Although Chapter 2 was jam packed with loads of information
and theories, there were two theories that really stood out in my mind –
symbolic interaction theory and critical race theory.
Symbolic Interaction Theory states that “the world is
constructed through meanings that individuals attach to social interactions”
(30) and that “the meaning that people attribute to things is largely derived from
complex social interactions that individuals have amongst themselves that
involve vocal language” (31). This is super important for teachers to me
mindful of as no two students come to school with the same experiences or
having associated symbols (or things in the world around them) the exact same
way. Therefore, we need to recognize that the assumptions we make about our
students or have prior to teaching will affect the way we teach and how
effectively we teach.
To make this clear, let’s look at an example where students do not share the same culture or race as their teacher.
It is quite obvious that children learn their roles and responsibilities
from interactions and upbringing from older family members such as parents, and
perhaps in their culture a norm is children showing respect by listening intently
to parents but not engaging or sharing in reciprocal discussion. This becomes a
barrier for students because the norm in Canadian schools is to encourage
students to speak up, share their opinions and verbally communicate in class. However,
because these students associate you, the teacher, as a symbol that is similar
to their parents, they do not engage in class discussion. It would be easy to improperly
contextualize the situation and make inappropriate assumptions about the child’s
learning abilities. Furthermore, this only perpetuates the critical race theory
as it is these racial differences that create disconnect amongst culture which enables
for “significantly lower academic achievement” (47) in these students.
Discussion Question: What are other
examples of how symbolic interactionism can create educational hardships for
students?
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