Reflective Questions

Quite unintentionally, indeed with the very best of intentions, Melissa Morgan found herself in the center of a controversy that could have turned into a major issue both in her classroom and in her community. On reflection, it is likely that Melissa might have asked herself the following questions. Think about how you would answer these questions if you were in Melissa’s place.

1		Having grown up in a town very much like the one in which she taught and having taught in her school for five years, how is it that Melissa didn’t think about what she knew to be a streak of deep-seated conservatism present in the community?
2		Once her students’ project was underway, are there strategies she could have used that might have forestalled the objections voiced by some parents after they saw the exhibit at the open house?
3		As you will see in the case of the new kindergarten teacher in Chapter 10, acting as an agent of change can be tricky business, particularly when the school in which you teach is a very traditional one. Certainly, it is often easier to go with the flow of traditional school culture than to try to change it. It does not appear, however, that Melissa thought of herself as a change agent; rather, she was attempting only to utilize existing human and intellectual resources in a better way for the sake of her students. What are some of the factors that turn a seemingly innocent curricular activity into a potential source of protest?
4		Melissa attempted to resolve the issue by going to a number of community leaders. Are there dangers in this strategy? What might some of those dangers be?
5		Melissa could have simply dismissed the objections raised to her use of religious information in the classroom as ignorant, unenlightened, or prejudiced behavior. How would that view have undermined her strong belief in religious pluralism?
6		When the episode was over, Melissa began to think about some of the long-standing practices of American schooling, such as the way most schools use Christian holidays—particularly Christmas and Easter—as sources for both curricular and extracurricular activities. Are such traditional practices fitting subject for review and rethinking?
7		In her meeting with the clergy council, Melissa did not mention that, according to the most recent Supreme Court decisions, she was well within her rights to teach about religion in her classroom. Should she have raised that issue? Might there have been some negative results if she had?