Liberation Pedagogy
Watching “How I Met Your Mother” last night, I saw Ted Mosbey, the main character, start his first day as a college professor. The episode built up to the point in which he would have to make a decision that would dictate the type of instructor he was going to be. This suspense builds in all of us teacher candidates while we slowly prepare for that moment in which we set the tone for the rest of our careers. Having a philosophy of education is a key aspect in the defining of ones self in regards to teaching style and outlook on education. It is the driving force behind the goals of a teacher and a structural foundation for all which he/she wishes to teach. Education is a social institution and effects the lives of the entire population. Therefore, it must be addressed in terms of the ideologies that define each unique aspect of it. Ideologies should be looked at in general because they constitute one's goals, expectations, and action. More specifically, within one's philosophy, the question of a liberalist approach verses that of a conservative or liberation pedagogy approach must be addressed.
As I travel through the courses and continue on my quest for knowledge, I constantly alter and tweak my philosophy of life, mathematics, and education. In the context of education ideology, I am most supportive of the views defined in Liberation Pedagogy. I am most supportive of this ideology based on the concepts regarding human nature and critical thinking. Many opposing opinions find problems within this theory but there exists responses for such criticisms.
The initial difference that separates liberation pedagogy from the other two is the outlook on human nature. While the two others argue a good human nature verses an evil one, liberation pedagogy argues that there exists no such nature and that social structures dictate the outcome of a human's behaviour. Consider the following.
What we, individually, perceive is that evil is something you do not agree with. Therefore, because children are born not knowing the system, they act without structure. They need to be taught the system and the way of the world. They are neither evil nor are they good. They are simply unaware of the current social system. For example, if a child is born into a world of violence and betrayal, their actions will reflect such a place. While we, in our “normal” world, may look upon that as evil, it may be considered the norm in that place. Similarly, if that same child was born into a world of kindness and honesty their actions would reflect as such. Because our world contains all of these goods and evils, we turn out based on what we are exposed to. This argument of good verses evil spirals down to the root question of nature verses nurture. It is my belief that nature is responsible for creating the limits to which one will act in terms of good and evil while nurture dictates the level on the predisposed scale one reaches. Therefore, in terms of liberation pedagogy, the social structure dictates the level of good or evil a human achieves.
What is good and what is evil is something for each individual to decide. In terms of the classroom, students should form their own opinions about the course material. From the liberation pedagogy point of view, the teachers should aid in this aspect by providing their own opinions in the lessons. Not only does sharing a teachers opinion enhance the lesson by adding a new educated prospective, but it contributes to a more personal lesson that brings out the humanity in teaching. If this element did not exist we may as well learn from robots.
From opinion teaching comes a variation of curriculum. There is a lot of miseducation of what students should be learning. For example, social and historical realities are twisted to fit the modern social structure. In the classroom, instead of learning about the twisted facts of history, students should understand the context in which the historical events took place. There needs to be an understanding that america is not always right and that there does exist flaws in our system. These examples span the four core subjects in many topics. History class can look into capitalism with a more critical view,
English classes can consider the lifestyles and addictions of the authors studied, and science and math can consider all that which is truly unknown and highly theoretical like most of the properties of the universe and the absurd equations defining them that come out to 1 divided by 0 (defining black holes).
The following video addresses the problems with the education system in the modern world. We can see that this is a world-wide change and with the new era should come a system where students can find success through their ability to think rather than their ability to bank knowledge.
As I travel through the courses and continue on my quest for knowledge, I constantly alter and tweak my philosophy of life, mathematics, and education. In the context of education ideology, I am most supportive of the views defined in Liberation Pedagogy. I am most supportive of this ideology based on the concepts regarding human nature and critical thinking. Many opposing opinions find problems within this theory but there exists responses for such criticisms.
The initial difference that separates liberation pedagogy from the other two is the outlook on human nature. While the two others argue a good human nature verses an evil one, liberation pedagogy argues that there exists no such nature and that social structures dictate the outcome of a human's behaviour. Consider the following.
What we, individually, perceive is that evil is something you do not agree with. Therefore, because children are born not knowing the system, they act without structure. They need to be taught the system and the way of the world. They are neither evil nor are they good. They are simply unaware of the current social system. For example, if a child is born into a world of violence and betrayal, their actions will reflect such a place. While we, in our “normal” world, may look upon that as evil, it may be considered the norm in that place. Similarly, if that same child was born into a world of kindness and honesty their actions would reflect as such. Because our world contains all of these goods and evils, we turn out based on what we are exposed to. This argument of good verses evil spirals down to the root question of nature verses nurture. It is my belief that nature is responsible for creating the limits to which one will act in terms of good and evil while nurture dictates the level on the predisposed scale one reaches. Therefore, in terms of liberation pedagogy, the social structure dictates the level of good or evil a human achieves.
What is good and what is evil is something for each individual to decide. In terms of the classroom, students should form their own opinions about the course material. From the liberation pedagogy point of view, the teachers should aid in this aspect by providing their own opinions in the lessons. Not only does sharing a teachers opinion enhance the lesson by adding a new educated prospective, but it contributes to a more personal lesson that brings out the humanity in teaching. If this element did not exist we may as well learn from robots.
From opinion teaching comes a variation of curriculum. There is a lot of miseducation of what students should be learning. For example, social and historical realities are twisted to fit the modern social structure. In the classroom, instead of learning about the twisted facts of history, students should understand the context in which the historical events took place. There needs to be an understanding that america is not always right and that there does exist flaws in our system. These examples span the four core subjects in many topics. History class can look into capitalism with a more critical view,
English classes can consider the lifestyles and addictions of the authors studied, and science and math can consider all that which is truly unknown and highly theoretical like most of the properties of the universe and the absurd equations defining them that come out to 1 divided by 0 (defining black holes).
The following video addresses the problems with the education system in the modern world. We can see that this is a world-wide change and with the new era should come a system where students can find success through their ability to think rather than their ability to bank knowledge.
Another point that stands out in liberation pedagogy is its view on critical thinking. In todays classes, we focus too much on banking information rather than using the information we have to solve problems, form conjectures, and create works. For example, in mathematics, more could be done with fewer equations and concepts if those tools are applied to a problem solving situation. The Common Core Standards do well to this end. Instead of exploring all the equations in the old standards via “shopping cart method”, the Common Core Standards limit the length of the chapters in an effort to allot more time to exploration and further understanding as well as further application. Here, there offers more class time to enhance critical thinking skills. Perhaps some problems can be applied such that equations are not even used. In this scenario where no equations are involved, students will use the skill they obtain from math class in order to solve a problem critically. Especially in this day and age where the computer can provide any piece of information at the stroke of a key, students need to be able to think outside the box. This idea can be applied to all the subjects including English, science, and history as well as the electives. In English there can be more oppourtunity to create works rather that write about others. In science(as well as math) more open ended questions can be posed. We don't have all the answers and we need students to know this and think about the questions. History classes can reflect more opinions and research more speculation as to the reasons why things happened the way they did instead of merely observing the facts. These ideas will spur more thought, creativity, and ideas. By developing critical thinking, students will be able to find solutions to problems they have never encountered before, separate themselves from their peers by having a distinct outlook, and better society in that more of society's problems will be solved more efficiently. With more creativity and out of the box thinking, our world has more of a chance to improve.
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For a review of the text, Click Here