Chapter 7, “Dancing Across Borders,” from Campano resonated with me. Angelica’s work with Mini-Corps and story and how she applied it to her teaching made me want to be able to do the same. “Angelica’s exploration of her own life story, her testimonio, informed her ongoing development as an educator” (Campano, 2007, p. 94). As a result, her identity and purpose for teaching were interwoven. Angelica was able to be the personal as the professional and cultivated her relationships with her students in the classroom and by organizing “Girl Talk.” Her practice allowed her to connect with her students more. This one teacher was able to share her work and story, and her students shared theirs. She understood what it was like to be unable to share a problem at recess,or why a student was unable to come to school on time due to family obligations. Her students trusted her due to her experiences.
As an educator, my students are incredibly important to me. I worry about them in school and at home because I know that many of them don’t have traditional home lives and the support they deserve. Over the years, I have had some students share their home lives with me, but many remain silent. I often wish those who were silent would share themselves through their voices or in their writing. However, the type of writing in my classroom does not always lend itself to this type of exchange. I, myself, don’t share my story or experiences as much or as often as I have in the past. Students need to know their teachers to build those trusted relationships that Angelica had in chapter 7. “Our presence in the classroom is ineluctably animated by our own experiences as learners, our implicit and explicit notions of what constitutes knowledge,and what it means to be an educated person. These shape the contours of what we imagine as being possible in the classroom. They also expose our vulnerabilities. As it is with students, so it is with teachers” (Campano, 2007, p. 91). To expose myself in the class would make me vulnerable; however, if it helped a child, it would be worth it. Now, I need to reshape my instruction so that it lends itself to sharing my story so that my students can share theirs.
As an educator, my students are incredibly important to me. I worry about them in school and at home because I know that many of them don’t have traditional home lives and the support they deserve. Over the years, I have had some students share their home lives with me, but many remain silent. I often wish those who were silent would share themselves through their voices or in their writing. However, the type of writing in my classroom does not always lend itself to this type of exchange. I, myself, don’t share my story or experiences as much or as often as I have in the past. Students need to know their teachers to build those trusted relationships that Angelica had in chapter 7. “Our presence in the classroom is ineluctably animated by our own experiences as learners, our implicit and explicit notions of what constitutes knowledge,and what it means to be an educated person. These shape the contours of what we imagine as being possible in the classroom. They also expose our vulnerabilities. As it is with students, so it is with teachers” (Campano, 2007, p. 91). To expose myself in the class would make me vulnerable; however, if it helped a child, it would be worth it. Now, I need to reshape my instruction so that it lends itself to sharing my story so that my students can share theirs.
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