Black ants and buddhists

Chapter one of Black ants and Buddhists is about a person who began her undergraduate education at thirty-four years old. During one of her classes she was asked to write a response, and she wrote about one of her experiences as an organizer in New Jersey. She wasn’t sure that her experience was a perfect response. Her response made her teacher believe that she had read the pedagogy of the oppressed because her experience was basically problem-posing education. She later became a teacher and decided to teach critically. She did not want to treat students as the receptors because she believed that she could learn from them and they could learn from her.

Chapter one is very important because it introduces the idea that students can learn from the teacher but the students can also provide ideas (Cowhey, 2006). This also emphasized the idea that students should also be given the opportunity to converse with the teacher and to voice their opinions because this is a way of gaining knowledge. This was really eye opening because I’ve had professors who have refused to accept the students’ ideas, simply because they are the teachers, and they say that they are more knowledgeable. This made me realize that even if we are the teachers, we have to listen to our students’ ideas because they have many things to contribute. I believe teachers should validate or listen to the students’ ideas because students are more encouraged to learn when they are actively participating.

            I really liked chapter one of  Black ands and Buddhists because this has changed my perspective on how I will teach in my classroom. In my future classroom, I will give my students the opportunity to express their thoughts. I will allow my students to express their ideas because this is a way in which I can learn from my student’s perspectives. Allowing them to voice their opinions will benefit my students and me as a teacher. I will also encourage my students to voice their opinions even if they might not have the same opinions as their peer’s. I want to create a respectful and caring community in my classroom. I will let my students know that even if I am the teacher, they can ask me questions, they don’t necessarily have to validate everything I say because I am the teacher. I want them to understand that we can learn from each other and that learning requires the students and the teacher’s input.