Inclusion / positionality video |
Inclusion poem |
3 Yeah, But… Ideas / Wonderings
Pg 187 - Dismissing social justice scholarship as merely the radical and personal opinions of individual left wing professors
The 3 stated examples sound exactly like what goes on in my brain if I am being honest. Generally speaking, I consider myself a more conservative person. But this is one of the first times I am being confronted with the idea that it is possible to hold conservative beliefs and still embrace meaningful change, without “selling out” or “becoming more liberal”. I don’t see a conservative outlook as correct vs a liberal outlook as incorrect, so it would not be offensive to me to be labelled as liberal, although people such as my parents would probably consider my point of view gradually more and more left-leaning. I would push back on this idea not because I resent the label of liberal (again, that’s not an insult to me), but rather I am becoming more self-aware of my own inherent biases and wish to be more receptive to a more holistic point of view.
Pg 190 - Insisting on immunity from socialization “that’s not my experience”
At first glance, the casual throwaway phrase “that’s not my experience” is an easy way to get out of having a conversation you don’t feel like engaging in. But what if a friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer and you went to go visit them in the hospital and they looked at you, hoping for a comforting word to uplift their spirits, and you respond with a flat, “I don’t have cancer.” That’s kind of what “that’s not my experience” reads like to me. I’ve caught myself using this type of language before in discussions on various topics including race, SES, and other areas of privilege. Race in particular for me, although I am a person of colour, I have encountered very little racism, especially the intentionally hateful kind (almost the entirety of [very limited] racism I’ve encountered have been through ignorance rather than malice) and so when engaging with others in discussion on their experience as a POC or minority, I can truthfully say that “that wasn’t my experience” which is fine, but does nothing to further the discussion and can be hurtful to someone else who feels invalidated by that statement since they may have a different perspective or experience they wish to share and commiserate with.
Pg 197 - Paralyzed by guilt
This is another experience that I can relate to quite strongly. I am not an outspoken person, and I tend to be a peacemaker, especially at work. I’ve learned to be able to articulate myself in very diplomatic ways to avoid stirring the pot in tense situations, including ones pertaining to issues of social justice. Because of my perceived level of self-awareness, when it is pointed out to me that I have done or said something that is offensive to someone, I can become overwhelmed with guilt and sometimes incredulity that someone would say that about me. But this all stems from self-centeredness, and in order to have a meaningful discourse with anyone who has different views as I do, I need to learn to accept the criticism, apologize if necessary, and move right along because that’s how we learn and that’s how we grow.
Actionable Project
A Reflection on My Teaching Practice - Duncan Kwan
Taking this course was not something I was immediately excited about, I have to admit. While I understand the value and importance of equity and inclusion, it is not a topic of discussion that I was very comfortable with initially. Part of my reasoning for that is likely because I am extremely aware of the many privileges I enjoy, and I didn’t feel like I could effectively participate in the conversation around inclusion when I had never really been excluded from anything musically throughout my life. I had the privilege of being born into a family of means, and private piano lessons were a part of my weekly routine since I was 4 years old. My early exposure to music gave me a significant amount of confidence in music class, and I found music classes to be easy and fun all throughout elementary and high school. My parents arranged for me to take private lessons on trombone as well, which helped facilitate my musical development even more. I was the only grade 9 student in my year to play in my school’s sr. wind ensemble, and I played lead trombone in the jazz band from grade 10-12. That band was auditioned, and basically whoever could play the highest got to play the first part, and that ended up being me.
I felt like I didn’t belong in a discussion about inclusion because I had never faced exclusion before, musically. The examples shared above are to help frame my perspective of music in high school. A major mental shift I have been proactive in making in the last two years or so as a teacher is to move away from the idea of recreating the awesome high school music experience that I enjoyed as a student, and instead focusing on cultivating meaningful experiences for my students that don’t necessarily have anything to do with the experience that I had while in high school. I have taught at independent schools for my entire career, and it just so happens that at each of the 3 schools I have taught at, the music teachers I have worked with have all been teaching at those school for many years. Even my own high school teacher had been at the school for about 15 years already (he actually just retired last year!). I think teachers of any age and experience level can be highly innovative, just like teachers at all ages and levels can get stuck in the rut of trying to do things the same way as they had always done them. It just so happens that the mentors I had tended to skew towards the more traditional, with the “why fix what isn’t broken” mentality that can easily lead a young new teacher into a false sense of security with a very fixed mindset and way of teaching. It probably didn’t help that the way I had been teaching for a few years happened to be quite effective! My teacher persona is a projection of my authentic personality - fun, laidback, and curious. I had no major issues with developing a good rapport with my students, or with classroom management. If I just did the same thing every year for the next 25 years, I’d be at the end of a solid career. The problem with that, of course, is that the world keeps changing, and I have to keep changing with it, as an individual and as a teacher.
