I think it can be dangerous to consider higher education a business, but so much of higher education is run like a business that in some ways it would be impossible to not consider higher education a business. Higher education is becoming very expensive and many people can support especially in today’s economy. Higher education in many ways is an expensive gamble. (You spend 4-years and over $40,000 to come to school and there is no certainty that you will get a job that uses your degree. It becomes an even bigger issue when jobs look for you to have job experience and you don’t have it because you devoted your time to studying.) Many minority students don’t have the same educational opportunities in primary school and they simply cannot afford to make a $40,000 gamble. I think the cost/benefit analysis is steering individuals away from higher education. It is a serious issue that extends and encompasses many different areas.
I really appreciate that you brought human dignity and partnership into this discussion! In my perspective, these are fundamental to change the practices towards inclusiveness in the classroom! Creating an environment where shared responsibilities and courageous questioning are at the core, and at the same time, the context is also infused with empathy, compassion and respect, no matter who is involved. Thanks for your input!
Ayesha, very nice post. The three points that you mentioned are very important and every person should be aware of them not only teachers. You learn a lot from people’s reaction and I also find that being genuine and transparent is the way to go in my teaching career.
I like the point that you made about striving to create an inclusive environment where students feel comfortable to share their thoughts with the class. As you pointed out, there are some challenges that arise when you include international students to the conversation. While I think that it definitely is our job to generate a sense of comfort where student feel they can share without judgement, I don't think that this is enough. We should consider ways in which we might be able to give our students a polite nudge towards actually getting them to join the conversations.
I agree with you. I am from Lebanon and I have a similar experience. Lebanese people are a mix of different civilizations too. However, I think the country is more homogeneous. It wasn’t until I started my graduate school in the US that I had real experiences with people from different countries, races, etc. I love it. The experiences and different ways of life of different cultures made me grow as a person and appreciate the differences in the traditions and social norms between cultures.
You just gave me the perfect start for something I was thinking about for a while. A CalvinBall Grading system…. So I have been wondering how to make a grading system that changes the rules all the time. In a way it is hack-safe or atleast difficult to rig unlike the current one. Whats a potential solution. CALVINBALL!! Good post
I understand where you come from. Diversity for the sake of diversity without inclusion is like, Ayesha said, more of oppression. On the other hand, I strongly believe that the best way to overcome a social issue is to talk about it, to make it surface, and make everybody aware of it. Awareness and acknowledgement of an issue is key to its solution.
I like akin’s comment about auto drive. It seems so easy for teachers to make assumptions with the idea that they are helping students to learn things like discipline, but those endeavors can’t be at the expense of inclusion or equality. Great post – thanks for sharing.
I agree that I don’t feel the need to call these “safe” or “brave” spaces for them to generate an environment where people feel that can openly voice their opinions. As educators, this should not be a separate component of our classrooms, but a concept that we are actively striving to create on a daily bases. I also agree that educators do need to get a sense of the students in the class to help figure out what is the best way to get the conversation going. It definitely takes some time to get students to warm up to the instructor, as well as their classmates, and make them feel encouraged to share. With the current trends in higher education (e.g. large, lecture-based courses), I struggle to figure out how one could even create this inclusive environment.
As someone who grew up in a variety of mixed ethnic environments, I can definitely see how it positively influenced me, especially once I became an adult. There is great value in being exposed to different points of views, not only in a professional setting but in personal life as well. Being of an ethnic background myself, I feel that we can sometimes be more accepting of diversity than others. While it is unfortunate, I think that things are slowly starting to change. Our readings this week made it clear just how important it is to strive for more inclusive environments and the effects that it can have.
