“Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in an Urban Secondary English Classroom” by Duncan-Andrade and Morrell

“Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in an Urban Secondary English Classroom”:

The main point that this article touches on reveals that the students in the classroom should pair popular culture and social media with canonical texts.  At first, the idea of bringing in music and movies into the classroom that are not based off of the texts read in class seemed far fetched, but as the article continued it raised some extremely important points.  I have found that I pay more attention in a classroom when my teacher focuses the material on something that I am passionate about or that affects me in some way. For my future students, encouraging them to use their experiences and the culture of today’s society will help them in becoming mature learners and avid thinkers.  I liked how the authors gave actual examples of how to incorporate this kind of critical pedagogy into the classroom, especially a type of classroom most of us will probably be teaching in.  Using film can be extremely beneficial like the article discussed, but one reservation that I have is how much the students will actually take in about the film and it’s significance.  And what happens if someone gets upset or feels emotionally distraught at what is being watched?  I suppose there are permission slips given to parents on certain racial/prejudicial issues, but the point is how do you deal with them?  Do you stop the clip?  The authors made a great move by using the movie to dig deeper into the issues that were at hand and to include this film into an entire unit plan.  Another section I really enjoyed was how much the authors put importance on communications skills and class participation.  Often, the idea of banking education seems easier and at times even more beneficial to a teacher, but in the end getting the students to think and do on their own is a much higher achievement and will leave them better off in the end.

"The Critical Pedagogy Reader" by Peter McLaren

“The Critical Pedagogy Reader”

I really enjoyed this article, especially how the author broke it down piece by piece in order to define the categories or concepts he was trying to disclose.  My favorite section and the one I will pay most attention to was the section on ideology.  I completely agree with the stance that he takes on that most people have preconceptions on how and why schools should be run a certain way or who/what the problem with education today has come down to.  The act of pointing fingers at whoever is causing the problem seems more important than looking for a solution as to how we can fix the issue.  A lot of times the pointing of fingers becomes a racial or prejudicial issue dealing with where you were born to what kind of economic status you have acquired.  The important issue is to acknowledge that each person comes from a different background and join forces together to look towards a better future for our students.  What I did not agree with is that the idea of ideology is a negative concept.  I believe that ideology can be used as a tool for narrowing down ideas into an actual achievable solution or plan for the future of education.  Brilliant and seemingly impossible ideas are often proven possible further down the road.  Isn’t this what we want our students to do anyway—reach for the stars?  Perhaps it is time to listen to our own advice.  I also enjoyed how the idea of ideology is broken down to be a social construct rather than rule of law.  For many teachers, teaching the same thing the same way has been effective or so it would seem to them.  Nowadays changing those ideals and structures of the classroom is actually more beneficial.  Keeping in mind that ideologies are forever changing, as teachers, we need to keep changing our teaching towards better and more effective methods that create the largest basis of learning for our students.

Chapter 2 of "Pedagogy of the Oppressed"

Paulo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”

This chapter stated in eloquent terms that to be an effective and constructive teacher, I would need to introduce dialog and critical thinking more than the “banking” approach.  This article went along with much of the reason I became a teacher in the first place.  I have had many English professors shoot down evidentiary-based conclusions on certain topics based on what they want the students to take away.  Instead of listening and awarding the student on his/her critical thinking skills, the student was reprimanded for not agreeing with the majority of others.  On the topic of poetry, a “banking” approach is probably the worst possible way of instruction.  Poems are meant to be used as tools for uncovering truths for the individual.  Who is to say that there can only be one meaning?  Dialog and critical thinking skills should be incorporated in almost all aspects of instruction, especially in the English classroom.  In order for our students to be able to grow and think on their own they need to develop the skills in order to look at the world through a critical lens.  The only problem with this approach in some ways is that not all things are meant for dialog.  For example, grammar is something that is concrete like mathematics and certain areas of science.  Granted, the teacher can make lessons, which involve dialog and critical thinking, but some lessons are pretty straightforward.  This chapter has great definitions of what instruction needs to look like, but where does it say how to produce this type of learning environment?  How can you create such critical thinkers with grammar?  I did agree fully on the account that teachers are learners too.  During discussions on texts with family members that are younger, I found that I still have much to learn.  There is no age where a person reaches full understanding of everything, because we all have different experiences.  Different experiences off varying insights, which means that students sometimes have more profound insights and ideas than their teachers.  With this in mind, it is important to stay off of a pedestal as a teacher and join in sitting with the students at a desk!

Common Core State Standards

Common Core State Standards:

The use of the Common Core State Standards basically ensures that teachers all over the United States are on the same page as to where our students should be in education in certain classes.  While this is an excellent goal to have and honestly a worthwhile effort, there are some questions that need to be addressed for these to function more properly.  For instance, many of these standards are up for interpretation as far as how these skills are taught.  This is a positive for teachers as we are able to have a little wiggle room for what texts we want our students to be subjected to.  On the other hand, how are we supposed to really know as teachers that our students are actually able to perform such tasks?  We can test, grade, and hand out assignments, but it seems that these state standards build on one another, which means if the students aren’t understanding the concepts then what?  If they have a passing grade, but do not fully grasp the concepts to the degree of the state standards do we fail them?  And how are we sure that these standards are all possibly met within the time that we are given to teach them?  I approve of the idea and the follow through thus far with concern to the CCSS, but they still need to improve.  I know that as a teacher I am required to use these to prove that I am instructing correctly and to the best of my abilities, but is there a class that teaches how to teach the CCSS?  I feel like we are thrown these rules to follow in such a constraining way, that as a new teacher I am completely overwhelmed.  The CCSS set up a beautiful outline of what our students need to succeed and they are extremely helpful in providing evidence of successful teaching, but who decided that these are the standards that our children and students need to succeed?  Do we not have any say on what we, as teachers, want our students to know?

Response to Discussion as a Way of Teaching

Response to Discussion as a Way of Teaching:

The two chapters from this book that we were asked to read for class were really quite inspiring.  The first chapter seemed to hit me more than the second, as it was discussing my role as a student teacher and how my job needs to maintain healthy and constructive discussion in the classroom.  Reading some of the sections on Appreciation and Humility stood out as the two most important aspects of democratic discussion.  They both center on the necessity of participation from all students as much as possible and they both touch on the students who like to stay quiet in class.  I fully back the need for participation from multiple students—the problem is how to achieve this goal.  All of the points in both chapters discuss how important discussion and participation in the discussion are, but they do not specifically discuss how to engage the students.  Sure, giving positive feedback through appreciation for participation is a great way of encouragement, but that does not explain how to engage every student.  What do we do to bring in all of the students and persuade them to participate?  There was also the part in the section on Participation that touched on our job as future instructors to take a step back from speaking our own mind in the hopes of allowing further growth for our students.  This is another area that I feel could have been elaborated on.  For instance, what do we do when the discussion falls flat?  Is that the time to discuss what we are hoping the students will get or is that time for a follow-up question?  I guess the main issue is that I know discussion is extremely beneficial, but how do we create a beneficial discussion?  If anyone knows some great tips, I am all ears!  All in all, the text clarified what a discussion should include and how it is beneficial to the students.  I enjoyed the text and it left me with some burning questions!