Metaphor: The Lotus Flower

     My metaphor symbolizes the lotus flower which is also the symbol on the Macao flag. The lotus flower grows in muddy waters and blossoms into something beautiful. So too has my journey in international education. My rationale for this e-portfolio stems from living within Macao for ten years and navigating multiple roles at my school. A moment that has always stuck with me was my first-year teaching within our school and the strict enforcement of our “English Only” policy. To be honest, I am not sure why this specific policy struck such a nerve with my being, but it has led me to always consider and reflect about our actions and how they affect student identity and belonging. I saw how this single policy was punishing children for using their home language, an important symbol of their identity and placing such a high value on "our" language. It made me consider that if this is simply one policy, what else are we doing that is affecting our students and families cultural identity and potential engagement with the school?

     

     These unclear waters led me to examine culturally responsive teaching and challenging how we operated as a school. Culturally responsive teaching is “a pedagogy that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally and politically by using cultural and historical references to covey knowledge, to impart skills and to change attitudes” (Ladson-Billings, 1994, 13). I however, still needed a better understanding of dominant discourses, examining systems of education and deeply reflecting upon myself and my own biases and values and how that affects my decision making at school. Our school has taken many strides navigating the muddy waters and indeed there is beauty budding. There are still significant changes and reflections to occur, and yet we cannot forget to acknowledge the value of this growth.

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     As we seek to move from muddy waters into fully blossoming in education, we flow into my goals that aim to provide nourishment and balance to support growth and the artifacts that lay roots to anchor these goals.