Education Reflection Paper

Reynolds illustrates how there are a variety of different ways social justice can be taught, and explains how each teacher has a different way of implementing the same ideas. She provides examples of lessons a child might learn and the biases behind it teaching social justice. Reynolds is concerned with the age range of teaching social justice and when is considered the appropriate time. New teachers are now getting taught how to teach social justice within the class room, and the curriculum is changing to include aspects of social justice. Reynolds states how social justice is a branch off the bigger question of “who gets to decide the best

As postmodern educators feel their way through an ever changing multicultural classroom environment, it is imperative that each hold firmly to their philosophical positions and do not let society influence them in a negative way. At the same time all teachers should be continually reflecting inwardly to make oneself accountable to their profession.

During the month of November, I became our school’s acting testing coordinator. Our testing coordinator was in an accident and went out on medical leave. She was suddenly out for an undetermined amount of time and with a severe concussion was unable to remember what she completed and what she did not. During her absence, there were two assessments and a survey that needed to me completed. These assessments included SAT 10, FFT (Teacher Survey) and MAP-R. This was a very demanding experience.

FIVE YEAR EDUCATION/CAREER GOALS? My five year plan is to become an assistant principal within my county. I want to impact my county with a positive influence, with a direction that is clear and where teachers and students can succeed.

Throughout this semester, we explored a variety of social justice issues and how they intertwine with education. As a pre-service teacher, the content of this class helped me understand my current lens in society, specifically discovering my privileges and how those can influence my teaching practices. Furthermore, this class helped me analyze the experiences of different students in a classroom and how to incorporate these experiences into instruction via asset thinking. Finally, I enjoyed collaborating with other students for ways to integrate social justice into all subjects, especially science. Throughout all the activities, readings, discussions, and case studies I have developed a critical lens and provoked more thought about my educational

Overall, coming from a family in poverty has a huge effect on a student’s ability to succeed in the classroom, but it doesn’t have to be that way. As a future educator, I can use what I have learned to benefit my students in the future. It is essential that I allow all of my students an equal opportunity to learn and grow in my classroom regardless of socioeconomic status. I can use this information to accommodate my students and help close the educational gap between social classes. All students deserve an equal education, regardless of who they are or where they came

I feel that education is an important aspect in a person’s life. My philosophy regarding education is that all children are unique and need a stimulating educational environment where they can develop and grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. Every child deserves to obtain the best education possible, regardless of special needs. I believe that I owe it to my students, as well as the community, to bring inclusion, consistency, attentiveness, and warmth to my job with the hope that I can encourage and inspire such traits in the students as well.

Over the last eight weeks, we have visited and deeply discussed many topics that surround social justice in the classroom. These topics have ranged from social justice in the world to how to create a socially just classroom and everything in between. In class, there has been a few times where it has been uncomfortable because the topics can bring out many opinions in the room. Many people in the room shared their opinions, including me, which brought up many other discussions. In this essay, I will be discussing our navigations through the social justice issues that classrooms face by talking about the key points of our class throughout the last eight weeks.

Some common issues that greatly effect today’s students include poverty, the work field (both for overworking parents and for students who are forced to work to support their families), and single parents in the home. Children who face these difficult situations are already at a disadvantage in the classroom. They may not be able to afford the same resources as

Depending on where we stand, the view of our environment and the effect of other individuals can shape the way we identify the world. Often we are afraid that seeing different perspectives then could lead to the loss of our very own, but the real value of another standpoint lies within seeing more of a situation and therefore being able to make a better evaluation for ourselves. By valuing new perspectives, we are initially introducing new elements of life to improve our way of thinking thus providing us with various of aspects that can help us grow in school, work and personal lives.

Is there an ideal educational model and how do education students shift through the wealth of knowledge presented and form their own priorities in which to use to shape our future students? All of the educational philosophical insights are stepping stones to examine mindfully and ponder what we will hold as values as teachers. As a future educator, I am strongly convicted to want to focus on each individual student and help him or her to reach his or her full potential both as a student and as a member of society.

During my time at school the combination of education and social justice issues is a complex one. School is supposed to be a safe place for one to learn and grow, however with the increasing amount of inequalities within the school system there seems to be a growing divide between what we consider the “norm” and those we deem as the “other” (Kumashiro, 2000). The “other” is constantly pressured to conform to the norm of society, which is socially constructed (Sensoy and Di Angelo,2012) and this poses an issue in most schools, but even more apparent in urban schools. Within this reflection paper I will discuss my experience with social justice issues in high school, my overall experience living in a town where there was a large divide in socio-economic status, and how these experiences molded me as a student now and how they will impact my learning and teaching in urban schools.

According to the American Psychological Association (n.d.), “Socioeconomic status (SES) is often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation. It is commonly conceptualized as the social standing or class of an individual or group.” Poverty, lower education level, poor health, among others, are part of having a low SES that affect our society (American Psychological Association, n.d.). Sometimes could be difficult to have equity in our classroom when the SES of the children and the teacher are very different. However, you can get balance by knowing your students and understand them. Students who live in poverty have a lot of problems in their home. According to The American Life (2012), if a

Chapter 8 reminds us of the four essential components of social justice and advocacy that we must implement within our classroom environment to achieve successful outcomes for all students. First is being able to continue challenging misconceptions, untruths, and stereotypes. Second, is providing all students with the necessary material and emotional resources to learn effectively. The third is having the ability to draw on students’ talents and strengths to enhance their education through real world experiences. Lastly, is being able to create a learning environment that promotes rigor, critical thinking, and supports agency for social change.

Walking into the first two weeks of the EDU program I desired to experience what it would be like to be a future educator and have a grasp of how to help the molding of our youth and giving them the possibility to become future leaders. Doctor dresser was able to bring in a Concordia alumni who had just begun to experience his professional education, career and is teaching multiple different grade levels as a young teacher. When he first walked into the classroom my first impressions were that unfortunately he looked very inexperienced and unsure of what was to be expected of the lecture I thought to myself in the position of a younger student in his classroom this is a person I would not take seriously. He then proceeded to communicate