Dispatches From The Schoolyard
As I first listened, it was kind of crazy how the girls at Bronx Prep Middle School were silenced by a natural bodily cycle. The girls are absolutely right, as periods should not be censored. It was not just periods this podcast talked about, though. Other topics, such as juvenile detention, being transgender, and topics such as deafness, were treated as sensitive topics. What the podcast essentially spotlights is: if these students are living it, why not talk about it? Listening to the podcast was honestly really helpful as a future educator. You can never assume you understand students because you were a student.
I have two sisters. If you sat down and talked to both, they would have COMPLETELY different stories of being a junior in high school. That's the exact thing educators must understand. As a math teacher, there are many variables in why a student did poorly on a quiz. Maybe they had a terrible math teacher last year, and they instantly checked out, or maybe they're embarrassed that everyone else around seems to get it, but they don't. They already created an image of their self-worth in math that they convinced themselves they simply aren't good at math.
I also thought the title was really clever. A schoolyard isn't just a place where kids spend their day. They constantly socialize. Teenagers especially learn the most during these times and start understanding sensitive topics not because they were taught, but because they learned from communicating with others. They see everything from INSIDE the circle, not from outside.
Combining everything together and now we have a literal natural teenager trying to understand who they are. While it has been more normalized today, there are many steps we have yet to take as teachers and adults I believe can help normalize real struggles and real topics that are okay to talk about as adults. Sometimes we tend to underestimate the comprehension of teenagers and that leads to lots of silence.
I agree that students' experiences should not be ignored. The example of the girls at Bronx Prep Middle School being silenced about periods stood out to me. Periods are a natural part of life, and students should not feel embarrassed to talk about them. The same principle applies to other sensitive topics students face. Ignoring these topics does not make them disappear. Ignoring these topics doesn't make them disappear; it forces students to stay silent about important parts of their lives.
ReplyDeleteYour example about your two sisters resonated with me. Even though they're in the same family, they can have vastly different high school experiences. I think this is something that is extremely important for teachers to remember. This is crucial for teachers to remember: we can't assume we understand every student's experiences just because we were once students ourselves. Each student comes to the classroom with a unique background, set of experiences, and challenges.
Your example about your two sisters resonated with me. There are many reasons why a student performs poorly on a quiz or struggles with math. It doesn't automatically mean the student is lazy or incapable of learning. Maybe they had a difficult math experience in the past, lacked support, or convinced themselves they're not good at math. Teachers should look beyond grades and try to understand what's happening.
Your explanation of the schoolyard was compelling. Students do not only learn inside the classroom. Students learn from each other, sharing experiences and trying to understand the world around them. Teenagers are constantly learning about themselves and other people. Teenagers are constantly learning about themselves and others, experiencing life inside the circle while adults often look from the outside.
I agree that adults and teachers underestimate teenagers' understanding. Students are capable of having meaningful conversations about real-life topics when handled respectfully. As future teachers, we should create classrooms where students feel heard and respected, not forced to stay silent about parts of their lives. Giving students the opportunity to talk and be understood can make a huge difference.
I definitely agree with you. I think even more confusion and worry gets created when schools decide to silence certain topics because they’re considered “inappropriate” or “too sensitive.” If students are living through something, or if there’s misinformation circulating, why not just sit everyone down and talk about it? Avoiding these conversations doesn’t protect students, it just delays their understanding until they learn about it through other means. And in the 21st century, that usually means random people or unreliable sources online. The part where you mentioned never assuming you understand students just because you were once a student really connected with me. I’ve always been the type of student who does my work on time and follows expectations, but not all students experience school that way. Some students don’t connect with the format of the homework because it doesn’t engage them meaningfully. Some question everything a teacher says because they struggle to accept information without understanding the “why” behind it. Others might be dealing with personal issues that make school feel secondary, even though we expect them to perform academically.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I feel like there is a lot of stigma around topics like periods. There is this idea that teenagers don't know or don't understand. They have complete autonomy, but adults and teachers don't want to accept that most of the time. When you really think about it, though, we all were teenagers, too. We had our own ideas and our own mindsets. We would be frustrated when we got grouped into something we didn't care for or align with. When we remind ourselves to think about their perspective, we can adjust our ideas to help these teenagers in ways that will truly benefit them. I mean to say, when we can teach these teenagers without making them feel like they're on their own and no one understands them, we will be able to see how they form a positive connection with learning. We don't know everything about teenagers; they're developing their own personalities, and they're all different. We can't try to teach them all the same way without connecting with them.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that deafness was seen as a sensitive topic because I think disabilities are just part of the human condition. In the Oak Park documentary, it also mentioned a student who has a disability and his mom explained that she felt that because her child was in the special ed classes he was not expected by his teachers to be "successful." The idea that a child with deafness or any other form of disability is labeled as "sensitive" creates biases in the classroom and the learning environment because perhaps the child is not being pushed to their full potential academically.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I agree with how you said that “You can never assume you understand students because you were a student.” That is true because there are different layers a student can have. I was thinking about the term intersectionality. Some layers that students have include their gender, race, ethnicity, abilities, social class, nationality, sexual orientation, and religion. All these layers when combined affect how the world sees and treats the student.
Hi! I really liked your point that teachers can’t assume they understand students just because they were students themselves. Every student has different experiences that can affect how they learn and how they see themselves. I also agree that teenagers are capable of understanding more serious topics than adults sometimes admit. As future educators, I think creating an environment where students feel comfortable talking about their experiences can make a big difference in how supported they feel in the classroom.
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