This brings me to the centrepiece of my reflection. I want to commit to being a part of the solution and being part of the process of change to be more inclusive in my classroom. I don’t intentionally use my words or actions to exclude any of my students or guests to my classroom, but up until this academic year, I was still using phrases such as “guys” to refer to a mixed gender group, as well as “good question” when what I really mean is “I appreciate you asking this question because I had not considered it myself.” It’s not to imply that other questions were not as good or even bad. I want to replace these two phrases with more inclusive language. My go-to greeting at the start of the class is often “good aftermorning” because at my previous school I always taught music in the mornings, so I would say good morning to my class every day, but at my current school the schedule moves around so sometimes we have class in the afternoon. Little things like that are kind of silly, but I think it really does make a difference in the class. It always makes me smile to receive an email from a student that begins with “good aftermorning”. So rather than saying “good aftermorning, guys!” I will change that to something more inclusive; everyone, all, musicians, friends, and y’all are all options I am considering. The one caveat is that I want it to be natural and authentic. I don’t think friends is the best choice since I’m not friends with my students. I’m also not from a place that uses y’all with any regularity so it would seem peculiar to begin adapting that. Suggestions from classmates include “humans” and “foolish mortals”. I will continue to give this more thought and see what ideas I come up with. I do know that I won’t be using “guys” anymore starting now.
The other phrase I mentioned that I would like to move away from is “good question” as Cathy brought up early in our class. As I already said, I’m not trying to put down the merits of other students’ questions when I use that phrase. Instead I will replace it with “I hadn’t thought of that, thanks for asking”. I already developed the habit of thanking my students for asking questions because I don’t want them to feel like they can’t ask me things, or that their questions are annoying. Plus, teaching good manners is important!
Being a teacher is an incredibly rewarding experience, but also a heavy responsibility. We spend so much time with our students that it’s quite likely for them to pick up on some of our habits, whether we want them to or not. If it weren’t for many of my high school teachers calling us “guys” in class (especially the ones I felt closest to) I probably wouldn’t have started doing that in the first place. So I will consciously unlearn that behaviour and be intentional with my students about why I’m doing that. I believe that even if they continue using “guys” as a catchall term in their personal lives, they will give it more thought than they had before, and that’s how change begins.
I wish I had the presence of mind to have this conversation with my classes at the start of last school year. My school has a number of trans students, including one in my grade 9 music class who probably would have been really happy to hear my rationale behind my intentionality to avoid the use of “guys.”
Inclusion is for everyone, and each person’s perspective has something unique to bring to the table. It is ironic that I felt like I didn’t have anything to offer when it came to the conversation of inclusion. As Maya Angelou said, “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
Pg 187 - Dismissing social justice scholarship as merely the radical and personal opinions of individual left wing professors
The 3 stated examples sound exactly like what goes on in my brain if I am being honest. Generally speaking, I consider myself a more conservative person. But this is one of the first times I am being confronted with the idea that it is possible to hold conservative beliefs and still embrace meaningful change, without “selling out” or “becoming more liberal”. I don’t see a conservative outlook as correct vs a liberal outlook as incorrect, so it would not be offensive to me to be labelled as liberal, although people such as my parents would probably consider my point of view gradually more and more left-leaning. I would push back on this idea not because I resent the label of liberal (again, that’s not an insult to me), but rather I am becoming more self-aware of my own inherent biases and wish to be more receptive to a more holistic point of view.
Pg 190 - Insisting on immunity from socialization “that’s not my experience”
At first glance, the casual throwaway phrase “that’s not my experience” is an easy way to get out of having a conversation you don’t feel like engaging in. But what if a friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer and you went to go visit them in the hospital and they looked at you, hoping for a comforting word to uplift their spirits, and you respond with a flat, “I don’t have cancer.” That’s kind of what “that’s not my experience” reads like to me. I’ve caught myself using this type of language before in discussions on various topics including race, SES, and other areas of privilege. Race in particular for me, although I am a person of colour, I have encountered very little racism, especially the intentionally hateful kind (almost the entirety of [very limited] racism I’ve encountered have been through ignorance rather than malice) and so when engaging with others in discussion on their experience as a POC or minority, I can truthfully say that “that wasn’t my experience” which is fine, but does nothing to further the discussion and can be hurtful to someone else who feels invalidated by that statement since they may have a different perspective or experience they wish to share and commiserate with.
Pg 197 - Paralyzed by guilt
This is another experience that I can relate to quite strongly. I am not an outspoken person, and I tend to be a peacemaker, especially at work. I’ve learned to be able to articulate myself in very diplomatic ways to avoid stirring the pot in tense situations, including ones pertaining to issues of social justice. Because of my perceived level of self-awareness, when it is pointed out to me that I have done or said something that is offensive to someone, I can become overwhelmed with guilt and sometimes incredulity that someone would say that about me. But this all stems from self-centeredness, and in order to have a meaningful discourse with anyone who has different views as I do, I need to learn to accept the criticism, apologize if necessary, and move right along because that’s how we learn and that’s how we grow.
