"Why does Sense of Place matter and what does it mean to the
practice of teaching for there to be multiple sense of place in any one moment
and in any one place (i.e. a classroom)?"
From all of the readings and the assignments we did on our
School Portrait as well as the Multilayers of My Place have taught me a lot
about sense of place and my own sense of place.
If you had asked me a couple months ago whether I knew what sense of
place was and if it were important, I would have told you “yes I do” and “yes
it is” but I probably couldn’t have explained why very well. However, from our readings I have learned about
so many different layers of sense of place and it’s importance. On a personal level I have learned that sense
of place is more than just a geographical place and particularly not just the
place you were born. My sense of place
had always just encompassed places on Maui where I grew up. Those places are very special to me have
shaped my beliefs, life experiences, and culture. I originally felt very uncomfortable teaching
anywhere else besides Maui since that was the only place I knew for 21 years of
my life. I figured I would be able to
relate to the students on Maui better an anywhere else since we mostly came
from the same place, particularly central Maui.
I never really thought about Kapolei and Ewa Beach really being apart of
my sense of place since I have only lived in Kapolei for two and a half years
and I’ve only been teaching at Campbell for a little over a year. At first, I really didn’t see me fitting into
these places. However, after a year of
teaching at Campbell I definitely feel a stronger sense of place in the
community, my school, and my classroom.
There was and still are so many things I don’t know about Ewa Beach, Campbell High School, and my students. I really didn’t know what to write when it came to my Profile of School assignment. However, as I started writing it I realized that I did know quite a bit more than I thought. I really have learned so much about Ewa Beach, Campbell High School, and my students in the last year. I didn’t know that there was a distinction between Ewa Beach and Ewa or the two intermediate schools in the area. I was really lucky to have a good friend, Ms. Jo-Hanna Valdez, who graduated with my from UH Manoa who is a Campbell grad and is also a new teacher at Campbell with me. It was extremely helpful to have her share her sense of place of Ewa Beach and Campbell with me.
I always felt that placed-based education was extremely important. In the beginning of my education I always felt that it was all about the “place” that made place-based education work. However, it’s not just about the “place” itself. Placed-based education means nothing without our students feeling a connection to that “place” through experience such as service learning or through other’s sharing their sense of that place with them.
The "place" does not always have to be off campus. The most important "place" for us as teachers and our students are our classroom. It is where I will spend the most time with my students. We need to have our classroom a positive an safe environment. To do so we need to give our students experiences in our classroom to give them a sense of place that it a safe place to share and so they become invested and engaged in class discussions and activities.
As a teacher, I want my students to leave my class at the end of the year better than they when they started. Whether that is with a better understanding of mathematics or just a better understanding of themselves or life itself. As a second year teacher, I always understood I would have students from different backgrounds and with different life experiences. I didn’t really think about those things as multiple senses of place. Now with a better understanding of what sense of place means and my own sense of place in Ewa Beach, Campbell High School, and our classroom I can be more aware of the difference sense of places of my students to help engage them in the content. I also hope that by my co-teacher and I sharing our different senses of place with our students and our students sharing their sense of place we can all grow through understanding and become more aware of and proactive in our classroom, school, and community.
There was and still are so many things I don’t know about Ewa Beach, Campbell High School, and my students. I really didn’t know what to write when it came to my Profile of School assignment. However, as I started writing it I realized that I did know quite a bit more than I thought. I really have learned so much about Ewa Beach, Campbell High School, and my students in the last year. I didn’t know that there was a distinction between Ewa Beach and Ewa or the two intermediate schools in the area. I was really lucky to have a good friend, Ms. Jo-Hanna Valdez, who graduated with my from UH Manoa who is a Campbell grad and is also a new teacher at Campbell with me. It was extremely helpful to have her share her sense of place of Ewa Beach and Campbell with me.
I always felt that placed-based education was extremely important. In the beginning of my education I always felt that it was all about the “place” that made place-based education work. However, it’s not just about the “place” itself. Placed-based education means nothing without our students feeling a connection to that “place” through experience such as service learning or through other’s sharing their sense of that place with them.
The "place" does not always have to be off campus. The most important "place" for us as teachers and our students are our classroom. It is where I will spend the most time with my students. We need to have our classroom a positive an safe environment. To do so we need to give our students experiences in our classroom to give them a sense of place that it a safe place to share and so they become invested and engaged in class discussions and activities.
As a teacher, I want my students to leave my class at the end of the year better than they when they started. Whether that is with a better understanding of mathematics or just a better understanding of themselves or life itself. As a second year teacher, I always understood I would have students from different backgrounds and with different life experiences. I didn’t really think about those things as multiple senses of place. Now with a better understanding of what sense of place means and my own sense of place in Ewa Beach, Campbell High School, and our classroom I can be more aware of the difference sense of places of my students to help engage them in the content. I also hope that by my co-teacher and I sharing our different senses of place with our students and our students sharing their sense of place we can all grow through understanding and become more aware of and proactive in our classroom, school, and community.
Hey Ashley,
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty crazy no? How much we all have learned in this short time period. I thought that just running an activity in a place made the place important, but that's not always the case. I kind of wish that I knew in the beginning of Ka Pilina what I know now.
"As a teacher, I want my students to leave my class at the end of the year better than they when they started. Whether that is with a better understanding of mathematics or just a better understanding of themselves or life itself."
I really like this because if students leave your class feeling like that they will most likely have a more positive out look on math which can make all the difference.
Hi Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your blog this week:) I totally agree with you when you say that classrooms are also an important part of our students' sense of place. Our classrooms, like the communities they are located in, also have their own culture. However, this is the one "place" where we can control and alter the culture if needed. Like you said, we can create a safe and positive environment where students are given opportunities to engage in and feel safe in participating in activities and discussions.