Joseph Hursts Digital Weebly Portfolio Project

Part I

1) As we've discussed Legal, Ethical, and Professional Responsibilities throughout this course,

please define (in your own words) each type of responsibility and identify at least action for

each responsibility that you will employ in your practice.

Legal Responsibilities are those responsibilities, outlined by writ of law, that I must

adhere to as an educator. This adherence is to be followed regardless of my moral, ethical, and

cultural background. Failure to do so will result in prescribed consequences, up to but not

limited to, loss of employment or even incarceration. These legal responsibilities cover aspects

such as student care, searches, suspensions, supervision, reporting abuse, and many more.

Ethical Responsibilities are not often, though sometimes are, explicitly outlined in the

law. Regardless of the legality, it is incumbent upon any person who takes up the mantle of

educator to do everything in their power, and by the guidance of their own moral compass, to

help the young men and young women they have stewardship over to become the best versions of

themselves. An educator has a moral obligation to deal with students considerably and with

discretion. An educator has a moral obligation to present students with knowledge and skills

without prejudice.

Professional Responsibilities are tightly intertwined with Ethical and Legal

responsibilities. Beyond those two, an educator has a professional responsibility to continue to

refine their craft by deepening their knowledge base both in content and pedagogy. An educator

has a responsibility to work with fellow educators in creating a culture within the school of

collaboration and respect, embracing these traits yourself is the fastest way to instill them in
your youth. Lastly, a professional follows all school and district policies, even those which are

beyond the purview of the law.

2) How will you use each of the professional competencies to drive the relationships that you

have with stakeholders (Students, Parents, Colleagues, Administrators) (Please discuss each

competency and how it will affect at least one group of stakeholders

Interpersonal awareness is key in helping reach all of the stakeholders involved.

Recognizing your biases is the first step in helping yourself get into the mind of the people you

are working with. In order to understand how to better cooperate with each stakeholder I first

need to ask myself, in what possible ways might what I am saying/doing be misinterpreted by

the other person? Once I understand that disconnect I can better see how I am likely

contributing to the problem by understanding the ways my actions/words might be affecting

them. Once I can pin down my contribution to the problem, I can work toward eliminating it and

approaching the issue from a stand point that both parties can feel comfortable with.
Suspending judgement is key in being able to effectively reach both parents and students.

It is important to look at every situation involving students and reflect on my assumptions about

the situation. Are they correct? I need to separate my observations from my interpretations and

then ask myself, Do I have all of the information needed to understand what is going on? Am I

being objective? Is my response going to lead to anything productive? If my answer to any of

these is no, then I am not ready to deal with the situation and my need to bring in a third party.
Asset based thinking is critical for anyone who wishes to get the most out of those whom

they are around. I come by this naturally with students, but will need to apply this line of

thinking greatly towards my colleagues and administrators. It is important that I look at them as

positive assets, which can help me become a better teacher. When an administrator tells me I

need to do something a certain way, I need to look at them and realize that they are only asking
because they too want what is best for the child, even if we disagree on the methodology. Using

this shared desire, we can work together to create a better school.

Locus of Control may be the professional competency which I desire the most, and may

be the weakest in. This is especially true when dealing with colleges and administration. I can

only control so much, and other teachers classrooms are not one of those things. I cannot force

teachers to stick to a uniform classroom norm system, or to implement crosscutting concepts, but

I can help them develop in these areas by implementing these things in my own locus of control

and then letting them see the success of it. Perhaps at this point they will be willing to implement

what I have been doing.

3) Identify one (or two) CRT disposition(s) and discuss your personal growth within these areas:

Sociocultural Consciousness: I have come to recognize how important it is for students to

see people like themselves, whatever that might mean contextually, in important societal roles.

Role models are so important, they give the students a sense that they can do it, it has been done

by others. If students never see someone like themselves become a scientist, or a teacher, or a

doctor then they may begin to think that society will not accept them as one. I think this is

categorically untrue and detrimental to society as a whole, but I can understand why students

might feel this way. I want to expose students to the diverse world there is out there. Science is

collaborative and, when practiced correctly, does not devalue anyone based upon their culture

but looks at the person and what they bring to the table. If I have students who are

underrepresented I will attempt to provide opportunities for them to search out and learn about

people like them who have made a difference in the world.

4) What will culturally responsive teaching look like in your classroom? Review the principles

of CRT (Academic Achievement, Cultural Competence, Critical Consciousness) and discuss how

you will embody at least one of these in your teaching. (Provide specific strategies or practices)
 The idea of citizenship and the social aspect of school is a fundamental principle to my

style of teaching. I believe strongly that schooling is a step in the process in helping young minds

navigate their roles in a community. I do not want the education of the student to end when

school ends, just as Postman (1995) posits happens far too often. My students undoubtedly will

come from many different cultural, familial, and socio-economic backgrounds but all of them

will have their own personal difficulties in school. All of them however, have backgrounds which

provide capital that can make those difficulties easier to get through.
One very important type of capital that will help my students become the most productive

they can become is social capital (Bourdieu, 1986). Fortunately, that is one form of capital that I

believe I can help them acquire. Part of social capital is developing interpersonal relationships

where you constantly provide evidence of your value or worth to other members of a group. This

acceptance by the group will in turn help you to produce more, as their resources then become a

part of your resources to a greater or lesser extent depending on your level of inclusion. Part of

my ideal classroom is basing my curriculum on an approach known as argumentation. Multiple

studies have shown that using argumentation as a vehicle to learning helps students gain a

deeper understanding and it allows for students to share, debate, organize, and reflect in ways

they would not otherwise (Chen, Lin, & Chen, 2014). Also, indicated in these studies are the

social effects this type of educational structure can have on the classroom environment. When

implemented appropriately, students learn to view each other as valuable, valid, and

contributing members of a classroom community regardless of cultural background. Even when

students do not agree, using question, claim, and evidence (p. 79) students validate each

others positions and points of view. Deeper respect is gained, cultural competence is increased,

academic achievement is raised, and critical consciousness becomes imbedded in the student.
 References
Pierre Bourdieu-----From Richardson, J. G. (1986). Handbook of theory and research for the

sociology of education. New York: Greenwood Press.

Chen, Y., Lin, J., & Chen, Y. (2014). Teaching scientific core ideas through immersing students

in argument: Using density as an example. Science Activities, 51(3), 78-88.

doi:10.1080/00368121.2014.915792
Postman, N. (1995). The end of education: Redefining the value of school (1st ed.). New York:

Knopf.