{"id":4915,"date":"2011-01-31t07:00:05","date_gmt":"2011-01-31t13:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/?p=4915"},"modified":"2011-01-28t14:44:14","modified_gmt":"2011-01-28t20:44:14","slug":"reflections-on-gradstep-2011-controversy-critical-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/2011\/01\/reflections-on-gradstep-2011-controversy-critical-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"reflections on gradstep 2011: controversy & critical thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>reflections on gradstep from manya whitaker,
\nfacilitator of the\u00a0privilege\u00a0and power session<\/em><\/p>\n

teachers walk a fine line between inspiring students\u2019 latent interests and inciting students\u2019 rage at having to work hard. what i mean is, teachers have the power to motivate the next shel silverstein, albert einstein, or dare i say it: barack obama. on the other hand, teachers also have the power to turn students away from learning, and possibly away from what they previously believed to be their passion. at gradstep 2011, the influence of teachers to affect and effect student growth was an underlying theme throughout many of the day\u2019s sessions.<\/p>\n

what stands out most for me from the conference is something said during the panel. at one point, in response to statements regarding motivating disengaged students, someone said \u2018i try my best to reach all of my students, but if i see that they don\u2019t care, i don\u2019t care about them\u2019.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

*pause for reaction*<\/strong><\/p>\n

my gut response when i heard that was: oh no! someone is going to be offended by that<\/em><\/strong> but\u2026..i agree.<\/p>\n

too rarely in academia do people say what they feel. anyone who\u2019s ever taught a class, led a discussion group, or graded assignments has experienced the moment when you just give up on a student. it\u2019s unfortunate that the words \u2018give up\u2019 have such negative connotations. sometimes, it really is what\u2019s best. teaching may be one of those times.<\/p>\n

think about it: the time and effort you put into planning a class is a huge investment that could easily be wasted by one student who fancies themselves the class clown. totally unfair.<\/p>\n

as i left the panel and walked to my first workshop, i realized how the ideas of controversy and honesty are in fact, also issues of privilege and power: the very topic of my workshop. who is empowered to be most honest in the classroom? who has the privilege to say what they truly feel without facing personal or professional repercussions? what implications do these positions have on students\u2019 learning? i immediately reconsidered what i wanted to do in my session.<\/p>\n

we began by listing descriptors about ourselves and discussing ways in which our physical identity makes us appear (un)privileged to students. some characteristics mentioned include:<\/p>\n