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TEACHING
PHILOSOPHY I
state “If Escher turned his head away from the sphere, he would most likely see
his living room or den. He knows it all too well and feels very
comfortable being in it; the different books on the bookshelf that he’s
accumulated over the years; the textures and patterns appearing on his
dusty furniture. There is nothing, he believes, that another can tell him
about his familiar world that he doesn’t already know. This is the
perception we tend to carry with us about our experiences in our families, communities
and society at large. Students often carry into sociology classes the
idea that there is nothing that you can tell me about myself or others and our
problems that I don’t already know. This is the first level of reality
depicted in Escher's work that bears on the sociological perspective. The
taken-for-granted perception of the world, made possible by turning his
head away from the sphere.” Next
I add “By holding a reflecting sphere up to the familiar, Escher examines the
familiar from a fresh perspective -- an unfamiliar way to view the familiar. By
seeing his taken-for-granted world from this foreign perspective through the
reflecting sphere, he is able to broaden his vision of the surrounding
world. There are always alternative views of reality associated with our
social world. They are not necessarily better or worse, just
different. And they need to be explored. This is an important part
of our class -- to hold up to the familiar a series of reflecting spheres in
the form of sociological paradigms or world views. Each paradigm helps us
to step outside of the security of the taken-for-granted and view social life
as if you are alien to it. Things are not what they seem. This is
the second level of reality depicted in Escher's work. The unique view
offered through sociology of a world taken-for-granted.”
Enter the Sociological Perspective Next I introduce the foundation of individual and societal stability and change through a presentation titled The Sociological Perspective as a Catalyst for Reaching New Frontiers. The objectives are:
The relationships between self and society, and empowerment and change, are actively explored and developed in my classes through this approach. It is a heuristic framework that lays the groundwork for what is the sociological perspective and, more importantly, in-depth theoretical and applied sociological analysis in the following courses I teach: Principles of Sociology, Sociology of the Family, Inequality and Power, Social Psychology, Medical Sociology, Social Gerontology and Methods of Social Research. Discussion and application of this powerful perspective is determined by the unique subject matter of each course.
Integrating
Course Material with Personal Experience
I
practice what I preach. In all of my classes, analyzing the
relationship between human social organization and behavior takes on both
theoretical and applied (i.e., “real world”) dimensions. Bringing to
students the awareness of such relationships is a dominant goal in my
courses. Here, my teaching philosophy reflects the need to attain a
working understanding of the connection between theory and research. In
terms of assessment, students must describe in their journals how the
abstractions of sociological theory are both relevant to and derived from our
social world.
Critical Thinking throughout Life The
concept of critical thinking seems to be a buzzword on campuses
nationwide. In
my sociology courses, critical thinking takes on a unique and important set of
roles intended to prepare the student for life-long learning. One set of
roles is methodological: Because we are active consumers of information from
numerous sources on a daily basis, accept no information blindly.
Such organized skepticism is a moral imperative in sociology. These
critical thinking issues are addressed not only in my statistics and
research methods courses, but also in my courses titled Principles of Sociology,
Sociology of the Family, Social Gerontology, Medical Sociology and Inequality and Power.
As I mention to my students
in these classes, social science research is
like a loaf of bread; it doesn’t stay fresh for long. The second set of roles is theoretical: Because we are confronted with divergent points of view on nearly every subject imaginable, accept no idea blindly. The conflict perspective, as a critical thinking paradigm in sociology, is a useful theoretical and analytical tool to achieve this end. Through this framework, students learn to address questions like "Who benefits from this viewpoint or structural arrangement and why?" or "What motivation may be behind this particular view?" These critical thinking issues also are addressed in my Principles of Sociology, Sociology of the Family, Social Gerontology, Medical Sociology and Inequality and Power courses.
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To connect the sociological perspective to a broader
understanding of societal structures