Sunday, February 12, 2012

Week 5- Holliday A2.1, A2.2, & A3.3


I enjoyed reading Holliday A2.1, A2.2, AND A3.3 and the examples were relatable. Holliday stated that the “major inhibition to communication by looking at how, so easily, we can construct and reduce people to be less than what they are.” The first example about John and his new neighbors, the Smiths is probably something we can all relate to because at one point we may have judged someone by their appearance or behaviors in addition to categorizing them into a stereotype. “Stereotypes are often infected by prejudice, which in turn leads to Othering” (Holliday 25). However, what prevents us from seeing people as they really are before making assumptions?

This leads me to believe that we need to be aware of our prejudices before going into a situation and it is vital for us to get to know ourselves as well as the other individual. For example, I will use this for when I become a teacher. I will need to be aware of any prejudices I may have so that I do not project them onto my students. I believe that every student deserves to come into my classroom with a clean slate without me having other viewpoints about them because of other teachers or their school records.  I want to be able to form my own thoughts about my students and not judge them based on what I have previously heard.

The third example stood out to me and made me think about my future classroom. The example described Jabu as a student who was black African and Jeremy the lecturer. Jeremy believed to know a lot about black African culture because he had done research in the area and that’s why he felt like he was a good fit to help guide Jabu through school. “The Teacher announced in class that he know her “context” very well” (Holliday 33). Jabu was unsure about what the teacher had meant by that but she disliked being called out in class. She was surprised that he claimed to know her that well and she mentioned that no one would do that, not even her close friends. They only person who she believed to her well was her mother. Later in the example she became offended because “he was having the audacity to be thinking that she might have difficulty keeping up with “white people” (Holliday 33).

While reading this it had a big impact on me since I plan to be a bilingual elementary teacher. My classroom will consist of students who have a similar background to mine and I will need to make sure that I go in with an open mind and not pretend like I know everything or every student. They are all individuals and they will all have different background and experiences that may differ from mine. I like many other teachers will need to take the time to familiarize myself with the students and who they really are. It is crucial that I get to know about their previous experiences and home life so that I can have lesson that they can relate to. i would not like to make the mistake the teacher made in the example but mistakes like that happen often because we sometimes do not monitor our own language or thoughts before acting.

Jabu was insulted because she believed that Jeremy was making assumptions because she was black African. Jabu also explained that there were other students who were also struggling in the classroom and with deadlines but that he was not blaming their “culture” like he was with her.

How should Jabu have handled the situation with Jeremy? And what would we have done if we were in Jabu's place? I think I would have talked to the teacher because I would not feel comfortable in that environment. 

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