#5 Troublemakers

 This weeks blog post is about the preface and introduction of Troublemakers.  The very first thing that is stated in the preface is “I care about the lives of children at school because I am an educator, and as an educator it is my job on insist on every child's right to a classroom experience that daily honors her, reveres her smarts, engages her curiosities, and ensures her dignity.But I also care about the lives of children at school because I am a human being, and as a human being I recognize every child's unalienable right to be free”.  I think this statement right here is so relatable and is part of the reason why I want to be a teacher.  I think this sentence for me can reflect my own personal experience of why I am going to school to be an art teacher.  I want to work with children because I care about them and want to help the next generation of students grow.  However, I also know that as a teacher I will have a huge impact on children’s life and that I believe I can recognize the rights that children should have and the way they should be treated.  Teachers have a strong impact on students and making sure that children are treated appropriately and teaching them their rights are extremely important. Another line from the preface on page 1 is "A free person can expect to be seen and treated as a full human being, free from any threats to her identity, to her cultural value...." This made me realize that I want to be a teacher that embraces students culture and who they are.  I want to be a teacher that will care and provide support for all kinds of kids no matter the differences we all share or how the student behaves. I want to be a teacher that doesn’t give up on any of their students. I want to be a teacher that doesn't believe in stereotypes and not judge my students.  I want to support my students when they are questioning their freedom and help them be treated the way they deserve to be treated. 

On page two of the preface it says " Schools value quiet children over loud ones and operate as though adults are the only teachers in the room. The adults get to speak while the young people listen. Questions are answered rather than asked. Our schools are designed to prepare children to take their assumed place in the social order rather than to question and challenge order".  This quote from the preface made me realize that I fall into the category of being one of the quiet students.  I avoid getting or being in trouble and most of the time in school I only talked when I had to or I knew what I had to say was right or important.  The students that were seen as the loud ones and were quieted by school officials were made to be seen as "troublemakers".  I think at that time I saw it as a distraction to the classroom. Although at the time I never questioned it, looking back now, they had every right to question school policies if they felt that it was something against their rights.  These students were really just trying to stand up for what they thought was right and try to find answers for questions that they had about their rights and freedom.