These last two chapters of Pedagogy of the Oppressed have been particularly relevant for the things that I have been reflecting upon as a teacher. I constantly ponder ways in which I am or am not providing my students with authentic dialogical opportunities, and I try to critically reflect on the role I'm playing as a potential oppressor.
Chapter 3 brought out different emotions in me as I was reading, like inspiration, guilt, agreement, shame, passion, etc. I began to truly think about my students' position as an oppressed population and whether or not I have been providing them with opportunities to be liberated and transformed. This year I have focused a lot on my students being able to name the oppression and the injustices that they and others face every day. Freire (1970) says that "to exist, humanly, is to name the world, to change it" (p. 87). I deeply agree with this statement, and I believe that in order for my students to change their world, they need to understand what's going on in their world. I have realized that this is easier said than done, which has become evident while working alongside my students in their service-learning projects. Some of my students have struggled to understand the complexities of the injustices that are going on around them. For example, my students this year have been particularly interested in homelessness, and while we have had many discussions about it, it still remains a mystery to many of my students.
When engaging in meaningful dialogue about oppression and social justice issues, I must remember that "nor yet can dialogue exist without hope" (Freire, 1970, p. 91). Sometimes what tends to happen is that we get so deep in discussion about these real issues that I forget to encourage my students to reflect upon hope and possibility. This is perhaps why some of my students are having a hard time taking responsibility for their service-learning projects -- maybe because they believe that change is not entirely possible. I have been surveying my students to collect data for my TICC/Action Research project, and I have realized that there are several students who do not believe that kids can change their communities. Some of my students are perhaps viewing their service-learning projects as merely a fun, engaging project that they get to do, but I'm afraid that it's not registering that they are doing this to be agents of change in their community. I know that a huge part of my project is about the attitudes of my students in regards to community, democracy, and expressing one's voice. I'm trying to not get frustrated when my students' attitudes, thoughts, or actions aren't totally aligned with where I want them to be. This brings me to when Freire (1970) discusses the oppressor's role in the liberation of the oppressors: "It is not our role to speak to the people about our own view of the world, nor to attempt to impose that view on them, but rather to dialogue with the people about their view and ours" (p. 96). This quote really hits me hard, as I am guilty of trying to impose my view of the world on my students (and probably to the rest of the world, too). It's so tough to trust the process of truth discovery, because so often I think about the ways that I want my kids to think. This is something that I grapple with every day, because it is connected to my desire for control.
Chapter 4 helped me reflect upon what is required for a revolution that liberates the oppressed. The unity of the oppressor and the oppressed gets trick because of the difference in power and privilege. Freire (1970) has some really important things to say about how the oppressors should position themselves when working alongside the people: "The revolutionary effort to transform these structures radically cannot designate its leaders as its thinkers and the oppressed as mere doers" (p. 126). This makes me think about how my students see their own role in the classroom -- do they merely see themselves as people who do what I say? I'm afraid that many of my students would express that their job isn't to lead or think for themselves, but to follow the directions of the authority figures in the building. How do I empower my students to think and act for themselves while also preparing them to respect authority? This is a tough balance and I'm not sure that there is an easy answer for it. When I think about my role as a revolutionary leader, I am guided by Freire's (1970) claim that "Revolutionary leaders cannot think without the people, nor for the people, but only with the people" (p. 131). This is very relevant for where we are all at in our TICC/Action Research projects right now -- I know that for me, it's coming to the point where I'm feeling the pressure to help my students complete their service-learning projects. It's important for me to take my role as a facilitator very seriously, but I must be careful to not manipulate and dominate my students' projects, based on what I think is best. This is the ultimate struggle for me, but I know that my students' independence and attitudes about self-efficacy is more important than the logistics of their project.
Joy,
ReplyDeleteYou have always been so reflective about your teaching practices which I greatly admire. It is clear that you are really grappling with what Freire is saying and trying to ensure you are doing this things and providing your students with those types of opportunities, you should be proud of what you have done!
I too have the same problem with my TICC project because it is clear to me that my students still think that this is just something they are working on, not necessarily something they are doing or changing for the school or community. It has definitely been frustrating but I recently got Natasha's video from last year and I am hopeful that by showing them what other students their age have accomplished that they too will be inspired! It is definitely hard to facilitate and allow our students to think the way they want to think rather than the way we want them to think. Continue to reflect on what you are doing well because there are clearly several things!!
-KM
YES! Yes! Yes! I have been getting caught up in that cycle too! It is SO easy to talk about the problems and not used solution-based thinking and dialogue coupled with hope and opportunity. We do it all the time in normal day to day conversations. I have been really reflecting on how not to let my students get bogged down by the nature of injustice but to come up with ways that they can fight it in their own world. We have had discussions about things that we cannot change right now but could have the power to change later in life as well as things that we can change now. I also have really been putting a lot of the discussion back on them by asking "What are some solutions for that?" or "Can you find some research for how other people have tried to solve this problem?" This forces them to look deeper as well as be solution-minded moving forward from the discussions.
ReplyDeleteJoy,
ReplyDeleteAn interesting thing you bring up in your blog is "This makes me think about how my students see their own role in the classroom -- do they merely see themselves as people who do what I say? I'm afraid that many of my students would express that their job isn't to lead or think for themselves, but to follow the directions of the authority figures in the building. How do I empower my students to think and act for themselves while also preparing them to respect authority?
This is a constant struggle that I feel goes on in my class and in my school. My colleagues and I spend a lot of time instilling values in our students to follow directions and to obey the rules, but then ask them to think critically and thoughtfully for themselves academically. Then there becomes a sense of disconnect for the kids because they are told not to talk and to fall in line the majority of the day then express all of their thoughts an opinions in class. I think it leaves them feeling that their voices are only relevant when called upon. However, I also believe there should be in order and a respect for authority as well. I'm also struggling to find that balance between empowering my students' voices and teaching them the value of respect and authority .
Joy,
ReplyDeleteI always look forward to reading your posts because you connect our readings to your classroom so seamlessly and beautifully and also because your learners are a completely different group than mine. I enjoy hearing about the realities of their situations as both ELL's and immigrants and it reminds me of the vastness of the oppressed people in this country- side note!
I found myself really needing to do some reflecting after reading your post! You speak about the importance of having hope in our projects and the overall conversations we have with our students about oppression and injustice. It really is so easy (whether you are a student working on student driven change in your community or a teacher frustrated by the powers that be) to get caught up in only discussing the problems and forgetting to remain a hopeful change agent. Additionally, you posed the wondering that you weren't sure if some of your students really believed change to be possible. With my first graders, I find that they think pretty much anything is possible. It's me that maybe isn't thinking certain things are possible. Your post really made me reflect on if I believe they can be change agents in their community.
Thanks for stretching my mindset.