26 April 2013
Privilege
by Andy Crowe, Bachelor of Teaching student
I have been sitting at my laptop for 5 hours, pouring over readings, occasionally pulled by the gravitational force of Facebook as though it were the Earth and I were the moon. Although, the relationship would probably be more true if the analogy were flipped. I successfully dismissed it’s advances more often than not.
In any case, here I am, in the middle of an assignment on the “Pedagogical and Social Challenges of Mathematics Assessment.” In what seems an instant, but has probably been brewing for the duration of the morning, I am overwhelmed. You’re thinking, overwhelmed by what? The enormity of the assignment? It’s only 1500 words. The disparate connections that need to be conjured in such a brief exploration? No, it’s quite congruent actually. You don’t know where to begin? Not really, I have an idea and an outline already.
I have been overwhelmed by the privilege of learning. It is an absolute privilege to spend all this time learning. It really is. I have the lecture room to myself, the whirring of the fan on my laptop blends into the empty space around me. I’m free to think, shape and dream.
I know there is lots to learn and get my head around. I know I need to get over myself and learn to just be, my future students will benefit from a teacher who is not so much concerned about what he thinks others think of him, but more concerned about their learning. It’s a privilege.
Keep learning and get involved!