Black Ants and Buddha - by Mary Cowhey, A Role Model of Love and Passion

This book was first introduced in a class of my Fulbright exchanging period. I was deeply moved by pedagogy introduced in the book and also puzzled by how it could come to life, Inspired by the American “everything is possible” culture, I wrote to the author. Surprisingly, I got invitation to stay for a night with her and observe her class…

​The book starts with an illustration of how discussion was fostered in the classroom- making connections through events that children encounter in the class, taking care of each other’s feeling aligning two simple and concrete classroom rules - be kind and work hard (because we want to flourish as a whole).

• There are several techniques the teacher demonstrates in this chapter:
  • students are used to taking turns expressing ideas and opinions. Teachers invites students to answer and respond to other people’s ideas. Students to students interaction is present.
  • The teacher strategically use two read-aloud sessions to cultivate the students language development. 1) Readers for strategies such as make connections (text-to-self, text-to-text, text-to-world), 2) Philosophical discussions to foster listening skills and oral language development.
• It is true that our books or curriculum most of the time depict a world of happiness but the truth is, as mentioned in the chapter, “Human nature draws us to conflict.” It is inevitable that we encounter differences, disagreements, and conflicts. How to cretically and wisely is never really taught in my brining up. They were preached but not experienced.
• My mind pondered over a few quotes in this chapter:
  • As a teacher of critical thinkers, part of my job is to deliberately nurture sustained interest in questions over time. - It indeed takes time to dig deeper and to care better. In a fast-paced, media-fed world it is even more critical to allow that time for our children.
  • Teacher critically listens and affirms a minority voice that challenges the status quo. Instead of forcing assimilation and acceptance of the dominant culture, it examines cultural assumptions and values and considers their larger ramifications. - Isn’t that what our curriculums states about critical thinking? Isn’t it ironic how our teaching time is fragmented and shattered in the curriculum guidelines?

This is my second read. - the same passion, but more intense. The question is am I ready?