Reflecting on Agency
Module 4:
After listening to that NPR article gave me some kundalini shivers up my spine. It's funny, as I reflect back on my early teachers I can safely say all of them have become a mixture of memories woven into my experience as a "grade schooler." Meaning, I would be hard pressed to provide any information about their personalities or the influence they might have had on me. In my defense, my family was on the move constantly so I never fully received the hometown school feel, until around middle school. Therefore, as I sat and imagined what it would be like to be in Mr. Esquith's class receiving lessons on the true art of English had reminded me of the impact a teacher can have on their students during those early stages of schooling. An impact which in the long run has the potential to direct one's ambitions and motivate their successes.
The readings speak about Agency as being a manifestation of human intention which informs one's course of action and motivates core decision making. It also reflects upon our own thoughts of adequacy to overcome in a given situation as well as the ability to produce a desired result, aka "self-efficacy." Meanwhile, all these factors play a role in one's motivation, be it influenced via practicality or one's own self interest. Mr. Esquith's students show how these processes play out. Being an inner-city elementary school teacher Rafe Esquith is situated fairly low on the social and economic ladder living as an underpaid and non-essential asset in the US education system. Esquith had limited resources provided through the school board and city funding, however, through this adversary he was able to motivate himself to build an exceptional framework for his students to learn English and other topics. Unlike kids in the wealthier districts or private schools, many inner-city kids enter the classroom with low efficacy to succeed in school, they are motivated by the proxy of the their neighborhood, and experience a low expectation to complete public school or move on to higher education. Esquith recognized this reality and organized activities in his class that would reveal to his students their own agency, and raise the level of self-efficacy to a point that they could recognize their own ambitions and act upon them accordingly. Through Esquith's personal investments in material for learning Music, English, Math, and even Shakespeare (materials likely cut from school funding due to deteriorating socio-economic conditions) he was able to orientate his classes and extra-curricular activities to motivate kids who have low senses of agency, and teach them to be interested and engaged with learning. In contrast to the normative and impoverished classroom settings many inner-city kids will likely find themselves in. Mr. Esquith acted in accordance to the circumstances of the poor residents in L.A, and saw opportunity to act upon his own ideal to create change in their lives.
Rafe Esquith contribution revealed to me how the teacher must also realize their own agency, self-efficacy, and the nuances of their motivations and habits in order to pass on to their students the same lessons. In short, the student is only as good as the teacher allows them to be, and thus the teacher serves to be a reflection of his or her students.
After listening to that NPR article gave me some kundalini shivers up my spine. It's funny, as I reflect back on my early teachers I can safely say all of them have become a mixture of memories woven into my experience as a "grade schooler." Meaning, I would be hard pressed to provide any information about their personalities or the influence they might have had on me. In my defense, my family was on the move constantly so I never fully received the hometown school feel, until around middle school. Therefore, as I sat and imagined what it would be like to be in Mr. Esquith's class receiving lessons on the true art of English had reminded me of the impact a teacher can have on their students during those early stages of schooling. An impact which in the long run has the potential to direct one's ambitions and motivate their successes.
The readings speak about Agency as being a manifestation of human intention which informs one's course of action and motivates core decision making. It also reflects upon our own thoughts of adequacy to overcome in a given situation as well as the ability to produce a desired result, aka "self-efficacy." Meanwhile, all these factors play a role in one's motivation, be it influenced via practicality or one's own self interest. Mr. Esquith's students show how these processes play out. Being an inner-city elementary school teacher Rafe Esquith is situated fairly low on the social and economic ladder living as an underpaid and non-essential asset in the US education system. Esquith had limited resources provided through the school board and city funding, however, through this adversary he was able to motivate himself to build an exceptional framework for his students to learn English and other topics. Unlike kids in the wealthier districts or private schools, many inner-city kids enter the classroom with low efficacy to succeed in school, they are motivated by the proxy of the their neighborhood, and experience a low expectation to complete public school or move on to higher education. Esquith recognized this reality and organized activities in his class that would reveal to his students their own agency, and raise the level of self-efficacy to a point that they could recognize their own ambitions and act upon them accordingly. Through Esquith's personal investments in material for learning Music, English, Math, and even Shakespeare (materials likely cut from school funding due to deteriorating socio-economic conditions) he was able to orientate his classes and extra-curricular activities to motivate kids who have low senses of agency, and teach them to be interested and engaged with learning. In contrast to the normative and impoverished classroom settings many inner-city kids will likely find themselves in. Mr. Esquith acted in accordance to the circumstances of the poor residents in L.A, and saw opportunity to act upon his own ideal to create change in their lives.
Rafe Esquith contribution revealed to me how the teacher must also realize their own agency, self-efficacy, and the nuances of their motivations and habits in order to pass on to their students the same lessons. In short, the student is only as good as the teacher allows them to be, and thus the teacher serves to be a reflection of his or her students.
That was a good reflection on the listening passage. You did a good job of describing the adversity that Esquith faced and largely overcame. I wonder, however, to what extent teachers in seemingly better (i.e. more affluent) schools might face challenges in raising efficacy, albeit of a different kind. For example, in such schools, teachers may face the problem of "the grade". That is, students may have goals, such as attending college, but it may be an expectation placed on them by their context rather than by themselves. Often, those students are forever working "for a grade" rather than for the value of education. It's an interesting question to think about.
ReplyDeleteWith regard to agency, what challenges do you think you may face in China? With young students? I don't know whether you have a clear picture of your specific future teaching context, but to the extent that you do, what do you think you may be able to do to address issues of agency within your student demographic?
As a side note, I know that you probably typed this post quickly so as to keep pace with your thought process, and I know that in the case of typing, we often revise parts of our sentences and forget to revise other parts, resulting in typos. Nevertheless, given that as English teachers, we model language usage to our students, I would be remiss if I did not point out that the first paragraph has two sentences with major clausal errors that, if I were teaching my level 300 writing students, would result in an automatic "C" for grammar. I point this out simply to issue a fun challenge: Can you find them?
Thanks for your response!
ReplyDeleteYes, absolutely that is very interesting question regarding "the grade" as a sole motivator!
As for China, I will be teaching grade schoolers (1st, 2nd year most likely), to which I have been doing a lot of thinking on the challenges that entails!
And finally, yes that first paragraph is extremely choppy! Considering I typed it more as a preface to get into flow. I am assuming the error is in the repetition of clauses? I'm not sure.
Good try. I'll help.
ReplyDeleteFirst error: "After listening to that NPR article gave me some kundalini shivers up my spine."
You start with an adverb clause word "after" for make a clause, "After listening to that NPR article," after which an independent clause is needed (i.e. subject + verb + possible compliment). However, you started with a verb: "gave". I suspect, you were thinking, "Listening to that NPR article gave me some kundalini shivers up my spine," with "Listening to that NPR article" being your gerund (noun) phrase.
The second error was the same type: "Therefore, as I sat and imagined what it would be like to be in Mr. Esquith's class receiving lessons on the true art of English had reminded me of the impact a teacher can have on their students during those early stages of schooling."
The complete adverb clause ends after the word "English", after which and independent clause is needed.