Looping Sketchbook

Black Ants and Buddhists

                                                

In the book Black Ants and Buddhist written by Mary Cowhey, she accounts her early career as a community activist then as a teacher. As a community activist she helped individuals who were being unfairly treated because of their background. She even helped individuals learn English, each of their English lesson ("words for getting hurt" and "words for where you live") consisted of dialogue individuals used to defend themselves in their communities. These classes were then known as the "Survival English classes", these classes not only helped these individuals but also Americans because they began to consider labor issues more globally which also included immigrants. Mary Cowhey also had an encounter with Paulo Freire work which had an impact in her life. As a teacher, she knew she wanted to make a positive change in the world and Paulo worked encourage just that. Paulo criticized the banking system because students were viewed as empty and ignorant. While the problem posing education consisted of dialogue between the teacher and students while possessing critical thinking. The teaching method used by Mary Cowhey was to teach critically because she knew that young students have so much potential. She mentioned how she had a diverse classroom, students from different background, economic status, and even stability. This is something to consider as a future teacher, because we are going to have students who speak different languages, have different cultures, and unstable households. As a teacher we need to keep these things to mind, to help accommodate our students to feel safe and comfortable in our classroom. How can we make our students make a positive change in our society?

Reference:
Cowhet, Mary (2016) Black ants and buddhists: thinking critically and teaching differently in the  primary grades. Portland, Me. : Stenhouse Publishers