Privilege on a Continuum

           A few weeks ago in class we were introduced to the idea of privilege being on a continuum. The continuum of privilege is the idea that individuals experience various levels of privilege according to your place within society. This is because different spaces, places and times in society allow for a different privilege to be demonstrated. What puts one at an advantage and serves them to be privileged in one setting may work to put them at a disadvantage in another. Being privileged to something in a setting gives you what you want in that situation with less hassle, worry or work than those who do not have privilege in that area.

            In one context an individual may be at an advantage due to their privilege in that situation and in another they may reverse rolls and be at a disadvantage. For example looking at gender, a man is at an advantage typically in a corporate setting for reasons such as the glass ceiling phenomena, but in a female dominated field they would be at a disadvantage potentially receiving unkind remarks and being labeled or seen through a stereotypes lens.

           An interesting activity I have taken part in to teach students about different levels of privilege is to scatter them around the classroom each with a ball of paper and get them to toss it into a bin at the front. This shows students how privilege through being in different positions and places within society puts them at advantages and disadvantages while attempting to do the same task. 

          This can be a difficult topic for students to grasp, especially if it is attempting them to understand why they may be at an advantage because or something such as race or the family they are from. In order for one to address the subject of privilege they must be aware of where they stand and be critical of society to understand invisible aspects of privilege. The topic must be approached in such a way such as the paper ball activity or another that gets students to first understand the difference between being in different places in society and then focus on the specific factors that can perpetrate this. The following image is one way to try and be aware and learn about what may act as a privilege to you. 

           This is a subject future teachers and current teachers need to be aware of in the classroom, so they can understand where they stand, as well as see what students/families may be at a disadvantage and try to be mindful of that and work to educate society on acknowledging this.

Topic Based Education

Canada’s education system currently has a large focus on change, aiming to raise math and literacy scores. A fully integrated curriculum would address all subjects at once, and this I feel is the way we need to be going as a country. Less focus needs to be put on math tests and math lessons vs. spelling tests. Our current system is not working for all and in order to take a new perspective on these core subjects I think we need to incorporate them together in various lessons.

The idea of a schooling system that focuses on topics rather than subjects is something that greatly intrigues me. The following video gives a great overview of Finland's education system, which takes this topic based approach and demonstrates how it works. 

I strongly believe the North American education system altogether should be working towards this approach. We have the resources and we are already trying to change the system for the better, I think this is the right direction. Being able to create an integrative curriculum where one lesson connects to multiple subjects would give children more applicable and transferable knowledge, for example from not just a math scenario within the classroom but to a science and art lesson in the classroom and potentially demonstrating further use of the transferability to real-life contexts outside the classroom.

This transdisciplinary educational approach allows the schooling system to use various subjects in one lesson to address and teach one phenomenon. Students need to see how these subjects overlap, personally I think we should already be at this point because rarely in life does one face the subject of one subject alone, where they are not required to have skills in another. If a child is brought up seeing the overlap and use for certain subjects, they will have a better understanding and be more interested through this authentic type of learning.

This is a step I think we need to take working towards a more progressive education system.

Literacy in the 21st-Century

         I am currently taking in a child and youth program, at Brock University and last week I began a course called 21st-Century Literacy Across PR/JR Curriculum. To me at first I thought 'oh maybe it is going to focus on teaching us how to teach children to read and write in this 21^st century using technology etc. However, I was hugely mistaken. 

            

Taken from msddoesmath.weebly.com

            After sitting through the first lecture I quickly realized the literacy we were going to be learning about was much more than just being able to read and write. We were learning about being literate about areas of ones' life and world in this 21^st century, such as financial, media, environmental and moral. Being literate in these areas means being able to understand and be critical towards what you are being told, shown or doing in these areas. It takes the learner from being a passive individual, or just a recipient of information who will just repeat the process they learn to being their own informed being. Individuals who become literate in an area, for example moral literacy think about actions, the outcomes and do not fall victim to stereotypes or routines/common practices. They are informed and educated enough to make decisions taking various factors into account for the better of the community/society. It is teaching individuals to be ‘smarter’ in these aspects of life and be critical to push further. These various types of literacies help shape students into those active, critical citizens they need to be, by providing them how and providing them with the information to be informed enough to do so. To me being literate in any subject matter or area of life will help bring about the positive change society needs. This provides learners with practical skills to apply to their lives outside of the classroom and within the community. I think we need more focus on this throughout schooling starting at a younger age, no matter the stream the student ends up in. Learning how to be literate in these areas provides individuals with the ability to consider the other perspective(s) , and to be unique individuals in this ever-changing society we live in.

References 

 (n.d.). Literacy [Image]. Retrieved from  msddoesmath.weebly.com