Activity 15: Ability - Opportunity - Dignity
Introduction: In order to understand one’s work it is not just to be seen as the mission to explain a certain curriculum to pupils, but to understand the situation of our pupils, what they need and what we can provide them with. Humans in general already have a wide variety of interests that might differ greatly, but migrant learners especially are a very heterogenous group, consisting of people from all kinds of backgrounds, with different levels of prior education, language proficiency, social integration requirements and different positions they start from. Accounting for these things is a major part of our work.
Learning Objectives: Participants are to identify potential migrant needs and interests and deepen their understanding of migrant learners in preparation of the next session.
Try to consider your (potential) learners and what these terms might mean to them. What abilities do they have? What abilities do they need? Also, what do they consider skill and ability? What realistic opportunities are present to them? What opportunities are they aware of which not? What does dignity mean to them? How much of it can they expect?
Keeping all these aspects in mind, try to answer the following questions:
- What do you think your (future) student(s) may lack?
- What do you think your (future) student(s) rights are? Do you know?
- What do you think you can do to assist your (future) student(s) to understand their situation?
Also note any other trains of thought and insights you had which you find worth noting. This might include things you learned from your practice up to now or things you learned that should be integrated into future practice.
Bring these notes with you to the next session.