Hello, my name can be pronounced Enoch in English, Hanokh in
Hebrew/Ge’ez, or Edris in the Arabic language; and out of the three, I prefer to be called Edris.
As a future educator, I believe it is important to have equality,
equity, fairness, and representation of other cultures and views in the
classroom. It is also important to continue striving to create a culture where
all students are made to feel inclusive so they can achieve and are provided
with the best tools, resources, and opportunities to learn. This inclusive
perspective leaves no culture behind, including those with disabilities, seeing
we are all apart of the global community.
I strongly believe educators should be conscious and
respectful to students by removing all known barriers that could hinder
students from learning, and thereby allowing students to learn within the
learning style(s) that is best for them. There is no point, nor would it be
fair to force students into learning from the educators learning style only,
and still expect for them to succeed. This is what happened to me as a child
and because of that I was often times placed in special education classrooms,
which also happen to be “one” of my areas of study. Imagine that.
With that being said, my future goal is to one day work in
the areas of special education and gain experience working with that culture. I
would also like to work in a college/and or university setting as a professor
and conduct research, publish, and possibly even be a director for community
development/engagement center, hopefully at a university, to help provide an
environment where all students can feel free to celebrate their cultural
heritage, and strive to promote the creation of a safe and welcoming community that
encourages all students, staff, and faculty, to become active as well as
involved citizens within the campus community and surrounding region.
In an attempt to strengthen my educational awareness. I will
research to find out the answers to the following questions: 1. What means the
most to the community and region, 2. How do you choose a partner for a project
or program, 3. What are the available resources available in a given community
or region, 4. How does one write a competitive grant for funding, 5. How does
one publish the results of a successful project, 6. How does one get volunteers
and donations for project(s), and 7. How does one create job opportunities that
wont discriminate against those with disabilities?
Hopefully, I will be able to
shadow under influential professors and professionals qualified to educate and
train me toward my goals. With a declining economy and frequent budget cuts,
having mastery in the following areas will leave me confident that I will
arrive prepared to a highly competitive job market with much to offer any
giving community. Thank you.
Enoch, as a future educator I appreciate your enthusiasm with trying to incorporate a historically inclusive perspective when teaching history. I know that when I have my own classroom one day I will try my best to try and provide my students with a variety of perspectives; I believe that my challenge with trying to accomplish that will be to provide a perspective which younger students will comprehend. Your story is touching and is unlike any other story I have ever heard. I personally praise people who have decided to dedicate their lives to teaching students in special education programs, because I can only imagine the amount of patience that will be required in order to effectively help students with learning disabilities. I have never taken the time to hear the perspective of a student who has gone through special education programs, because like the majority of society, I dismiss those stories and regard them as respectfully unique. I think you need to tell your story to anyone who is willing to listen and help create an awareness of the struggles of learning through a special education program. You will make a wonderful professor one day!
ReplyDeleteEnoch, would you prefer to called Edris in class, or should we stick to Enoch? You have had a wide variety of experiences to draw from that will help you as you work with students. In the CSUSM School of Education Mission Statement, I suspect there are ideas that match with your intentions and goals. What part of the Mission Statement speaks to you?
ReplyDeleteProfessor Adina,
DeleteThanks for asking what name I prefer being identified as. I really appreciate it. Not to many people have put to much thought into asking us [so-called] African American what name we would like to be identified as, and I could be wrong in my assumption. I prefer being called [Edris] over Enoch or Hanokh. The name Edris, along with Hanokh, has more ancestor connection/identity to me than Enoch (although I like the name Enoch as well). If you don’t know where you came from then how are you going to know where you are going, was constantly told to me as a youngster by my elders but didn’t hit home until I got much older.
After doing extensive research retracing to find out who the [so-called] African Americans once were according to their ancestral perspective or the other half of the story which, by the way, differ majorly from what American public education taught me concerning those same ancient people – and the reason being is because the winner of history gets to rewrite history. I also got to learn what my name meant in my ancestor language(s) as well and I was so happy with what I have found that I decided - without asking anyone for permission – that from that point on, I would adopt and embrace my [ancestral identity/name] without question. I also noticed my views posted in my blog titled “SpEd/P-12 Classrooms & Beyond Powered by Technology: About Me” happens to complement what CSUSM Mission Statement says; both of them are pretty much identical or saying the same thing.
Any questions?