My current major is in Psychology, but I've recently been thinking about becoming a teacher someday, probably teaching elementary or middle school. Something every good teacher has made me aware of is that a teacher has the power to make or break a child. A first impression is everything, and what you say as a teacher really counts in the long run. Using your words and your position, you have the power to push a child farther in life or to shatter his or her dreams. I want to do the former. I want to teach children that they can be anything they want to be and they do not, under any circumstance, have to fall under the status-quo. I don't care if they want to be a doctor, a lawyer, an actor, or a film director. If you believe with all your heart that you have the power to do something, go for it. Do not be lazy. Fight for your dream with everything you have. Education is the key. It can open doors. While college may not be "for everybody", I encourage anyone to go the extra mile and earn their degree no matter how long it takes them.
In my Topics in Diversity class today, we discussed America's flawed historical perspective on the Indians, mainly focusing on cinema. For example, "Cowboys and Indians" is a huge chunk of American culture. Back in the 1950s, Western films and television shows dominated the media; however, they were also severely historically inaccurate. Cinema cast the Indians as the enemy and the cowboys as the heroes of the western frontier when, really, it was the other way around. In order to appeal to American audiences, the film companies ignored and completely overlooked the sufferings of the Native Americans, making it seem like they "politely stepped aside" so we could take their land. Although America is getting better at showing more historically accurate truths, we still need to abandon our old rituals of prejudice that still exist to this day.
On top of what we studied in Diversity, I also saw something interesting in my Intro. to Human Development class tonight: an experiment done by an ordinary third-grade teacher around the time of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death. She wasn't a psychologist nor was she a psychiatrist. She wasn't even teaching a psychology class; no, she was an ordinary third-grade teacher who went down in history because she did an experiment in her all-white class, showing them the realistic results of discrimination.
Dividing the class into two groups, the "blue eyes" and the "brown eyes", she proceeded to tell the class that individuals with blue eyes are superior to individuals with brown eyes. After a bit of discussion on the matter, she released the children for recess. During those fifteen minutes, the "blue eyes" had a different mindset: "We are superior to the 'brown eyes.'" Name-calling and mild tussling ensued during recess just because of the superior mindset that defines prejudice and discrimination. I'll post the video below.
(Note: the "n" word is used once in this video as a means for the children to understand discrimination. If this offends, you may leave this post.)
On another note, I want to make it clear that I am in no form or fashion a supporter of racism, prejudice, or discrimination. This is a point I want to stress on students if I do, in fact, become a teacher in the future. Because of society (and in some cases, their parents' beliefs and ideals), children break off from each other at a certain stage of their childhood and begin to form groups. Usually, mocking aimed at the different groups begin to ensue after this. Although this is a natural part of growing up and being a child, I want to discourage this behavior and activity as much as possible. The sooner the next generation can learn that we can live in harmony despite our differences, the better off we'll all be.
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