I have not finished my reading of "The Pedagogy of the Oppressed," however I am feeling that everything in our class up to now has been leading up to this reading. Nearly every article and excerpt we have read has referenced Freire's philosophy on education. Obviously a core belief is that education should empower those who are oppressed in society, rather than continuing to perpetuate the very same inequities.
Our class did read the first two chapters of "The Art of Critical Pedagogy." In our introductions we each mentioned a piece we thought was the most powerful or what we had questions about. Many mentioned the statement that "Urban schools are not broken; they are doing exactly what they are designed to do"(1.). This is a pretty disturbing fact when it is so obvious that too few students are prepared for college and the work environment after high school.
The purpose that for this arrangement is stated to be our societal belief that there must be failures if there are successes. The second stated reason for this are class differences, enabling some students to be better prepared for school while others must struggle to try to keep up. Some students parents have time and resources to assist them, while others do not. Further, those with resources, to include social connections, are better able to maneuver to higher academic planes and access higher paying employment options afterward.
The author references Freire in that the goal should be "towards liberation from oppression..." in employing the five steps of the cycle of critical praxis within a classroom environment. The first step being to identify a problem. This is what we did in class with our issue discussion, in what was aptly called "issue speed-dating."
We each spoke to each other one-on-one for a couple minutes about an issue we were passionate about. My issue was our societal addiction to fossil fuels, specifically oil. This was acknowledged by my peers as a legitimate societal problem but they were focused on other important issues. For instance, the group I joined was the feminist group. Another group that was formed was the GLBT Bullying group.
The second step our groups must take is to research the problem. We have not delved into this yet, as we have not decided what we will specifically do. However, I can try to think about current events and my surroundings through a feminist lens.
One thing that I thought about after leaving class was how the GLBT Bullying group could change its name to the LGBT Bullying group. There is a lot of discussion about how acronyms should be ordered and its significance. So, when I caucus with my fellow feminist group, we can decide whether to approach their group with this. I think it would be win-win for both groups. Then we can move onto other issues that need addressing.
The purpose that for this arrangement is stated to be our societal belief that there must be failures if there are successes. The second stated reason for this are class differences, enabling some students to be better prepared for school while others must struggle to try to keep up. Some students parents have time and resources to assist them, while others do not. Further, those with resources, to include social connections, are better able to maneuver to higher academic planes and access higher paying employment options afterward.
The author references Freire in that the goal should be "towards liberation from oppression..." in employing the five steps of the cycle of critical praxis within a classroom environment. The first step being to identify a problem. This is what we did in class with our issue discussion, in what was aptly called "issue speed-dating."
We each spoke to each other one-on-one for a couple minutes about an issue we were passionate about. My issue was our societal addiction to fossil fuels, specifically oil. This was acknowledged by my peers as a legitimate societal problem but they were focused on other important issues. For instance, the group I joined was the feminist group. Another group that was formed was the GLBT Bullying group.
The second step our groups must take is to research the problem. We have not delved into this yet, as we have not decided what we will specifically do. However, I can try to think about current events and my surroundings through a feminist lens.
One thing that I thought about after leaving class was how the GLBT Bullying group could change its name to the LGBT Bullying group. There is a lot of discussion about how acronyms should be ordered and its significance. So, when I caucus with my fellow feminist group, we can decide whether to approach their group with this. I think it would be win-win for both groups. Then we can move onto other issues that need addressing.
Ah, I am so glad that you are experiencing a building towards Freire. It is by design. In many ways, I wanted to foreground your reading with preliminary thoughts and experiences to help connect to his work. Let me know if that was helpful? Or other ideas?
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