I have to admit, up until this reading I hadn't considered "reverence" much outside of religion. Having reverence for a subject, for knowledge - these are concepts I had rarely considered. I think that reverence is important within teaching. Reverence for knowledge and content allows all learners (the teacher included) to learn in an environment in which everyone is aware that there is always more that can be learned. Reverence for students creates a respectful classroom - one in which the classroom climate does not feel authoritarian. When students and teachers revere on another, the connection between then becomes more like that of colleagues, where the partnership is mutually beneficial and every one's opinion and input is valued.
Reverent listening and culturally responsive teaching are intimately connected. One is a means to the other. That is, reverent listening is a crucial component to creating a culturally responsive classroom. Reverence for students includes a respect for who they are, where they have been, and what has shaped them. If everyone in the class has this respect for one another, each student can invest their own cultural capital into the course, which will create a richer and more meaningful experience for the classroom.
A "laundry list of value ethics" is innately woven into classrooms. This list includes ethics that are similar to those of the power elite, or of the dominant culture. Sometimes these ethics are generalized and ingrained in a student to the point where they do them out of habit instead of out of an ethical understanding. Gay marriage is not standard course material in schools, but in areas like Bible Belt regions, southern portions of the United States, and Appalachia, the general opinion of the surrounding culture is usually easy to observe within a school. Without much thought regarding the issue, students are funneled into a way of thinking that may or may not represent their own personal beliefs.
I didn't have many teachers who exhibited reverent traits until college. In some of my classes my freshman year, I was shocked at how thoroughly annotated my papers were when I wrote a paper. Teachers actually read my work, and put thought and effort into not just grading it, but attempting to understand and value it. Also, I had several classes which where taught like open forums, which created an open atmosphere that allowed everyone to feel free to contribute without fear of being judged. This created a reverence between the students, and showed that the teacher was respectful of our opinions and thoughts.
A "toxic" school culture is one in which instructors and individuals with authority disregard input from other sources (particularly students) and instead focus instruction on a specific purpose with the belief that their way is superior or infallible. Examples of this can include "teaching to the test" - preparing students for a standardized test using a strict and consistent formula which excludes student input, stifles creativity, and silences questions. It follows that schools which do not practice inclusion, and do not create culturally responsive classrooms are "toxic".
"When a leader is unwilling to cock his ear to the tones, pitch, and volume, as well as the content, or a school culture or to respect those who work alongside him, he may not know his own limits or the ability of others." (Rud, 2010) What I find the most interesting about this quote is "he may not know his own limits". This implies that without opening your mind up to other input and resources, you may never know or realize your full potential. Creating a reverent atmosphere where collaboration and communication are tools that help refine instruction, is beneficial to everyone within the school. The process has to be cyclical; teachers need to create a loop of sharing and implementing ideas to find the right way to address their content.
This article on reverence is very interesting. It provides another perspective on what reverence means and how important it is in a classroom, and to society as a whole. I think that broadening the horizon by showing children that reverence is a universal concept that benefits the entire human race is one way you can encourage its use in the classroom. I also like the use of mythology - especially in that it overemphasizes the importance of reverence by dramatizing the consequences of irreverence (total chaos). However, from these dramatizations, a very sound and reasonable argument can be extrapolated and applied to classroom environments.
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Sources:
Rud, A. G. (2010). Reverence and listening in teaching and leading. . Teacher College Record, 112(11), 2777-2792. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_lNdCbUdjDIvAFO7LhRAQqe9fJc-YReeKH7qGTWlxy4/edit
Woodruff, P. (2005, January 25). Renewing reverence.BYU Magazine, Retrieved from http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=1748
Reverent listening and culturally responsive teaching are intimately connected. One is a means to the other. That is, reverent listening is a crucial component to creating a culturally responsive classroom. Reverence for students includes a respect for who they are, where they have been, and what has shaped them. If everyone in the class has this respect for one another, each student can invest their own cultural capital into the course, which will create a richer and more meaningful experience for the classroom.
A "laundry list of value ethics" is innately woven into classrooms. This list includes ethics that are similar to those of the power elite, or of the dominant culture. Sometimes these ethics are generalized and ingrained in a student to the point where they do them out of habit instead of out of an ethical understanding. Gay marriage is not standard course material in schools, but in areas like Bible Belt regions, southern portions of the United States, and Appalachia, the general opinion of the surrounding culture is usually easy to observe within a school. Without much thought regarding the issue, students are funneled into a way of thinking that may or may not represent their own personal beliefs.
I didn't have many teachers who exhibited reverent traits until college. In some of my classes my freshman year, I was shocked at how thoroughly annotated my papers were when I wrote a paper. Teachers actually read my work, and put thought and effort into not just grading it, but attempting to understand and value it. Also, I had several classes which where taught like open forums, which created an open atmosphere that allowed everyone to feel free to contribute without fear of being judged. This created a reverence between the students, and showed that the teacher was respectful of our opinions and thoughts.
A "toxic" school culture is one in which instructors and individuals with authority disregard input from other sources (particularly students) and instead focus instruction on a specific purpose with the belief that their way is superior or infallible. Examples of this can include "teaching to the test" - preparing students for a standardized test using a strict and consistent formula which excludes student input, stifles creativity, and silences questions. It follows that schools which do not practice inclusion, and do not create culturally responsive classrooms are "toxic".
"When a leader is unwilling to cock his ear to the tones, pitch, and volume, as well as the content, or a school culture or to respect those who work alongside him, he may not know his own limits or the ability of others." (Rud, 2010) What I find the most interesting about this quote is "he may not know his own limits". This implies that without opening your mind up to other input and resources, you may never know or realize your full potential. Creating a reverent atmosphere where collaboration and communication are tools that help refine instruction, is beneficial to everyone within the school. The process has to be cyclical; teachers need to create a loop of sharing and implementing ideas to find the right way to address their content.
This article on reverence is very interesting. It provides another perspective on what reverence means and how important it is in a classroom, and to society as a whole. I think that broadening the horizon by showing children that reverence is a universal concept that benefits the entire human race is one way you can encourage its use in the classroom. I also like the use of mythology - especially in that it overemphasizes the importance of reverence by dramatizing the consequences of irreverence (total chaos). However, from these dramatizations, a very sound and reasonable argument can be extrapolated and applied to classroom environments.
______________________________________
Sources:
Rud, A. G. (2010). Reverence and listening in teaching and leading. . Teacher College Record, 112(11), 2777-2792. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_lNdCbUdjDIvAFO7LhRAQqe9fJc-YReeKH7qGTWlxy4/edit
Woodruff, P. (2005, January 25). Renewing reverence.BYU Magazine, Retrieved from http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=1748
Great connection between reverence and Greek Mythology! Drawing the wisdom of the ages is an example of reverence too!
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