My overall thoughts of the discussion were enlightening. Many points, about all topics, challenged my thinking and even my biases that I had come into the class with, making me rethink my own stance of what I believed, or more importantly, what stance I should have for the bettering of my students. I felt that all topics had such factual backgrounds that it was hard to disagree with many, if any of them.
The points that were made in the ableism discussion (obviously) were the ones that I agreed with most, simply because I was the most educated in that field. It was my goal to not talk a lot in that discussion because I wanted to hear what everyone else had to say, and I stuck with my goal. My thoughts were really challenged with my own topic of poverty and the rural population topic. Not being from an area where either one of these issues were prevalent, opened my eyes to the fact that these problems exist. I was surprised to know that biases and prejudice against rural areas was still in existence. I'm sure that I will continue to be more surprised about what I find in the classroom as I gain more experience.
I would love to use a group difference forum in my classrooms. I feel that it is a great opportunity for students to become 'experts' in a field, gives them an opportunity to practice summarization of facts, and become leaders in discussion. It helps with critical thinking skills and communication skills.
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