Debate and discussion was the hallmark of this weeks activities...
Most of the class was focused on nailing our presentations, so we were split into smaller groups and dispersed around the college, cameras at the ready. Our group did really well, Clive and Trevor did fine jobs and we readily offered constructive feedback. My presentation can be viewed - comments welcome, please be gentle or alternatively you can have a look at my notes.
How did I feel about the exercise?
Well, I was happy with the content, although whether I have fully met the criteria set by the curriculum is uncertain. the teaching jargon that is used is still a little alien to me, so I await my tutor's feedback.
The delivery was not without flaws - Too much reliance on notes and poor audience contact took something away from the presentation, perhaps when I become more familiar with the subjects involved with the course, my fluency and confidence will improve. I also went over by 30 seconds...
After a much needed break - the Debates began...
Reflective Practice was where we started. This is certainly another key approach and it's fair to say that while reflecting on the practice is fine. Reflecting in the practice will present greater challenges. Much discussion arose over the various versions - Borton, Gibbs and Kolb. Apparently, the Gibbs model arose to incorporate emotion and feelings into the equation. Some were drawn to the Gibbs model, others, including myself felt the Gibbs model was to cluttered and unnecessary - was the Borton model made for automatons? No, so when reflecting on "What", "So What" and "Now What", a human being would automatically include emotionally responses in their deliberations. This was only the beginning!
Next came Ensuring Equality and Celebrating Diversity. Zaeed, to start things off, made the statement that as a practising Muslim, He doesn't approve of same sex relationships, so how does that fit into the role of being a tutor that abides by the equality legislation? Simply put - Personal beliefs don't prevent you from accepting that people have freedom to make life choices, a tutor's responsibility is to deal fairly and professionally with all they meet. My favourite comment of the evening was made by Jo on the subject of Equal opportunities - " Equal opportunities doesn't mean treating everybody the same, it means, acknowledging that some people will need more help and support to have the same opportunities."
Since when has the subject of Equality been simple? How quickly things can go wrong became evident a moment later.
We were discussing whether a tutor should always challenge unacceptable attitudes? Generally we agreed they should... I raised the point though, that when Zaeed made his opening comments relating to his Islamic beliefs, his intention was to chuck a " hand grenade" into the class to stir up a discussion... It worked, but I had reservations that getting some students to perhaps open up and possibly admit to a specific religious belief or their sexuality may make them a target for certain prejudiced classmates - how does this fit into a tutors responsibility to safeguard his students? Perhaps a little discernment and prudence would influence the point at which such discussion sessions would take place...
Any way all of my point nearly fell away because of my " Hand grenade" comment. I was just using a term an old secondary school teacher of mine used to use, to indicate stirring things up! But when another student made an association with Muslims and Grenades, it became evident I had dropped a clanger, it wasn't pleasant.
Embarrassed? Yes. Annoyed? Yes...
Why was I annoyed? Well through every day I have to tolerate language that I find offensive due to my religious beliefs, people routinely punctuate statements with "Jesus Christ" or " Oh my God"... I have learnt to let these go, perhaps I shouldn't. Yet I made one innocent comment and due to the sad situation in society now, an unfortunate association was made and I was seen to be making a racist remark.
The overwhelming emotion was embarrassment... Ultimately, I am responsible for what comes out of my mouth. So the fact that someone was able to misconstrue my comments, stresses to me that a tutor must be very careful what language is used, even reviewing what may have once been acceptable.
One old proverb states - "Do not hurry in your spirit to become offended..." I am grateful that Zaeed was similarly slow in taking offence... Still, it was a very important lesson in taking great care and how important information can be lost through one misplaced word. A further lesson for me was the need not to jump to conclusions... Was what the student said offensive? Or are they just using a term they don't fully understand? either way these two questions and numerous others highlight that there is rarely a "one size fits all" solution and tutors really need to come to know the class and tailor any response accordingly.
Equality and Diversity certainly stirred up a lively discussion, no one can go through life without making mistakes, perhaps the most important skill to learn is how to say "sorry".
