November 6th, 2012
I love the fact that when reading a text about sexist ideologies, I can now officially say that I will be analyzing it through a gender/feminist critical lens. Then, if I decide to view it from an economic position, I have "switched my lens" to a social-class perspective. Deborah Appleman, the author of Critical Encounters in High School English: Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents, formally outlined the use of various lenses and learning styles in chapter 8, which focuses high school students on "using multiple perspectives to read and interpret literature" (p 113).
This method of analyzing texts from various views promotes students' individual development into a more accepting, understanding group of citizens. I believe that this is a crucial aspect of a youth's journey to constructing and finding their own identity, as well as makes the individual more aware and therefore accepting of another's differences.
As a teacher, this also becomes a very beneficial experience since considering a text through another lens shifts the teachers into fulfilling the role of co-learners with their students. Some of the best instructing comes not from the teacher solely being the "lecturer" at the front of the room, but instead becoming a learner along with his/her students, constructing new ideas and experiences along the way. I believe that the greatest education a student can receive is ultimately produced by a teacher who facilitates and guides their understanding and learning, rather than overbearingly and authoritatively forcing knowledge on them.
One of my co-op teachers within my partner high school in Saskatoon provided me with a very insightful philosophy for his teaching method. He simply stated that: "not all teenagers are going to come to school with the 'yearning for a learning', and as much as a teacher can try to shove knowledge into their heads, most of them, if they graduate, will leave high school remembering maybe 20% of what they learned over the four years. The best I can do for them, rather than cramming little useless tidbits of information in multiple choice tests and basic chapter question response assignments, is present them with bigger, relateable issues that they can take away from their high school experience and actually maybe refer back to along their life journeys".
I believe that by educating students on the method of using multiple perspectives to examine texts will provide students with a useful tool that they can utilize throughout the rest of their life experiences, know matter what route they choose to take.
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