Blogpost 3- The Critical Pedagogy

Factual Question:

What does critical pedagogy mean? Critical pedagogy is a philosophy of education and social movement that combines education with critical theory. Critical pedagogy considers how education can provide individuals with the tools to better themselves and strengthen democracy, to create a more egalitarian and just society, and thus to deploy education in a process of progressive social change.

http://www.21stcenturyschools.com/critical_pedagogy.htm

Evaluative Statement:

The Critical Pedagogy Reader: Confronting Class in the Classroom

https://davidbacker.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/hooks-class.pdf

Ever since we were younger we were taught to overlook class while we were taking classes and treat everyone equal. Those are great morals to live by because everyone should be treated equally. What we weren’t taught at a younger age are the different classes that we are apart of and how they will treat us differently as we age.

Personally coming from a catholic elementary school, I was taught about the classes and how to act and behave in different situations. I was prepared from an early age to act professionally as well as courteous. I was also taught to strive for greatness by always working beyond my full potential and settling for nothing less than greatness and personal satisfaction.

We are all equally committed to success and thriving as we move up the ladder of success to the top. For example, teachers and students are most likely in different statuses but that doesn’t change anything about how the way we interact. Students are working toward their goals just as well as teachers, so it is great seeing the connections of one another helping each other reach their dreams.

It is interesting to think about that no one ever really taught us rules of class. It was mainly learned and taught by examples and reinforced by rewards or punishments. We are taught in classes that being citizens of the United States of America we have freedom of speech. We are trained through punishments in the schools that this freedom of speech is not so free when we get punished for talking when it is not the most “appropriate” language or time. Since students might be labeled outcasts or rebels it is unfortunate that most students won’t say their honest opinions in fear of getting ridiculed. It is an awful feeling of powerlessness when a student is being hushed for their beliefs or ideas. A teacher is much more then an educator, they are a classroom censor as well as inspirer. Discussions in the classroom setting are initiated by the teacher, so it is important for the teacher to make thought provoking discussions that allow students to express their opinion either verbally or through pen and paper.

College discussions are some of the most interesting yet intellectually thriving conversations around. It is so fascinating all of the different backgrounds that people come into college from yet all share the same goals of learning as much as they can while working like we are training for the Olympics and potentially taking out loans that could solve world hunger. In growing up in small classroom sizes I felt so empowered in somewhat large college lectures speaking my opinion and knowing that I will most likely not get hushed by the professor. Interesting to think about that if different opinions and ideas that are vocalized in college lectures don’t get hushed in college settings because the professors are more open for debate like situations, or if most of the adults in the college settings are trained professionally and academically so they can speak without offending? Not saying that I haven’t been in situations where I have felt offended in lectures, because that has happened unfortunately multiple times that some people don’t know how to express their ideas in a sensitive to different cultures and beliefs way. Overall, I think it is important to acknowledge different classes in different settings, which allows us to easily code switch with different people while staying on track for success.

Interpretive Question:

When the author says that students who receive financial aid “diminished” on in some way and that the college was for materially privileged class, does he mean that the university is diminishing them? Most students receive financial aid since it is very expensive to attend university, so I don’t think that peers diminish each other for financial aid, considering most need it to get through college.