Personal Narrative: The Heart Of A Teacher

“I don’t see color! I don’t have a racist bone in my body!” (Irving, 2014, p. xi). How many times have we heard something similar to this or said it ourselves? I know that I have heard it many times by people of all ages. So far this semester, I have learned so much about race, socioeconomic status, history, and poverty. I have been around the world and see poverty in my own backyard along with poverty on the other side of the country. I have always thought of myself as pretty knowledgeable on these subjects but I have found there is so much I do not know. I also have learned that as a teacher we really have to be aware of ourselves and our stereotypes so we don’t bring them into the classroom.
We started out the semester talking about poverty,
race and socioeconomic status. We looked at povertyusa.org. The website gave us some information and facts on poverty. According to the website 46 million Americans are in poverty and 1.6 million children stayed in a homeless shelter last year. These numbers were really big to me. I was a little surprised, I knew there was a lot of poverty but not that much. Socioeconomic status is a huge thing in the United States and also affects what opportunities you will have. Through the discussions in class, we learned that depending on your status depends on what opportunities you are going to have. A really good example for college students is going out to eat. Some of your friends may not be able to afford to go out to eat and while others may be able too. Many times, going out to eat is more than going out to eat. It is a time to socialize with friends and have a good time. There are things some people may not be able to do because of their socioeconomic status and their income.
“Is it race or class?” which is the real issue and which one gives more of an advantage to people (Irving, 2014, p. 13). I don’t think that either one is the real issue but rather both of them are the issue. Race can be a huge factor in determining what opportunities you get but class can also be a huge determinate. There can be a Caucasian person who’s parents are in poverty and homeless and it is going to be very hard for that child to get out of poverty. This situation could happen for an African American also. There can also be a Caucasian or an African American that is the head of a major company and making a lot of money. What social class you are in can make a huge difference and so can race. Race can also effect what and how you are taught. “…I was trained to make myself visible and seek opportunity, many children of color are trained to stay under the radar and avoid suspicion.” (Irving, 2014, p. 19). This is so true. I was taught, as a white child, that I could do and be anything I wanted to be. I was taught to go for what I wanted and to set my bar and goals high. A child of color, may not have been taught that. Many children of color are taught that they need to hide and not be seen. They are also taught, indirectly that they will only be able to be what their parents are. If they are born into poverty that is where they will stay. White children and children in an upper class family are taught, “…if I could envision it, it could be done.” (Irving, 2014, p. 11).
Something that surprised me the most so far has been the GI bill. In school, I was taught about the GI Bill but there was a lot of information I was not taught. “The same GI Bill that had given white families like mine a socioeconomic rocket boost had left people of color out to dry.” (Irving, 2014, p.33). Everyone who came back from the war should have had the same opportunity regarding the GI Bill and its benefits. The men all went into the war and all were willing to give their life to their country. They were all fighting together. Yet when they came back, the white families where given money to help them buy houses and go to school. Their houses were in good neighborhoods and they went on to become lawyers and doctors. The people of color were not given the same opportunity. The house they could get were not as nice and were in bad neighborhoods. Many of them could not get an education because they had to go to work, in order to support their family. “A set of policies created by the FHA, and implemented by lenders and relators, mapped out neighborhoods according to the skin color of residents.” (Irving, 2014, p. 33). There were neighborhoods that were just for colored people and in many cases they were not as nice. The houses were declining in value in these neighborhoods, while in the white neighborhoods they were increasing. It just goes to show that people have not had equal opportunities. These thing were never taught in school and I wonder why?
The topic and article that hit me the most was, “The Heart of a Teacher”.
This article was amazing! It showed me so much and brought things into perspective. “One student I hears about said she could not describe her good teachers because they were so different from each other.” (Palmer, 1997, p. 3). I want to be a good teacher. I want to be the teacher that everyone remembers and everyone says is a good teacher. I remember teachers that were good and some that were bad. I don’t want to be that bad teacher but how am I going to do that? “They are able to weave a complex web of connections between themselves, their subjects, and their students, so that students can learn to weave a world for themselves.” (Palmer, 1997, p.3). As someone going into agriculture, I want to be able to incorporate agriculture into every aspect of their life and learning. To be a good teacher, I need to be able to have multiple examples and hands on learning. I need to use many methods of learning to help kids with all different learning types. The article talks about two guys Alan and Eric. Both of these men were similar all throughout school. They grew up similar and both went to college. Only one ended up being successful. In the end it goes back to the experience these two had. Eric had culture shock and suffered in school because of it. He always felt as if he needed to measure up to everyone and be like everyone else. Alan did not experience culture shock and thrived in school. He did not hide his gifts and he made everything academic rather than personal. In the end Alan was an amazing teacher who students loved. Eric became the teacher that was quick to judge and many students did not like him. “The self is not infinitely elastic-it has potential and it has limits.” (Palmer, 1997, p. 8). Students are going to have different experiences in your classroom. It is important to meet each students needs and to really listen to your students. To be a good teacher, you need to make
everyone comfortable in the classroom and make a room where students feel safe to express themselves. This is my goal as a teacher.