My Time in FNED 246

 During my time in FNED 246 this semester, there are a few things I certainly will not forget about. The three things that stuck out the most to me were Troublemakers by Shalaby, Kohn’s “What to Look for In a Classroom” , and finally the open discussion. 

First, I wanted to talk about Troublemakers by Shalaby. This writing talks about how the students who are painted as a “Troublemaker” could be the students that teach us the most. Over time I have labeled some students as troublemakers myself. After reading this story I now know to avoid my bias and understand students all have different backgrounds and things going on in their lives behind the scenes, and sometimes their feelings are unnoticed solely because we think of them as just being disruptive students. I want to be the teacher that inspires my students, and looking beyond their label of being a troublemaker is really important to me to continue to encourage them to do their best. Overall they’re not really troublemakers, just misunderstood. 

The chart “What to Look for in a Classroom” by Alfie Kohn was something that also stuck out to me. Myself as well as all of my peers have been in many classrooms in our lifetimes. I think this chart was very eye opening to noticing good signs as well as possible signs to worry in a classroom. When I was a student going through normal schooling from K-12, I never once took into consideration the set up of desks, the positive affirmations on the walls, or even the reaction to a visitor in the classroom by other students. This was eye opening because when I look past on the teachers that I have had, I would consider some disheartening compared to other teachers who coincidentally displayed good classroom ideals. I specifically had a wonderful fifth grade teacher who was a very positive person, who I keep in touch with to this day. Her classroom was set up with completed school work done in partnership which shows good collaboration that happens in her classroom, and “Get to Know Me” projects on the walls. This teacher showed many good attributes that should always be in a classroom, and I found myself analyzing this chart multiple times. 

Last, I wanted to talk about the open class discussion that we had when Joyce set a timer for I believe 10-15 minutes to allow us to talk. I watched as a lot of my classmates openly talked about Delpit’s reading “The Four I’s of Oppression” and I think the discussion needed to be had. At one point in the semester we also talked about silence being racist and I believe if we ignored the four I’s of Oppression it’s not a good thing, especially if we understand the topic and avoid it. Having open discussion is very important to me and it’s another way I learn best in a classroom. There are multiple different teaching styles and I don’t learn best from direct instruction, I very much so enjoyed this exercise.

How has FNED 246 set me up for success? FNED 246 was a wonderful course to be taking, with such a well- rounded group of people. I enjoy having open discussions so I can understand the different view points of my peers, and this class allowed a lot of freedom to speak our minds on issues with society that we all know and see today. I do believe I’m ready to move on to the next academic year and FNED 246 was a very big part into helping me better my understanding of real world issues we face against social justice.