Many of my classmates and I have discussed how impossible it has been for us to put this book down and stop reading when we reach the page number as requested by Dr. Grace. The reasons for that stem from both the fact that Erin Gruwell is one of us and so her voice rings true and her own sense of self is extremely entertaining, as well as that whenever we read about what she was going through and what she did we feel a great sense of fear for her and also admiration. It is so hard to believe that she was only in her student teaching as her methods and her great ingenuity and talent is so prevalent in this story that you have to agree with Dr. Grace when she said in class that Erin has a natural talent for teaching. One thing that keeps hitting me personally as I read this story is how Dr. Grace always says my classmates and I are the future of education and will be great teachers, but I look at myself and I wonder if she can be right because I don't feel as if I could ever do what Erin has done and make such a difference to my students. I read this story and it gives me great hope that I can be great for my students; actually one thought that jumped in my head during class today is that we don't need to be Erin, or be like Erin because we need to teach with our own hearts, not Erin's heart, but even so I respect her and hope that my heart will as inspirational as hers was. Somewhere deep inside I know that I have the potential to make a difference in my students' lives and I can't wait to get the chance in the classroom during student teaching and beyond.
One line which really stood out to me was the one where Erin said that her professor in college compared students to a salad bowl. I thought about this idea and was really getting the feeling that I should disagree with this, but I didn't. A classroom is kind of like a salad bowl in that there are different kinds of students both concerning culture and personality and learning styles (sort of like the lettuce, tomato, radish, etc) and they get tossed together and make a class body. I don't mean to say that one student is a lettuce and another is a tomato because they aren't of equal importance, but rather just to show that they are unique and both special and important in creating a salad, for a salad is never complete without a little bit of everything; in my opinion the best salads are the ones which include more than just lettuce. Furthermore, a salad where everything has its own place in the bowl is boring: you gotta toss the salad and mix it up so that everything interacts and works together plus the salad dressing covers everything and becomes a more integral part of the salad. The teacher is the salad dressing, because the teacher has to make sure to get together with all the students and be a part of the learning for every student. Additionally, could you have a salad without the dressing? Probably, but it wouldn't be as good, which is why teachers need to also be present in their classrooms and involved, cause a class without a teacher isn't as good either! So enough with this analogy, but I do feel as if it spoke to me.
As I was reading this section I kept thinking how sad it was that the teachers and students in that school were stuck in such a vicious cycle that allowed many of the students to get lost in transit and disappear between the cracks. As with all vicious cycles, this would have gone on forever had not Erin been sent to that classroom at that time. It was a miracle, and one which was going to change their lives for the better. Even in Maine where race is more of an afterthought due to the 98% white population, this book is still important to consider because we still have other types of vicious cycles going on in our schools based on other student differences: this includes Socioeconomic status differences as Megan mentioned, LGBT differences and also special education differences of which I myself have seen many students and teachers become both victim and aggressor in abuse based on these differences. One of the reasons I always wanted to go into education was because I saw these abuses in my own school, and even against myself, and often wondered if there was a way for me to change that for students, to which I decided teaching was the way I could do something to stop it.
I am so excited that Erin got to stay for a second semester in the story and cannot wait to get to that section of the book, but as Dr. Grace asked I have not read ahead because I know that if I do I will accidentally mention it in discussions because it will be so fresh in my mind and I won't know which ideas came from where! The last thing I wish to say about this section, the first semester, is that as I was reading Erin's account I kept coming back to a thought about teaching that I have always believed in: Do Not Wait for Change, Be the Change. This is one of the biggest responsibilities of a teacher; teachers need to be a leader and a role model by creating a great environment for their students and being the change that gets things done. I know that sometimes the problem seems to big and may be life or death, but it is important to do what you can in any given situation. You may fail or you may succeed, but you have to try both for your students' sake and for your own. Teachers must be true of heart, and remember where we came from; in other words we have to be true to ourselves and teach from our heart as Erin herself is telling us.
One line which really stood out to me was the one where Erin said that her professor in college compared students to a salad bowl. I thought about this idea and was really getting the feeling that I should disagree with this, but I didn't. A classroom is kind of like a salad bowl in that there are different kinds of students both concerning culture and personality and learning styles (sort of like the lettuce, tomato, radish, etc) and they get tossed together and make a class body. I don't mean to say that one student is a lettuce and another is a tomato because they aren't of equal importance, but rather just to show that they are unique and both special and important in creating a salad, for a salad is never complete without a little bit of everything; in my opinion the best salads are the ones which include more than just lettuce. Furthermore, a salad where everything has its own place in the bowl is boring: you gotta toss the salad and mix it up so that everything interacts and works together plus the salad dressing covers everything and becomes a more integral part of the salad. The teacher is the salad dressing, because the teacher has to make sure to get together with all the students and be a part of the learning for every student. Additionally, could you have a salad without the dressing? Probably, but it wouldn't be as good, which is why teachers need to also be present in their classrooms and involved, cause a class without a teacher isn't as good either! So enough with this analogy, but I do feel as if it spoke to me.
As I was reading this section I kept thinking how sad it was that the teachers and students in that school were stuck in such a vicious cycle that allowed many of the students to get lost in transit and disappear between the cracks. As with all vicious cycles, this would have gone on forever had not Erin been sent to that classroom at that time. It was a miracle, and one which was going to change their lives for the better. Even in Maine where race is more of an afterthought due to the 98% white population, this book is still important to consider because we still have other types of vicious cycles going on in our schools based on other student differences: this includes Socioeconomic status differences as Megan mentioned, LGBT differences and also special education differences of which I myself have seen many students and teachers become both victim and aggressor in abuse based on these differences. One of the reasons I always wanted to go into education was because I saw these abuses in my own school, and even against myself, and often wondered if there was a way for me to change that for students, to which I decided teaching was the way I could do something to stop it.
I am so excited that Erin got to stay for a second semester in the story and cannot wait to get to that section of the book, but as Dr. Grace asked I have not read ahead because I know that if I do I will accidentally mention it in discussions because it will be so fresh in my mind and I won't know which ideas came from where! The last thing I wish to say about this section, the first semester, is that as I was reading Erin's account I kept coming back to a thought about teaching that I have always believed in: Do Not Wait for Change, Be the Change. This is one of the biggest responsibilities of a teacher; teachers need to be a leader and a role model by creating a great environment for their students and being the change that gets things done. I know that sometimes the problem seems to big and may be life or death, but it is important to do what you can in any given situation. You may fail or you may succeed, but you have to try both for your students' sake and for your own. Teachers must be true of heart, and remember where we came from; in other words we have to be true to ourselves and teach from our heart as Erin herself is telling us.
