Engagement

I thought that the engagement chapter was thought provoking, even if I did disagree with some of the ways that the teachers got their kids engaged. I think that one of the common mistakes that teachers make in the engagement of their students is that they think that if they get down on the students' level and use humiliation and humor (derogatory, degrading or otherwise) that they will be respected and trusted as an adult to 'understands'. In the entry that discussed the student who was making an argument about homosexuality being wrong, the teacher called her out and asked her to recite the ten commandments. The student was humiliated and became angry about the situation, and although I think that the teacher DID teach a lasting lesson about blind faith, I feel that this was done in the wrong way. By humiliating the student, the teacher was opening up a can of worms that I, were I that teacher, would not want to open. Even IF that student's parents didn't call the school administrators in outrage, the teacher was possibly showing students that it is OK to humiliate students based on their religious beliefs. I also think that it would be easier for the teacher to have taught the students the same valuable lesson using real class material, which would not open the teacher up to sharing his own political beliefs (because unfortunately, sexuality has become a political issue). I feel that random teachable moments are very valuable teaching tools, but must not illicit knee-jerk reactions.