Actionable Project
A Reflection on My Teaching Practice - Duncan Kwan
Taking this course was not something I was immediately excited about, I have to admit. While I understand the value and importance of equity and inclusion, it is not a topic of discussion that I was very comfortable with initially. Part of my reasoning for that is likely because I am extremely aware of the many privileges I enjoy, and I didn’t feel like I could effectively participate in the conversation around inclusion when I had never really been excluded from anything musically throughout my life. I had the privilege of being born into a family of means, and private piano lessons were a part of my weekly routine since I was 4 years old. My early exposure to music gave me a significant amount of confidence in music class, and I found music classes to be easy and fun all throughout elementary and high school. My parents arranged for me to take private lessons on trombone as well, which helped facilitate my musical development even more. I was the only grade 9 student in my year to play in my school’s sr. wind ensemble, and I played lead trombone in the jazz band from grade 10-12. That band was auditioned, and basically whoever could play the highest got to play the first part, and that ended up being me.
I felt like I didn’t belong in a discussion about inclusion because I had never faced exclusion before, musically. The examples shared above are to help frame my perspective of music in high school. A major mental shift I have been proactive in making in the last two years or so as a teacher is to move away from the idea of recreating the awesome high school music experience that I enjoyed as a student, and instead focusing on cultivating meaningful experiences for my students that don’t necessarily have anything to do with the experience that I had while in high school. I have taught at independent schools for my entire career, and it just so happens that at each of the 3 schools I have taught at, the music teachers I have worked with have all been teaching at those school for many years. Even my own high school teacher had been at the school for about 15 years already (he actually just retired last year!). I think teachers of any age and experience level can be highly innovative, just like teachers at all ages and levels can get stuck in the rut of trying to do things the same way as they had always done them. It just so happens that the mentors I had tended to skew towards the more traditional, with the “why fix what isn’t broken” mentality that can easily lead a young new teacher into a false sense of security with a very fixed mindset and way of teaching. It probably didn’t help that the way I had been teaching for a few years happened to be quite effective! My teacher persona is a projection of my authentic personality - fun, laidback, and curious. I had no major issues with developing a good rapport with my students, or with classroom management. If I just did the same thing every year for the next 25 years, I’d be at the end of a solid career. The problem with that, of course, is that the world keeps changing, and I have to keep changing with it, as an individual and as a teacher.
This brings me to the centrepiece of my reflection. I want to commit to being a part of the solution and being part of the process of change to be more inclusive in my classroom. I don’t intentionally use my words or actions to exclude any of my students or guests to my classroom, but up until this academic year, I was still using phrases such as “guys” to refer to a mixed gender group, as well as “good question” when what I really mean is “I appreciate you asking this question because I had not considered it myself.” It’s not to imply that other questions were not as good or even bad. I want to replace these two phrases with more inclusive language. My go-to greeting at the start of the class is often “good aftermorning” because at my previous school I always taught music in the mornings, so I would say good morning to my class every day, but at my current school the schedule moves around so sometimes we have class in the afternoon. Little things like that are kind of silly, but I think it really does make a difference in the class. It always makes me smile to receive an email from a student that begins with “good aftermorning”. So rather than saying “good aftermorning, guys!” I will change that to something more inclusive; everyone, all, musicians, friends, and y’all are all options I am considering. The one caveat is that I want it to be natural and authentic. I don’t think friends is the best choice since I’m not friends with my students. I’m also not from a place that uses y’all with any regularity so it would seem peculiar to begin adapting that. Suggestions from classmates include “humans” and “foolish mortals”. I will continue to give this more thought and see what ideas I come up with. I do know that I won’t be using “guys” anymore starting now.
The other phrase I mentioned that I would like to move away from is “good question” as Cathy brought up early in our class. As I already said, I’m not trying to put down the merits of other students’ questions when I use that phrase. Instead I will replace it with “I hadn’t thought of that, thanks for asking”. I already developed the habit of thanking my students for asking questions because I don’t want them to feel like they can’t ask me things, or that their questions are annoying. Plus, teaching good manners is important!
Being a teacher is an incredibly rewarding experience, but also a heavy responsibility. We spend so much time with our students that it’s quite likely for them to pick up on some of our habits, whether we want them to or not. If it weren’t for many of my high school teachers calling us “guys” in class (especially the ones I felt closest to) I probably wouldn’t have started doing that in the first place. So I will consciously unlearn that behaviour and be intentional with my students about why I’m doing that. I believe that even if they continue using “guys” as a catchall term in their personal lives, they will give it more thought than they had before, and that’s how change begins.
I wish I had the presence of mind to have this conversation with my classes at the start of last school year. My school has a number of trans students, including one in my grade 9 music class who probably would have been really happy to hear my rationale behind my intentionality to avoid the use of “guys.”
Inclusion is for everyone, and each person’s perspective has something unique to bring to the table. It is ironic that I felt like I didn’t have anything to offer when it came to the conversation of inclusion. As Maya Angelou said, “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”