There is so much that educators have to do to be inclusive of all students and at first it was really overwhelming to read through each approach, its strengths and its weaknesses. I was really please to see Kumashiro use the work of Ladson-Billings and Freire because those are two educators whose work really aligns best with my teaching philosophy. Critical pedagogy is something that I have been looking into for a while ever since I worked with popular educators in El Salvador. I found that they used their own civil war experiences to educate and enable their students to take action for issues that were happening around their community. I agree that the weakness to this approach is that it just replaces another socially hegemonic framework but it helps students analyze the problems we face in society and challenges them to do something about it. I think it can instill empathy, which will and will not lead to action but at least teachers can plant a seed. This approach along with integrating a consisten curriculum of the "other" and providing persoanl support and resources for students is key.
I think it all depends on what school we will be working at. For example, if I'm teaching at South Division i know that my demographics are primarily hispanic, black, and asian students so I know I must make sure to be include a culturally integrated curriculum along with a current issues that directly face these communities so that they may be educated and challenged. We cannot remain complacent as teachers and i'm really happy to see that teachers of this era are becoming more knowleageable about anti-oppressive education and getting to know the rapidly changing demographics of the schools they will be teaching at.
We want to be able to instill our students with their own critical lenses all the while educating them on what the experiences of the "Other" are and what they can do with this information, especially when it comes to their actions. It is difficult for teachers to come in and unteach students what homophobic views the media or their own families might have taught them. Homosexuality has to be one of the most difficult issues to have students relate to and dealing with this issue inside the classroom can be difficult. How can we do this without unsettling parents or overstepping our boundaries?
Empowering students
16 years ago
1 comment:
I think that it is really cool that in El Salvador Critical thinking and Critical Pedagogy are a focal point of the educational system. I agree with you that thinking critically and being informed about the world and the way the world works is an essential aspect of education that we all need to embrace. Kids always ask, "What does this matter in the real world?" If we keep our focus on critical thinking and applying what we've learned to make a difference in the world and how it operates, then students will more often see how there is a connection between what goes on in the class and in the real world and also be more likely to remember what they've learned and in turn apply it. Reading about this kind of Pedagogy was refreshing for me since I don't have a lot of academic experience with it, and I think its great that you've come to the table having already seen it in action. This gives you a unique perspective and I enjoy hearing it.
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