explore how our beliefs, values, and world-views—our subjectivity—can affect how we express ourselves and interact with others.
In this task, you will analyze the subjectivity of a non-fiction author and discuss how your own subjectivity might impact your work as a teacher.
This document covers the following topics for PART A of Task 1:
CHOOSING A NON-FICTION WORK FOR THIS TASK
WHAT IS SUBJECTIVITY?
HOW DO I FIND AN AUTHOR’S SUBJECTIVITY?
HOW DO I DISCUSS THE AUTHOR’S SUBJECTIVITY FOR THIS TASK?
SAMPLE PARAGRAPH FOR PART A
CHOOSING A NON-FICTION WORK FOR THIS TASK:
While you can choose any kind of non-fiction writing you like, a piece that expresses a strong opinion on a topic suits this task best. Examples are editorials, opinion articles, and other works addressing topics on which people can disagree. If you are interested in a specific issue, you may find articles about it by googling the topic and the word “opinion” or “editorial.” If you are interested in local issues, check your town’s online newspaper or that of a nearby city for articles and editorials on topics that intrigue you. You can also check the following websites:
The New York Times Opinion page: http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html
The New York Times Opinionator Blog: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/
DailyOpEd.com: http://www.dailyoped.com/
HOW DO I DISCUSS THE AUTHOR’S SUBJECTIVITY FOR THIS TASK?
Part A of the task should focus on answering this question:
HOW DOES THE AUTHOR’S CHOICE OF WORDS REVEAL HIS/HER SUBJECTIVITY?
Important notes:
1. This task is NOT a summary of the article; you should not focus on repeating or explaining the author’s ideas.
2. The task does not ask you to provide your own opinion on the topic in your response. Rather, you should focus on the subjectivity of the author and how that subjectivity is revealed through his or her writing.
Your discussion of the author’s subjectivity should accomplish the following:
? Define the author’s subjectivity.
o Example: Because the author grew up with alcoholic parents, her subjectivity includes very strong feelings about the destructive effects alcohol can have on family life.
? Quote words and phrases that show the subjectivity.
o Example: She uses words like “destroy,” “devastate,” and “damage” to describe how an alcoholic parent affects a child.
? Analyze the words you quote to explain the subjective view they reveal.
o Example: These words all imply that the parent has a violent effect on the child, even when physical violence is not present.
? Connect your quotation to the author’s subjectivity.
o Example: This choice of words reveals the author’s strong negative feelings about how alcoholic parents affect their children, something she experienced in her own life.
See below for a sample analysis of subjectivity in a non-fiction work.
HOW DO I DISCUSS MY OWN SUBJECTIVITY IN PART B?
Just as Part A asks you to delve into an author’s subjectivity, Part B asks you to do a little soul-searching about aspects of your own subjectivity. At some point in most teachers’ careers, an issue arises where our own subjectivity comes in conflict with our professional role. Conflicts can occur between our beliefs or values and some aspect of the curriculum, school policy, or a very different subjectivity held by a student or parent. It’s not too soon to start thinking about what issues might create problems for you and how you will handle them!
For Part B, you should think of a specific issue or situation when some aspect of your subjectivity might conflict with the curriculum or the subjectivity of a student or parent. In other words, think of a situation where you know you would have feelings or beliefs that you would have to set aside and not express in the classroom or to a student or parent.
If you’re having trouble thinking of such a situation, here are some ways to generate ideas:
? What are the beliefs and values you feel most committed to? Once you’ve defined them for yourself, see if you can imagine a situation in which the curriculum you teach might conflict with these or where a student or parent might express different views on this issue, either through words or behavior.
? Think of situations you have experienced or witnessed in classrooms—as a student, a teacher, or a parent—that aroused strong feelings in you. What was your subjectivity in that situation? Was your subjectivity shared by others in the situation? If not, what conflicting subjectivities did others have? Can you imagine a student, parent, or other teacher having a very different subjectivity in that situation?
? Think of various aspects of your identity—gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc.—and the subjectivities that result from them. What beliefs or values do you have because you are a woman, or a man? A member of a particular race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, or
religion? What different subjectivities might the people you interact with have? What conflicts or problems might these differences create in the classroom?
In writing Part B, be sure to address all four of these points:
? Explain that aspect of your subjectivity that might cause a problem or conflict for you in your work as a teacher. What is your belief or value? What aspects of your identity or life experiences contributed to your holding that belief or value?
? Describe a specific situation where this subjectivity might conflict with curriculum or the subjectivity of a student or parent. This can be something that has happened or something you can imagine happening when you are a teacher in the future.
? Discuss how you will handle this situation; what will you do to ensure that you are creating a safe learning environment for the student(s) involved?
? Discuss how you will mediate (deal with) your own subjectivity so that you can avoid expressing bias for or against a student’s subjectivity or imposing your personal views on your students. Remember, your professional role as a teacher requires you to keep some aspects of your subjectivity out of the classroom. The purpose of Part B is for you to demonstrate that you understand this and have thought about how you will deal with it in your work as a teacher.
TASK 1 SAMPLE ORGANIZATION FOR PART B
While the format is entirely up to you, we suggest writing a paragraph in answer to each of the prompts. After choosing an issue, consider the following questions about that situation to help refine your ideas and organize your work according to the prompts:
1. In one paragraph, explain the subjectivity (the beliefs or feelings) that you know you would need to keep outside the classroom.
2. How could the feelings and reactions you describe in #1 create a problem if you expressed them in the classroom?
3. What specific things will you do in the classroom in that situation that will demonstrate your professionalism and create a positive learning environment for all your students?
4. How will you deal with your feelings to be sure that you don’t express them inappropriately in the classroom? How will you help yourself feel comfortable doing the things you describe in #3?
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