Terry’s Response to LER #4

I have become aware of so many disturbing things throughout this course – but in a good way, really! And because of what I’ve learned, I view my role in the world differently than I did before January 7th, 2009. I am no longer the citizen who just pays her taxes and shovels her snow in winter and mows her lawn in summer, who donates to the Food Bank when the Girl Guides come around in October; the one who shakes her head at the news when another woman goes missing, or the one who says, “Thank goodness child labour isn’t happening here!” I am leaving this class as a socially responsible, and responsive, citizen. I now question why we charge school fees, why we have so many children living in poverty in Regina, why schools have “Lulu Lemon Day” and “Luxury Day”, why we are eating genetically-modified food, why people are patenting food, why, why, why?? So many eye-opening moments in this class; thank you so much, Marc, for taking us on this journey.

To use Dr. Ayers’ words, I have ‘learned about’ history in this course, now I can help my family, friends, and students ‘learn from’ history by making them aware, encouraging them to question why things are the way they are, and then challenging them to take action against whichever injustice is near and dear to their hearts. And as a good role model, I will lead by example with my passion about stopping the use of child soldiers.

In order to review what I have done, as Dr. Ayers recommends, I will have to wait until my unit on child soldiers is complete. My hope is that my students will begin to critique other happenings in the world, and will feel moved to take action, if not now, then in the future when they find their passions for justice.

“Power is not just wielded from the top, but something that comes as well from below.” Dr. Ayers’ words motivate me to find that power to make a difference in our world.