-ridden part of Brazil. This experience also helped kickstart his idea linking the Sports Management program at Brock and SEA to develop a course that would allow students to develop a Sports for Development course by implementing it in Peru, which he was successfully able to implement after several months. Finally he was offered a 3 month job to work in Kolkata (India) through the NBA where he worked with 150 schools, 200 PE teachers and 1,500 students by implementing similar programs, specifically for basketball. This final quote by him summarizes everything he talks about in his post “SEA was one of the vehicles that inspired me to pursue my dream of giving back to youth in need through the NBA” (Loureiro, 2015). The second resource I found was a video that was actually created by another Brock student who had gone on the Peru trip last year. Watch the video and you will see why it helped make my decision to go to Peru so much easier.
To sum everything up, saying that I am excited about my upcoming adventure is an understatement, but I do know it will be a very eye-opening, tiring, and overwhelming experience. However, I am up for the challenge and eager to learn about diversity and social justice first hand, so I can implement it in my future classroom.
References:
- British Columbia Ministry of Education (2008). Making space: Teaching for diversity and social justice throughout the k-12 curriculum. Retrieved from https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/making_space/mkg_spc_intr.pdf
- Drake, S., Reid, J., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21st-century learner. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.
- Loureiro, N. (2015, June 29). Story of Nico Loureiro [Post 3]. Message posted to http://solidarityexperiencesabroad.org/journals/
Hi Taylor,
ReplyDeleteIt great to see that you are willing to try something new, go outside your comfort zone, and ultimately broaden your teaching experience. Some of the many reasons I myself applied for this trip. It is evident that you took the time to research this trip by looking at other students past experiences through forms of blogs, and videos, as well took the time to understand how this trips may help you take an informative perspective when teaching social justice in the classroom. This knowledge then influences you to get a true understanding of the trip. For that I applaud you. Overall, your blog was extremely engaging as you could clearly see the enthusiasm you already have about this trip in your writing. It was extremely wise of you to include videos, and links within your blog, as it allowed fellow viewer to find out more information about the trip if they are interested.
With that being said, I believe it is extremely important that as future educators we see opportunities like this trip as a way to broaden both our knowledge and perspective on teaching and learning. I definitely encourage you to take an open perspective on the trip, as I will too, to take away the most from the fellow teachers, students and community members. I challenge you to think critically as your time in Lima progression and take what you learn from the teachers and community there and implement it within your teaching and learning in the future. A great way to reflect back on those experience over there would be through journaling, or blogging so you are able to reflect back on those experiences in the future.
Wow, Taylor! I’m so happy for you. Thank you so much for sharing your joyous news about traveling to Peru with SEA. What an opportunity to learn and grow both as a person and as a teacher!
ReplyDeleteI know several educators who claim to have been changed forever (for the better!) by their experiences teaching in other cultures—whether across the ocean in different countries or among aboriginal communities up north in our own. From the video link, it appears that you, too, will be exposed first hand to issues of diversity and social justice—and have the opportunity to learn from them. What a gift you will give your future students when you share insights gained on your trip.
It’s interesting that both Chelsea and you spoke about social justice this week, and from such opposite perspectives. Chelsea was lamenting that her teachers failed to introduce the concepts of social justice and child agency until Grade 8, while you are taking the very actions necessary to teach these ideas to your future students by learning about them yourself. How wonderful that as future educators, you both recognize the importance of promoting the notions of justice and equity.
Thanks, too, for sharing B.C.’s document on integrating social justice and diversity into the curriculum. Let’s hope Ontario is not too far behind.
I really appreciate your post this week. You very efficiently integrated your future trip with our course readings and other resources, showing insight into the need for integrating social justice into Ontario’s classrooms. I wish you all the best on your adventure.
Hi Taylor,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, congratulations on committing to such an amazing opportunity to travel to Peru! I admire your excitement to go on a mission trip and I have read amazing things about the Solidarity Experiences Abroad (SEA) organization. I personally have been researching different organizations and hope to embark on a mission trip following my 5th year at Brock. I would love to hear about your experiences in Peru as Peru is a place that I would consider visiting. Just as you expressed, I believe that experiencing different cultures first-hand is an incredible way to learn and I am sure that your involvement with SEA will shape who you are as a person and how you teach as a future teacher. My grandmother always says, you can read about something in a textbook or hear about something from a peer, but actually going and experiencing something yourself is the best way to learn.
I really enjoyed reading about your perspectives on social justice education. I agree with many of your points and furthermore, believe that children are naturally interested in diversity, capable of forming opinions, and can understand complex concepts through classroom discussions of equity. As I was reading your post, I was reminded of an article written by Kelly and Brooks (2009) that clearly articulates how children enter and participate in schools with preconceived personal beliefs about human differences such as culture, race and gender. Furthermore, Kelly and Brooks (2009) express how teachers should challenge these social constructs and engage in social justice conversations to promote a more accurate and equitable understanding of difference. In response, how would you suggest introducing social justice education in the primary grades? Do you feel it is appropriate for Kindergarten children to learn words such as racism, sexism and classism? If you have the time, I recommend you take a look at Kelly and Brooks’s (2009) article. I will reference it at the end of this post.
I agree that social justice education should be taught both explicitly as well as through the hidden curriculum. I was recently observing in a grade 6 classroom and was interested to see how a teacher handled a racist comment innocently spoken by a student. In gym class, the students were playing basketball and were practicing free throws. One student was having a hard time getting the ball in the hoop and a friend of his, James, laughed and said, “Trey, you’re Black. You’re supposed to be good at basketball!” In response, Trey just laughed and said he was having an off day. I thought that this was a very interesting scenario as James did not realize that his language was racist. Furthermore, Trey didn’t seem to recognize how James’s comment was inappropriate. After class, the grade 6 teacher spoke with James and simply said that someone’s race, gender, or class does not imply anything about an individual. The teacher then asked James how he would feel if he was assumed to be strong in math because he had blue eyes. I liked this approach as the teacher did not punish James for his unawareness. He simply pointed out how his comment could be considered hurtful. Do you agree with how the teacher handled this situation or would you have address things differently?
Again, thank you for sharing such a well written and inspiring blog post. Your writing is easy to read and you complemented your post nicely with your chosen pictures and hyperlink. I watched the entire SEA clip and it was fantastic! My only suggestion would be to reference your photos and videos in APA and include those references in your reference section.
Kelly, D. M., & Brooks, M. (2009). How Young Is Too Young? Exploring Beginning Teachers' Assumptions about Young Children and Teaching for Social Justice. Equity & Excellence. In Education, 42(2), 202-216.