Is there a right or wrong when it comes to our classroom?
The first thoughts that popped into my head when reading about the ban of Legos was how could they do that. Legos provide some many learning experiences and children can learn a lot from those blocks. As I read more and got familiar with the story I realized that the only solution was to ban Legos from the classroom. The follow up story talks about how much heat the classroom got from the media and random people from all over the country. It made me start to think, what is right or wrong? But the more I thought about it, I started to think is there even a right or wrong? In our society and especially growing up everything is either right or wrong. But the more I reflect on teaching and classrooms I keep questions if there is even a right or wrong. Obviously, there are certain behaviors and language that are appropriate and inappropriate and laws and rules that are set but I’m talking about the way we teach children. Is there a right way to teach children? We already know that children learn differently so why are there still so many teachers that only teach one way and can’t change it. I understand that Legos are a vital part of school but the issue went deeper than just the actually material. The teachers didn’t take away a material and deprived the children of that learning experience instead by taking away the material is provided a lot of meaningful conversations and deeper learning experiences that go beyond the classroom but into politics and society. Also it proves the point that what works in one classroom doesn’t work in all classrooms. I can even go as far as saying what works with one child doesn’t work with all children. With that being said, I don’t understand how or why the media got involved. If they don’t know the full story or the lesson they were trying to teach, why must they get involved? They can’t apply the same rules to every school and who are they to say what is right or wrong? I believe that there is no right or wrong when it comes to teaching the most important thing is that the children are learning and they leave the class being more competent and confident.
Hey Sarah!
ReplyDeleteI think media and opinions have taken over so much these days that it's hard to make a decision without the majorities thoughts and suggestions. We as educators who know the children best besides parents, should be able to make decisions according to what we feel fits and works. I guess what we should say is, "TRUST US PEOPLE!!! WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING!" I think it was great what they did and honestly when I first read the title I was like, "What?! Banning Legos? Why?" But as I read further, I understood the reason and actually agreed with the whole situation. They just saw an opportunity to teach and acted on it and not many of us do that. That's pretty respectable.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteMedia seems to be part of everything today. I remember sitting at a table for dinner with evening with a group of well-educated people (some even with doctorates) discussing what they read in the newspaper and heard on the news about school. All of these people had such limited perspectives of school but felt the media had portrayed the truth. As I sat and listened, I could not believe how much they were assuming about teachers and how they immediately assumed they knew better than the teachers.
Has society set an expectation of what school should be and in setting this expectation, limited the possibilities of what school could be? Are teachers not trusted to think? Is this evident in federal mandates based in accountability or the infusion of scripted curricula across the country? How can early childhood teachers resist the limited expectations of being a teacher? What might ec teachers' resistance mean for the structure of classrooms?
Jeanne
Media has a way of sensationalizing everything and blowing things out of proportion and the sad thing is people believe them! They are bent on always focusing on the negative and seldom if any do you hear about good exciting things people are doing. This was a good example, how could it have been presented as a positive thing? If it was presented as a positive thing would the reaction from the readers be different?
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteAt first I also was unsure about banning toys. My reaction was, what does that teach them. But now I understand why they did it. You brought up a good point, is there a right or wrong? I think no matter what you do their will always be someone who thinks otherwise. It just matters on what you think is right for your class and if you can justify why you made that decision. There are so many different teaching personalities that it is hard to find someone who 100% agrees why every decision you make. We know our children the best and we know what decisions are right for our classes.
Aloha Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the thought of banning Legos was quite shocking. However, in the end, I could understand where the teachers were coming from. I liked the way they involved the children and came up with different strategies to help children understand about power and inequality.
As far as teaching is concerned my question is, "Is there a right or wrong way to teach children?" Every child learns differently and we as educators must be flexible to children's learning styles. We may have to make some adjustments to our curriculum or activities, but I feel that we know the children well enough to think about their needs and meeting them (socially, cognitively, physically, etc.). I agree with Sarah that not everyone will agree with the decisions we make concerning the children, but because we know them best, we know what decisions may be right for our classes.