Both Nunez and the blind villagers are unable to see from the other’s perspective because they relied completely on their own beliefs. While Nunez values his sight, and believes the old proverb that "In the Country of the Blind the One-eyed Man is King", the natives value the traditions they have created for themselves. The people have lived their whole lives without sight and have thus evolved and adapted to live a certain way.
It is important that we recognize how the issues that arose between Nunez and the blind community could occur in a classroom just as easily considering the multitude of perspectives and backgrounds one will be exposed to. While a teacher may have come from an upper-middle class, suburban community in California, they are more than likely to teach children who come from different neighborhoods, states, or countries, throughout their career. Each child comes into the classroom having lived through different life experiences, and therefore each one will have different tendencies when it comes to learning and/or different ideas regarding how they should behave. A teacher needs to be able to recognize that although the child’s thought process may seem unconventional to them, it still needs to be acknowledged and respected in its’ own right. For example, if two children interpret the same problem differently, it should not be seen as one being right while the other is wrong, but rather both methods should be explored so that both children feels that their efforts were acknowledged.
It is also important to recognize the ways in which foreign cultures can be shared and learned from. If Nunez had made more positive attempts at assimilation, he could have possibly learned to strengthen his other senses and not rely so fixedly on his sight. Similarly, the blind men could have tried to learn from Nunez and what he had to say about the world around them. School throws people from all different backgrounds into a common area. This is therefore a great space to learn about cultures and beliefs they may not have been exposed to otherwise. Nunez had to leave the village at the end of the story because they were unable to accept each other’s differences and therefore could not live together; it is an educator’s duty to ensure that the students in a class respect each other’s differences so that they are able to ‘live’ and progress together in the classroom.
The points you raise in the second paragraph I consider extremely important. Although each class creates their own culture from period to period and year-to-year, each student also has their own cultural background that they bring to class and is necessary for class just as much a textbook or pen. Learning about one’s own cultural identity as well as about other cultural backgrounds is an important aspect of a student’s educational experiences. Student and teachers do need to respect each other's differences. School is also about social skills and learning how to interact with other people. However, this is where I encounter one of my biggest dilemmas within my views of teaching that I hope does not come across in a manner that is offensive. It is a very honest and not fully constructed dilemma. I would love to hear other’s thoughts. Here it goes…
ReplyDeleteHow do we facilitate an open, encouraging classroom environment that recognizes that students have "different tendencies when it comes to learning and/or different ideas regarding how they should behave" that also has expectations, structure, clear guidelines and rules? In Country of the Blind just because Nunez was judgmental and did not necessarily act respectfully did not change the fact that the people were blind. Their way of life had not enabled them to experience sight first hand. Rather, their culture centered around emphasis on other senses. Just because the village could not see did not mean it did not exist, as Nunez proved when he came to the village. How do we not act like Nunez, be open minded and still teach a lesson that may have a certain concept that has a definite answer? Instead of learning about sight, the village shut off the idea due to their way of life. How could he have taught them about sight by encouraging them to expand their views without casting ridicule on their culture?
How do we as future teachers teach students "how to see" without labeling them "blind?"