One thing that really struck me in the Pirie reading was the idea of being an anti-Barney. It seems that this is a growing trend in education. Several instructors have waxed on about the devastating ramifications of the "I'm special" ideology. In my own classroom experiences as an instructor, I too have seen students effected negatively by this me centered approach to learning. Many students cannot find value in lessons if the connection to themselves is not overt or immediate. Students I have worked with also tend to have concrete cultural understandings about others they identify as different from themselves and make value judgments based on those flawed, often stereotypic associations. To say that a better trend in education would be transparency and pursue explorations of differences is refreshing, to say the least. In a strictly business sense, this teaching philosophy provides more real world worth. If I am truly a member of a "global society," I must know that I am intrinsically different than others, AND that does not mean I am any better or worse because of it. Seeing myself as "the other" and understanding how I make different individuals and groups "the other" means that I am one step closer to understanding the politics of my cultural identity.
Additionally, I really liked how the text troubled the waters for traditional literary texts. I think film is an essential weapon in the teacher's pedagogy arsenal. Film is designed to reach as many audiences as possible and how that changes literature, which is very much an intimate, individualized experience, is fascinating to me. When students get into the politics of adaptation, they feel like insiders; they know secrets and truths the rest of humanity flocking to cinema's are not privy to. This can be exciting. Knowledge is a form of privilege, after all.
From the other article, I really loved that the connection was made between inclusivity and politics. As I wrote my response, I used the word "politics" three or four times. That is because I think everything we do as teachers is a political act, whether we know it or not. How we look, how we sound, how we treat certain students, and certainly what texts we chose to include and exclude.
Hey. Tess Ormseth responding.
ReplyDeleteYes. It is most definitely important to SEE difference and acknowledge it. Many of us have been raised with the idea that "we're all essentially the same," "treat others as you would like to be treated," etc., but this can be harmful in a classroom environment. It's important to note difference, but not place value judgments on it. As you said, no one is better or worse because of them.
I think it is also important to seek the source of the differences, be they differences in opinion, background, or what have you. Teaching students to question what lies underneath is where the real critical thinking begins. WHY do we see the world the way we do? HOW are we conditioned to interact with others, with texts, with film. As you said, "Knowledge is a form of privilege."
And if knowledge is a form of privilege, then in the same sense, transparency is a form of caring. I appreciate how you mention that politics and teaching cannot be separate, but be clear about how you use this. Transparency will probably serve you best.