Search This Blog

Monday, September 19, 2011

Beautiful...

I wasn’t sure if I was going to share this right away or save it for next week, but I just can’t wait.  hooks talks about the classroom as an “exciting place, never boring” (p. 7, Teaching to Transgress).  I’ve had that experience in a number of classrooms over the years, particular as an adult learner and as a student in the adult ed program at Brock.  But since wading into the world of online learning, I’ve often wondered how you could achieve that level of excitement, particularly in a course that is delivered in an asynchronous format. In fact, when I read about excitement in hooks’s text, I wrote in the margin, “Yes, but how do you do this in an online environment?”.  Then, later on in the week, one of my fellow learners gave me an excellent example of the art of infusing excitement into the world of online learning. 

The assignment was to relate how a piece of poetry, a film, or any other form of art of our choosing had an impact on us and what it told about our persona.  I related my experience with the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the film of the same name by Sean Penn and one of the songs from the soundtrack by Eddie Vedder (that may be a later post if I get around to it and/or if someone is interested).    

Waffa, a classmate of mine, posted a video link to Boonaa Mohammed reciting his poem, Beautiful.  I quickly read her post explaining what this said about her persona and moved on to the video link. I have to admit that I read Waffa’s post with only a passing interest but after I viewed the video, I felt like I needed to go back right away and read it again. You see after I viewed the video, I had this feeling of excitement that was building inside my gut.  A visceral response to what I had just witnessed and an increasingly desperate need to understand it on a more personal level.   As soon as I re-read her post, I started flipping frantically through our readings and then I found it: Jack Mezirow's idea that adult education fosters perspective transformation (Finger and Asun, p. 58).  That's what Waffa did with her post and videolink.  She provided a treasure map to an alternative perspective.  And equally important for me, she affirmed that, no matter what the medium whether it be in a classroom or online, learning is exciting.

With her permission, I’m including Waffa’s post below followed by the video.  Thanks again, Waffa. 


"I am a Muslim- Canadian who wears the headscarf (hijaab). I have lived in Canada all my life but I decided to wear the hijaab permanently 5 years ago. When I decided to wear the hijaab, most people assumed that I was oppressed and I was being forced by my father or brother to wear the hijaab, which is unfortunate because the media portrays that Muslim women are oppressed. Most people don't understand the reason behind the hijaab other than believing what the media says, but a Muslim woman wears the hijaab to guard her chastity and to be modest. A woman shouldn't be seen as a sex object; rather she should be respected for who she is. A woman is like a gem and is precious, therefore she should be protected and protect herself. Music, movies and society have totally degraded a woman's worth. I find it heart breaking when I see young girls dressed so revealing and go on major diets since the music industry promotes that you are beautiful only if you’re skinny. I think most of us women can relate to weight issues and always feeling like we are being judged by our weight or how we dress. Just remember that as a woman, you are beautiful no matter how fat, skinny, tall or short you are. A man should love you for who you are and not how you look."

No comments:

Post a Comment