Learning Processes Blog x 2

I have been thoroughly enjoying Takaki. I am not really a fan of history books and seem to forget facts and lessons that I have learned throughout my school years. Yet I feel as if the way Takaki represents his facts and information, I am better able to comprehend the messages coming across. I feel that one of the reasons for this is because Takaki's book has an extremely large amount of emotion coming through in his writing. History text books are usually dry, containing zero emotion and boring the students to death with facts. I think that this book shows me something valuable that I can use when teaching lessons on history. I believe that finding some sources, maybe not the main source, but a supplement, that includes opinions, reflections or emotional accounts from past events, can be very beneficial. These pieces that include feelings and thoughts of real people will help the students to make more of a connection to the material instead of just hearing about the happenings at an event.

I believe too though, that in using materials such as these comes with a certain responsibility for the teacher. Facilitating conversations with the class about the feelings that they might have had if they were put in the same situation, or asking if they agree with the decisions that the people may have made. Just reading them these emotional and thought filled accounts is not enough. Making that connection from students to text is SO important. If you tell me that there was slavery I can tell you that I have heard that many times throughout my life. But if you provide me with meaningful accounts from people who were slaves themselves, who describe the conditions, the emotional turmoil,and their triumphs, I know that I am much more likely to take something out of the lesson.

Takaki provides accounts that he says are truthful and I believe that they have this much more of an impact because he connects them to people. Knowing that this information has come from a real life person and these terrible things were being done to a real life person means much more than an idol fact in a textbook. As I read Takaki I continue to sort out the information that comes from people's accounts and the information that is presented as facts. I may not be able to remember every fact, but I sure have an easier time remembering the terrible accounts of hunger and mistreatment.

This being said, I also think that it is vital to keep the information from these accounts appropriate for the grades in which it is being taught. Being able to provide powerful information as Takaki does is not going to be easy for the lower grades. You want to be able to teach them lessons of importance on acceptance and equality and highlight that in the past and even now there are cases where these things are not being done. You want to give them examples of this kind of injustice so that they can see how it makes others feel but at the same time you don't want to give them examples that will scare them. This delicate balance will also be a challenge as a teacher. I think that taking the time and effort to find these appropriate real-life examples is definitely worth it in the long run and for optimal results in learning.