do no harm:


idit dobb-weinstein: "teaching is action and thinking at once. What I try to guard against most when I teach is not speaking as if my answer were conclusive, so as to avoid (to the extent possible) any kind of dogmatic appropriation. It is understandable why students might wish to imitate their teachers, but there are different modes of imitation. I try very hard to avoid the mimetic appropriation that is immediate, passive, and occludes thinking. One other reason is that if I made clear what my views were, and my views appeared as if they were final, it would preclude the possibility of first, students challenging me and second, learning from my students. The relation between the student and teacher is, to me, a dynamic relationship . . . Teaching and learning is a movement that occurs between. In other words, we are at once both agent and patient, both teacher and learner. If we are not very careful, we can do a great deal of harm. And that, too, I have learned from my teachers, Maimonides especially.

I believe my task is to provoke students to think and to engage them in genuine dialogue and questioning. To paraphrase a rabbinic saying, 'I have learned from my teachers, and I have learned from my peers, but I have learned most from my students.' And that is a continuous process of learning."

Saturday, 29 May 2010

educational atmosphere: classroom maintenance


this was written for my class to explain why a hostile atmosphere irrevocably alters the learning atmosphere.  the complete paper can be found at: 
http://www.scribd.com/the-veil-a-return-to-silence/d/31282507

Preface: Tone and Atmosphere
Originally, I hoped to provide a very informative presentation and paper and blog and videoblog, using multimedia strategies to elucidate the subtleties of media conversation about the veil in Islam as it impacts people within Islam, or familiar with Islam, or transplanted to Los Angeles from predominantly Islamic countries. My notes are gathered at a web address http://hijabniqab.blogspot.com/. It became apparent that while the sensitivity of the subject matter posed the obstacle of how to be more sensitive, and non-offensive to my interviewees, meanwhile, in the classroom, I felt a pernicious degradation of respect for the students. At peril of further damaging my own health, I continue to return to class and pursue the course to completion. This paper written for the "ethnography" project fails to express the amount of time I spent in research of the subject matter and the enthusiasm I felt for my original thesis. I postulated that a huge cultural misunderstanding interprets the veil as misogynist, providing a quick way for westerners to evade accountability for their own civic failures to women, and that other perspectives are possible regarding the veil. The veil foundationally provides shelter to they who are traumatized by centuries of war, and offers protection against sun and sand and smog. My thetic point of origination postulated a blindness in the accusational burka-bashing popular in Europe and the USA. As all of my interviewees are subject to some amount of media influence, it is impossible to separate ourselves from this effect, and approach the veil in innocence. Within my blogged notes, their are references to theology, law, and geographical variation in dress and citations to films, blogs, and books which have helped me.
Due to the unfortunate circumstances in the classroom, which exposed a clear hostility towards women, as well as a personal email from the teacher which caused me to feel a vast amount of grief, i was no longer able to conduct research, as I was overcome with profound depression regarding the disrespect I was shown, and which actually elucidates my point, that misogyny here is alive and well. Attempts to accuse islam coincide with war propaganda and the sensational blind scapegoating of an unknown culture. I was also overwhelmed with the feeling that my thesis would be too subtle for my teacher to grasp without prejudice.
Is respectful anthropology possible in a hostile atmosphere, or after being told "you have no case" after asking for respect? How does classroom agression impact the student? How can I convey respect to my subjects, when I am given scant respect in the classroom? How is the classroom a place for the teacher to enact petty tempertantrums? How does this affect the students? Is the word "tits" conducive to a learning atmosphere, or being shouted at "tits and ass" after asking for respect? How can I use this paper to transcend pettiness? Teacher wrote: "With all due respect, you are completely out of line." "You will see that you have no case." "Finally, before you make a mountain out of a mole-hill, perhaps you need to revisit the entomology of the word "tit." It derives from teat, meaning nipple, and can be pronounced as tit or teet. Both men and women have them, as do the cows on the farm on which I grew up." I have never received such an email, especially not in any professional context. Perhaps the presumption was that i do not know how to use a dictionary, or that the dictionary will convey nuance of tone. It is my belief that the learning atmosphere is impaired by violations of the CA educational code 201 (a-c), and the email to me regarding "tit" has impaired my ability to write a paper about respect for women. Prior to this, I had written to teacher for guidance seeking a way to be more respectful. I found this show of disrespect and lack of professionalism, to maim my experience of the class, in addition to the personal anxiety it caused me.
201. (a) All pupils have the right to participate fully in the educational process, free from discrimination and harassment. (b) California's public schools have an affirmative obligation to combat racism, sexism, and other forms of bias, and a responsibility to provide equal educational opportunity. (c) Harassment on school grounds directed at an individual on the basis of personal characteristics or status creates a hostile environment and jeopardizes equal educational opportunity as guaranteed by the California Constitution and the United States Constitution.
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