Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the importance of a teacher's ability to cope with students' natural outspokenness or curiosity while avoiding incidents that violate the rights of other children. Specifically, the paper discusses how teachers may need to cope with cultural differences and issues of religion in the classroom. It discusses a specific incident that occurred in Toronto involving an Aboriginal student and comments regarding Aboriginal religion that were made by students who had little knowledge of the religion. The paper analyzes the students' and teacher's responses.

From the Paper:

" In this regard, the incident was very human and a helpful one in its showing students and the teacher the need to approach others with one's ignorance in mind, framing questions carefully, along with the statements one makes in settings where one can voice a direct opinion. In responding to the incident and its resulting awkwardness in the classroom, a brief exercise on the part of the teacher helped in preparing this paper in ensuring that the main issue had been grasped in a student being offended on account of a remark addressing religion and culture and who happened to be an Aboriginal person, upset that such opinion would be voiced against his tradition. From there, the significance of seeing the incident shared and discussed in a corrective manner, providing a lesson from the experience seemed the manner in which to diffuse the situation and to show the student that had voiced an unfair opinion that the atmosphere was not one that restricted his speech but asked him to reconsider an opinion in the light of its hurtfulness to others. As opposed to environments of old in which some students were silenced when expressing unwanted sentiment, this approach upheld the rights of the speaker to freedom of expression while showing plain respect for the point of view of the Aboriginal student."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction - a Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.(1977). Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. Beverly Hills: Sage.
• Government of Canada. (1982). Part I: Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, The Constitution Act. Ottawa.
• Dickinson, G.M. and W.R. Dolmage. (1996). Education Law and Multiculturalism - a Trio becomes a Quartet. (course materials).

Visitors who viewed this Term Paper also liked these:

• Descriptive Essay # 131728 : "Cultural Difference in the Classroom."
• Analytical Essay # 147550 : "Applying Soto and CALLA in the Classroom"
• Analytical Essay # 136827 : "Proletarianization and Professionalization in the Classroom"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: