Reflection Upon Class Discussion

With regard to what I witnessed last Monday, I would say that little of what I was forced to listen to was pleasant to me. However, there was one very important message I am going to take with me for the rest of my teaching life.

Starting off with the negative side of the discussion, I unfortunately confirmed that things in real life happen similarily to what we performed in class last Monday. In other words, groups are very biased about their own needs. For example, business people are very concerned about what their employees can produce. They primarily look for profits. In the end, there is little or no concern at all about the employees' success. Employees are viewed as tools, which need to be shaped accordingly to function in a particular area. Because money rules, little is done by these business people to improve and develop their employees' skills. You are either in or out. There is no concern about your personal development. Another example is those successful kids' parents. It is very easy for those parents to point out that all kids must develop at the pace their kids do, as if these parents never heard of "diversity". Instead of accusing "unsuccessful" kids of lowering the community quality, these parents should be more empathetic towards those who struggle with learning.

But there was a great message I learned from that discussion. I totally agree that EVERYONE should be held accountable for the children's process of learning. Teachers, parents, business people, principals, neighbors, and so on have a great amount of accountability towards kids' social and cognitive development. NO ONE is entitled to claim that only one group or another influence children's learning. That's when reflectiveness falls heavily on people's shoulders.