Module 4: Introduction
Looking at Our Own Attitudes

Goal: Find, face, and confront your own preconceptions

Objectives:

• Recount an experience with injustice
• Review your Reflective Journal to date
• Continue to write in the Reflective Journal.

The whole point of education is to teach by example. ~Jacques Turgot It is not best that we should all think alike; it is difference of opinion which makes horse races. ~ Mark Twain

Introduction:

We model our most important lessons. What we believe and how we act permeates our teaching and impacts our students. Students are experts at understanding the differences between what we say and what we do. How we display and live our values has a profound effect on our classrooms. This week we turn a 'critical eye' on our personal attitudes. As people of good will, we must commit to finding, facing, and battling our own preconceptions -- even if this self- examination is uncomfortable and unsettling.

We will also look at the atmosphere of our schools and institutions. We may work in settings where we truly feel part of the school community. We may work where the door to our classroom marks the space we can 'control'. We may work where we roam from room to room, trying for a sense of place and mission.

How we see our work and our roles in education is rooted in our cultural experience, the attitudes of our workplace, and the perspective we have gained with time. Sometimes shifting that perspective and examining our assumptions can help us see things differently. Forcing ourselves to shift perspective can be uncomfortable, but can also lead to greater empathy, understanding, and the opportunity of changing for the better. The activities in this module are designed to spark your awareness and engage your thinking about your cultural mindset.

Community Experience: This week's community builder addresses an ugly reality: prejudice and discrimination in our schools. Please share a story with the group describing a time when you directly experienced injustice in a school environment.

• While we immediately think of racial discrimination, also consider issues of gender, class, and ethnic identity.
• You may describe intentional or unintentional acts by students, teachers, support staff, parents, administrators, or yourself.
• This should be an experience told from the first person point of view.

To lead us off, let me share one of my own experiences.

*Always feel free to e-mail me at mc@wiredinstructor.net with questions or comments.

Dennis O'Connor
Instructor

**Community building activity was suggested by the work of Paul Gorski