During my tenure as an adjunct professor at SUNY Oswego, teaching EDU 301: Foundations of Education: School, Pedagogy, and Social Justice in the Fall of 2023, I have fostered a dynamic learning environment by incorporating innovative teaching methods and engaging students in meaningful discussions. Drawing on my expertise, I designed hands-on activities to enhance students' understanding and connection to course content. Furthermore, I have provided student testimonials about the course as evidence of their engagement and appreciation for the material.
Course Title: EDU 301- Foundations of Education: School, Pedagogy and Social Justice (Fall 2023)
Course Description: The course will address the close relationship between what happens in society and what happens in schools. We will focus on institutionalized structures of injustice that affect educators’ efforts to develop actively participating democratic citizens within our society. Included are institutionalized racism, institutionalized Anti-Semitism, institutionalized sexism, institutionalized classism, institutionalized heterosexism, and institutionalized ableism. We will examine how these institutionalized structures play out in schools and in U.S. society. Moreover, we will consider what we as individual teachers, can do to confront such institutionalized structures of injustice. We will also consider locations (sites) where discussions of institutionalized structures are presented and debated and the context within which teachers can actively operate to develop strategies to make our society more just. The course begins with the assumption that teachers CAN change social attitudes and confront unjust traditions of schooling (KNOWLEDGE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, and REFLECTION).
Reflection: As an adjunct professor leading this course, I've been profoundly impacted by our exploration of the intricate relationship between societal structures and educational institutions. Throughout our journey, we've delved into institutionalized injustices that affect educators' efforts to foster active citizenship. From racism and classism to heterosexism and ableism, we've confronted the harsh realities of systemic oppression within schools and society. Our discussions have been a call to action, prompting us to consider our roles as teachers in challenging these injustices. Embracing the belief that educators have the power to effect change, we've engaged in knowledge acquisition, social justice advocacy, and deep reflection. In addition, I've strived to enhance learning experiences by creating innovative hands-on activities to make complex concepts more tangible and foster efficient connections.
Student Feedback:
“ Thank you for a great semester I’ve truly learned a lot, in a lot of classes I learn things in order to get good grades but I feel I genuinely enjoyed taking in the knowledge and it will continue to stick with me.”
“ I truly think this was one of the most valuable classes I've taken here at SUNY Oswego. I thought Dr. King was an amazing teacher and I would totally take another class of his in the future. I know he said he wasn't teaching again in the spring but I would definitely recommend Dr. King to any education student. The information that I was taught in this class will be extremely helpful for teaching and in life.”
“He is very relatable. He is very on trend with what is currently going on and I felt like the class was a very safe space to have a relatable conversation about the topics we learned.”
“I thought Dr. King's responsiveness was very good. He always spoke to the class about deadlines and asked where we were. I also thought it was really nice of him to give us and trust us with his number to contact him if we need.”