Sarah's blog

In Ellsworth piece she writes "If an exact fit between message and understanding, conscious and unconscious, curriculum and interpretation, is impossible, then teaching, as it is conventionally understood, is impossible" (pg 15).  It is important that she used the word "teaching" instead of "learning".  I've come to learn that even if you have a bad teacher or a lesson plan that goes askew, every opportunity is a learning opportunity .  However, some methods of teaching are certainly more effective than others. Freire and Shor discuss "liberatory dialogue", which is something I would consider to be an essential aspect of most of my classes.  They discuss how traditionalists might think this method of teaching is bizarre, and I can admit, I probably would have felt that way in the past.  I used the think that the teacher was the most knowledgable person in the room, and that by having discussions with classmates, we were wasting time and losing knowledge.  I also thought about how if I were ever a teacher, teaching the same thing year after year would be mind-numbing.  Although repetitive curriculum may be a little boring for some teachers, I had never thought that each year the teacher has the possibility to relearn if they allow their students to discuss and hear new perspectives and ideas each year.  I know some of my friends and family members at home probably consider liberatory dialogue a little bizzare; sometimes they ask questions like "What are you learning from your major again? Why are you becoming certified to teach?

Before I begin writing about my experiences of silencing/being silenced, I think it is important note that it was difficult for me to think of such a time, and the privilege that comes with that.  It privileges me because I can see myself as neither oppressor nor subordinated in this regard, at least on the surface.  When I think of silencing someone, I think stereotypically yelling “silence!” as we saw from many popular movie scenes in the youtube clip.  I would like to think that is hard for me to remember silencing someone because it is not something I do, but I am sure that is not the case.  Even if I haven’t directly yelled “silence!” at someone, there are probably times I have silenced a person or group either with an offhand comment or by being a bystander and not helping a person that I recognized as needing a voice (i.e.: watching someone be bullied).  However, memories of being oppressed are, in general, easier to conjure up than memories of being an oppressor. 

This is a picture I took while I was abroad.  It was during our two week travel break.  Being abroad in general was a much less stressful environment than being at Bryn Mawr and during travel break, I was generally even more relaxed.  I chose this picture because I remember feeling that my mind was very clear and quiet and today in class one of the main themes seemed to be silencing our minds. I kept a blog while abroad and wrote this about the hike: We had the hike first thing after breakfast and I wasn’t super excited, but once we were out in the woods it was a really wonderful and relaxing experience. It reminded me of hikes I’ve been on with my family (with my grandparents in Connecticut and with my dad in brother in New Hampshire). Although I wouldn’t say my mind was completely free of stress ( is it ever? ) I was definitely more relaxed and at peace in the woods than I have been in such a long time…

"I recieved the message of anglocentrism, of white supremacy, and I internalized it.  As a writer, as a human being, I have had to accept that reality and deal with its effect on me..."

Cliff

"Does the inability to empathize start with an inhibition or a reluctance to see? Do racism and prejudice instruct those inhibitions?"

"The mirrors of society don't mirror society"

"...tension can be productive in so far as it causes motion, and that we watch and document that motion"

Smith

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to say one more time how amazing this class was.  Jomi and I were talking about how we hope Anne and Jody teach it again, but we aren't sure anything can measure up to this experience.  It's been wonderful to see us (e-sem students, Jomi & I, and also Jody & Anne) grow throughout this semester. I'm going abroad next semester and now I'm actually kind of sad (I know, I know, you can yell at me, I should only be excited) BUT when I come back I hope you all say "hi" to me still and whatever role you saw me as before (teacher, classmate, weird in between) I hope you will be open to the idea of being friends because you are all so incredibly intelligent and I would love to continue to have amazing conversations about class with you.  Thank you all for making this semester so great. 

-Sarah

Hi everyone,

For a final project in my Empowering Learners class year, I conducted interviews with working mothers.  I didn't receive any formal prep for doing interviews, but I thought maybe showing you guys the email that I sent out to my potential interviewees would be helpful so I've copied and pasted below:

Hi everyone,

I feel like Posse has been brought up a few times and maybe not fully explained.  Here is a blog Jomaira wrote about Posse, but if you have any questions, please feel free to ask Jomaira or me!

http://mawrterlife.blogs.brynmawr.edu/2011/04/18/634/

Hey everyone, 

I heard some thoughts today about working with high school seniors.  Just to clarify when we go to the high school we'll be with juniors and sophomores! Idk if that makes a difference, but just thought I would clarify :).

-Sarah

http://sharvondaphotog.tumblr.com/post/10380706174/kais-controversial-poem-this-topic-i-can

Hi everyone!  I'm new to serendip, but as we talked about yesterday in class, I've uploaded my map of education.  I added it as an attachment to this post, so I'm pretty sure you'll have to click it if you want to see it.  If there is anything you can't read or have questions about, feel free to ask :)!