As a part of MSTU 5002, Culture, Media, and Education, I had a chance to read an excellent book called "It's Not About Grit: Trauma, Inequality, and the Power of Transformative Teaching". This book gave me a deeper look into issues such as Health and Housing, Immigration, and Gender and Identity. On the surface, these issues might not look like they are related to education in anyway but, when we look closer, they are deeply connected to how students learn and response in classrooms. This book made me realized that education is never an isolated institution. Rather, it is a small part of students' lives that can exacerbate their struggles or help transform their lives for the better.
On November 29th, 2018, the Department of Math Science and Technology; the Communication, Media and Learning Technologies Design Program; the Media and Social Change Lab (MASCLab); and Teachers College Press hosted a book talk and invited the author, Steve Goodman, as well as two Educational Video Center (EVC) students, Muzik and Raelene, whose stories are depicted in the book to give Teachers College students a deeper understanding of how EVC have changed their lives.
I have summarized my reaction to the book and some issues that the book described in this infographic below.
As for the talk, while I found Mr. Goodman's part of the talk to be quite repetitive from his writing in the book, getting to meet real people behind stories in the book took the message to the next level. I realized all EVC students in the booked are real people and Mr. Goodman's effort made considerable significant in real life.
As a future educator, this book and this talk gives me hope and energy to change lives through innovative education.
Title: It's Not About Grit: Reflection
Tool: Piktochart
Time in Development: 4 hours
Developed for: MSTU 5002 Culture, Media, and Education