Currently working at a sixth grade placement, I could not agree more with Brown and Knowles’s metaphor comparing teaching middle school to skiing; yes, it is incredibly exhausting, draining, and you leave thinking “I can’t believe I am going to exert myself again in such a energy-sapping way in less than 24 hours,” but it really is one of the most exciting, rewarding, and entertaining experiences I’ve ever experienced (and I never expected myself to enjoy working with middle schoolers). As I was reading “You Want to be a What?” I was nodding my head and wagging my hand back and forth in a surfer motion because apparently that is how sixth graders signify that they firmly agree with what somebody is saying…I am becoming one of them from exposure. Continue reading Middle School Makes You Hip
All posts by Diana Vlavianos
Study Steroids: The Epidemic Affecting our Generation
I remember the first time I realized how screwed our generation’s priorities were, in regards to treating our minds as disposable tools to attain a more important academic end, when I entered my undergraduate college bookstore in the fall of my sophomore year to pick up textbooks, and was given free “Study Buddy” pills marketed to enhance my attention and “crack down” on my books. I was disgusted by this capitalistic venture for a plethora of reasons: 1. As an institution of higher education, this college should have known better than attempt to “sell” knowledge or studying enhancement in the form of a pill, which is just degrading to the integrity of our education, as well as our health; 2. The entire idea of chemically ingested knowledge is horrendously unhealthy…Adderall is illegal and chastised on campus, yet they are willingly bequeathing these smiley-faced “Studdy Buddy” pills upon us? Come on…; 3. Even if these pills were to be effective, they would completely negate the integrity of our academic ventures, so why are you gifting them to us, with the idea that we should essentially take the easy way out and swallow a pill to gain attention rather than focus the good old fashioned way? Continue reading Study Steroids: The Epidemic Affecting our Generation
Wittle Away at that Safe Space
Adolescents are constantly trying to navigate the unchartered territories of social acceptance, while concurrently attempting to identify a sense of self, particularly in regard to society and the greater world around them. Many adults tend to make the detrimentally ageist (and ignorant) mistake of simply labeling adolescents as naïve, moody youths who are unequipped to truly make informative life decisions. All of this external doubt placed upon adolescence, in addition to the biological fluctuations and peripheral pressures that come with the age make the time an extremely trying one; thus it is exponentially more difficult to even begin to imagine the struggles of the more marginalized population of the self-aware gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning adolescent youth.
Continue reading Wittle Away at that Safe Space
Queer isn’t so Queer
I must preface this post by stating that I am fortunate enough to have been exposed to an educational experience that has been proficient and enriching in what I would deem queer pedagogy after reading “There are transsexuals in our middle school!” by L. Krywanczyk. The main goal of all educators should be expanding the minds of students while simultaneously enlightening students and creating a safe and comfortable learning environment for all, regardless of any and all difference. Continue reading Queer isn’t so Queer
Enduring Empathy: The Duty of an Educator
“By any measure, immigration is one of the most stressful events individuals can undergo, removing them from their predictable contexts-community ties, jobs, customs, and (often) language. Stripped of many of their significant relationships-extended family members, best friends, neighbors-immigrants are often disoriented and feel a keen sense of loss.” Suárez-Orozco, C., Qin, D. B., & Amthor, R. F. (2008). Relationships and adaptation in school. In M. Sadowski (Ed.), Adolescents at School: Perspectives on Youth, Identity, and Education (2nd Ed,. Pp. 51-74). Cambridge: Harvard Education Press.
Endurance: the most underappreciated trait of immigrants as they arrive and adapt to assimilated life in America. As educators, it is our duty to our students to empathize with their plights and lives so as to effectively tailor education toward their individual learning situations, thus optimizing achievement. With immigrants, in particular, many educators make the mistake of confining students to an assumed norm or stereotype generated from bias; many believe in false binaries, or teaching from/in deficits. This is detrimental to the education of immigrants, for it perpetuates a cycle of the student thinking that they are less than, thus enabling them to achieve to sub-standards. Continue reading Enduring Empathy: The Duty of an Educator