BLOG 12

 BLOG 12 – Final Blog

FNED 546

    As FNED 546 comes to a close, it is time to reflect on what we have learned, gained, and shared. Many aspects and readings from this class will stay with me throughout my teaching career, but there are a few things I want to touch upon before we sign off on our blogs.

    The most meaningful piece of this course for me was reading “Shifting the Paradigm from Deficit-Oriented Schools to Asset-Based Models: Why Leaders Need to Promote an Asset Orientation in Our Schools.” This reading created a new perspective on teaching for me, and I think that is the most important outcome. I believe this reading had such a large effect on me because schools tend to focus on correcting behaviors so students fit their way of teaching. By instead focusing on students' strengths rather than dwelling on their behaviors, this model encourages a variety of teaching styles that I would love to try.

    Another major takeaway was watching the video Precious Knowledge. This really opened my eyes to how much of a difference it makes when students are taught interesting content—content that matters to them. When the La Raza program began and students were being taught something meaningful, they became much more engaged, involved, and interested, and their grades improved. Seeing how a town was able to shut it down over such minor issues was upsetting, but implementing that type of learning and curriculum in my classroom is important to me, and that is largely because I watched Precious Knowledge.

    Lastly, I truly loved our class discussions and environment. It has been proven through the content in this class that environment matters—I felt comfortable, seen, and understood. During our discussions, I enjoyed hearing what everyone had to say while simultaneously learning from them. Enjoying coming to a class on a Thursday was something I did not expect, but I genuinely appreciated this course, the content, and the people in it.

Thank you, everyone!

Hope McCarthy :)