To the Future Social Issues Class

To the Future Social Issues Class,
As I reflect on the information discussed and explored in the course this semester, there are key elements that must be expressed. When expressing these issues, it is essential to understand that this information can help enhance certain areas of students’ lives, schools, and the community. As educators, we influence these areas and even labeled these influences as focus issues. The focus issues that were discussed included: race, class, gender, sexuality, power, and privilege. As I continue to expand on these issues, a couple will be discussed as a pair because of the intertwining relationship. The others will stand alone as an individual subject. Eventually it will be clear that each discussed focus issue directly affects education.
Race and gender have always been a factor in education. It has gone past the episodes of discrimination and segregation to the updated version of placement and demographics. These are two issues that will change depending on the school location but does not change the fact that no matter the race or gender ever child can learn. As educators, it is important that we embrace these two key issues and be creative with our teaching methods. We have to stop looking at a specific race or gender as a weakness in education but appreciate the strength of diversity it brings to a campus. This will enable everyone to learn from each other to transform the campus to a true learning community.
As an educator, we have to understand the class or financial status of the students that we are teaching. It is important to know what type of background our students are coming from. For example, we should know if our student demographics involve low-income families, single-family homes, or even criminal and negative social areas. All of these areas effect education and how we teach our students. Students in the above example areas may have a problem completing homework or take home projects. Where as students in a two-parent home or high-income areas have the support and parental influence to get the take home assignments accomplished. Understanding class will give us the insight needed to alter our teaching strategies to our given audience of students.
Sexuality is something that is relevant to understand in this day in time. We are now in a social era where open human sexuality is prevalent in our schools. As educators we have to be able to recognize, diffuse, and positively influence students sexuality preferences. It is important that we accept our student’s sexuality decision and teach other students to do the same. When reflecting on the Laramie project it is safe to say that some of the problems that took place could have been avoided if the students were taught to accept others differences and personal choices.
Power and privilege are areas in education that are very similar because they are the positives that come from education. Thru education, both of these areas enable students the ability to demand and obtain all the wonderful things life has to offer. The power of education will allow individuals the strength and confidence to go after goals, while the privilege of education allows that same individual to express the qualifications obtained to grasp the goal. Each of them essentially allows our students to know that any dream can be achieved.
Reflecting on each of these classroom focus issues, it has given me a better understanding of the requirements needed to be an effective educator. Teaching is not about going into the classroom and teaching a lesson. In involves a more personal touch, which requires an educator to understand the surroundings and the factors that are affected by it. The more we understand the focus issues the better teacher we can become.