Learning to speak from my place
Hi,
At the risk of sounding a bit odd, I thought I would share with you what I wrote last year for my tenure application file. Part of the application involved writing a teaching philosophy, and I wanted to speak to the tremendous influence Bev has had on my teaching methodology and energy in the classroom. Here is an excerpt:
'One formative experience during my graduate work occurred in a course taught by Beverley Diamond. In her classes, Bev had an incredible ability to engage her students, and highlight what each individual brought to the table. Most of the time this gave students a strong sense of inclusion and made them feel that they could contribute uniquely to discussions. There were necessary moments, however, when dealing with issues of identity, particularly difference, that students felt they were not as relevant to the discussion because they spoke from places of privilege or lack thereof. I recall one fellow student's struggle with this notion. She felt that her position in the classroom was limited because she did not share the degree of social marginalization that many of the rest of us enjoyed. This was a revelation to me. Never had I thought of my own marginalization as a place of priviledge and power, but over time it had become exactly that. For the first time in my life my social difference was allowing me unique access into critical discussions and suddenly I realized it had also become a conceptual blindspot. My classmate asked Bev about her own subject position: "Must I always speak from this place?" "No," Bev replied, "you will not always speak from that place, but you can never speak without it." That was a critical moment for me. I finally felt like I was in my skin and now I was learning to see that skin, peel it back, let it heal, move forward. Let it be a part of me that I hold gently. Learning to ask difficult questions about identity with "our places" intact (even though these places may be constrantly in flux) is an important process I learned from Bev which I employ now within my own seminar classes. We learn together to become "comfortable being uncomfortable," as we explore our individual avenues for social change.'
Bev has a way of making students feel comfortable in seminars and she asks us to take responsibility for our positions and social difference. Never did I feel that my sexual orientation was a liability. Indeed, it became a position of strength and insight which must now be balanced and monitored and challenged. For this, I am indebted.
Kip
At the risk of sounding a bit odd, I thought I would share with you what I wrote last year for my tenure application file. Part of the application involved writing a teaching philosophy, and I wanted to speak to the tremendous influence Bev has had on my teaching methodology and energy in the classroom. Here is an excerpt:
'One formative experience during my graduate work occurred in a course taught by Beverley Diamond. In her classes, Bev had an incredible ability to engage her students, and highlight what each individual brought to the table. Most of the time this gave students a strong sense of inclusion and made them feel that they could contribute uniquely to discussions. There were necessary moments, however, when dealing with issues of identity, particularly difference, that students felt they were not as relevant to the discussion because they spoke from places of privilege or lack thereof. I recall one fellow student's struggle with this notion. She felt that her position in the classroom was limited because she did not share the degree of social marginalization that many of the rest of us enjoyed. This was a revelation to me. Never had I thought of my own marginalization as a place of priviledge and power, but over time it had become exactly that. For the first time in my life my social difference was allowing me unique access into critical discussions and suddenly I realized it had also become a conceptual blindspot. My classmate asked Bev about her own subject position: "Must I always speak from this place?" "No," Bev replied, "you will not always speak from that place, but you can never speak without it." That was a critical moment for me. I finally felt like I was in my skin and now I was learning to see that skin, peel it back, let it heal, move forward. Let it be a part of me that I hold gently. Learning to ask difficult questions about identity with "our places" intact (even though these places may be constrantly in flux) is an important process I learned from Bev which I employ now within my own seminar classes. We learn together to become "comfortable being uncomfortable," as we explore our individual avenues for social change.'
Bev has a way of making students feel comfortable in seminars and she asks us to take responsibility for our positions and social difference. Never did I feel that my sexual orientation was a liability. Indeed, it became a position of strength and insight which must now be balanced and monitored and challenged. For this, I am indebted.
Kip
posted by Kip Pegley at 5:19 PM
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