Chapter 16: Understanding Students' Resistance to Learning
In Chapter 16 of Brookfield's book "The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom", he discusses that sometimes students have resistance to learning. This was a great chapter to read through because initial first reaction was "That's silly, why are the students there then? They signed up to learn, so why are they resisting?"
Although as I started reviewing on my learning journey I realize that I have resisted learning many times over, even though I signed up for each course myself! One clear recent example was a First Aid course that I had to take for my job at a Group Home. I've done this course a few times in the past already but we are required to re-take it every five years to keep our First Aid certification. I was not in the mood sitting through a full day going over material I felt that I already knew and never used in real life. Also, I was the only Deaf person there, which added to my feeling of not wanting to be there.
Even though the instructor was funny, very amicable, and knowledgeable- I was simply just not on board. I just wanted to be silent throughout the day, pass the test and be done with it. I did not participate in discussion, volunteer for activities, or ask questions!
Now applying this to teaching ASL, it is a real possibility that I will encounter students that resist learning! I may be teaching ASL to:
- Parents that have just found out their child is Deaf, and are still grieving the loss of what they expected to be a "normal" child. They may not be fully onboard with learning ASL just yet because it means accepting that things are different from what they expected.
- Employees that are required to learn ASL for their jobs such as Educational Assistants or Group Home staff. Perhaps they feel just minimal knowledge is enough to do their work and going beyond is just a waste of their efforts
- Partners of Deaf people, often a hearing person that has started a new relationship with a Deaf person will be asked to take ASL Classes by their Deaf partner. The hearing partner often feel that simply writing back forth, gesturing, and texting is fine. They also feel that their Deaf partner can just teach them ASL as they go on with their relationship. They are resistant to the classroom setting.
So as I go forward, I will keep in mind that even though all my students signed up for my ASL Course, some of them may be resistant to learning!
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