Class Reflection 7 Oscar Newman

1.What new ideas are you taking from these readings or discussions in class?

The most important of the new ideas were the four pedagogical stances for RJ in the Winn
chapter. This provided a valuable insight into the case studies we read about. Moreover the
idea of an education debt compared to an achievement gap is exactly the kind of language
teachers should be using to shift the blame game in public education.

2.How do these ideas interact with those in your philosophy of education statement?
1.Do they align with your current thoughts?

They certainly align with my own personal beliefs. From a professional stance, my ideas are
more nuanced. See below.

2.Do they change your thinking?

There were no ideas in the readings that really ran counter to my educational philosophy.

3.Can you push against/ challenge them?

I mentioned the consideration in class that we think a little more about the role of the teacher
in classroom discussions, especially those on issues that would be considered controversial.
Here are some thoughts on that:

1. It is important to engage in controversial subject matter, but it is a skill that not all teachers
possess. The teacher's position on an issue, for example, and whether the teacher will take a
stance is fairly important for an authentic discussion in a classroom environment that is
fundamentally coercive (see Grades (spicy edition, See Classroom Discussions, Graded with
Rubric)). A clumsy caricature of this dynamic would be something along the lines of, “I bicycle
to work every day because that is how I interpret my personal responsibility vis-a-vis global
climate change. Now, class, let's find out what you think...”

2. In classrooms of effective teachers of controversial issues , teachers are teaching for not
just with discussion. (Here, I am using the ideas of Diane Hess who has done extensive work
on the teaching of controversial public issues) Discussion itself is a valuable end, and a
critical one if teachers are serious about preparing students to be active citizens in a
democracy. I think this is what I was alluding to when I mentioned that there are many
teachers who are not necessarily prepared to engage in teaching certain issues – there may
be more focus on what destinations the conversation will reach to the detriment of a
meaningful opportunity to authentically engage with student thinking. Perhaps this is more
salient in classrooms where there is a diversity of student ideas about an issue. In my own
experience, this is absolutely the case when the science concept of evolution comes up.

3. In class, it was mentioned that there was a reason that all the case studies took place in
the PNW in environments that were especially conducive to teachers leading discussions
about the Black Lives Matter movement. I would push back on this idea. Does that mean that
if an Oklahoma district skews conservative (a stereotype) then a teacher needs to shy away
from the Tulsa Race Riot as we approach its centennial? Maybe a diverse set of political
beliefs among the students would better reflect the diversity of ideas on a national level about
controversial issues than a liberal echo chamber, but the skill of managing such a classroom
and not alienating some students would pose an interesting problem of practice. Surely,
again, there are frameworks that can be learned in teacher preparation courses on how to do
this important work. Just a thought.

3.Please write a little bit about your Conceptual framework. What are your thoughts about
transforming the ideas you've written about in your Phil of Ed into a visual representation?

I am having a difficult time with this task. I have an idea of an interesting visual image. I am
not sure how much to stretch an analogy in the service of the point, though.