Let's start off with what is Freire's critical pedagogy? Freire's critical pedagogy is the belief that teaching should challenge learners to discover the power structure, patterns of inequality and oppression. Freire emphasizes the importance of being human and how to help students achieve critical consciousness by breaking them free from the oppressive teaching environments so they can harness their abilities to the fullest. He wanted the educators to encourage their students to question and challenge inequalities that exist in families, schools and societies. The main tenets of Freire's critical pedagogy:
- Looking through or reflecting upon the individual’s culture or lived experience: The teacher and student are both learners which Freire emphasizes is called the social nature of learning. Teacher does not know all and the student does not know anything but they can join both of their experiences/culture into the lesson.
Discover and develop in their critical literacy and question about it in their own world/society which learners have to think critically of the things they read, see, hear and even learn. They should be able to ask questions: is this fair? Was that just? Was there equality?
Participation and Encouragement towards their diversity/enquiry on specific topics. Can they reflect critically on the lesson with their culture or lived experience or insights that they discovered that can relate to the topic.
Why did it change?
Why was education implementing Freire's critical pedagogy? The reason being the education just wanted students to be like “banks” as Friere stated, education was all about inputting information, facts, words, problems into these students minds and telling them to memorize and throwing away creativity, discipline, intelligence(critical thinking). Students were treated as objects instead of humans (oppressed vs. oppressor). Throughout the Reform movement there were changes and principles applied. All three tenants were more seen in schools where we celebrated the heritage month, blackm movement, jewish holidays, and then teachers integrating their classroom to make it welcoming for the diverse children. The ESL and ABL students were recognized and resources were implemented for them, bilingual teachers, more diversity in schools. As the years went by the school has been changing to not only give out equality but equity. Isn’t that the importance to give students all a fair education to have opportunities set out for them whether from their gender, sex, race, color, sexual orientation or religion.
The need for equity is so important and arises from the fact that there are people in the society that are privileged and others who are marginalized. Culturally responsive teaching helps students stated by our speaker, Sandy Lizaire Duff, she states, “Cultural starts with the curriculum, that it is absolutely important to look at the materials, books, resources, characters, illustrations, and have variety of materials, not only about race ethnicity, but the living experiece of everyone, sexual orientation, diversify material.” She really spoke how we, educators, have to get to the students' level meaning to connect, bond and try to comprehend their difficulties, their obstacles, their families background. It is not about just sitting in a classroom and shutting off the students but helping them to grow and to make them feel safe in the environment we create. How “ Structure the environment, proximity matters, partnering with the resources, counselor, parents,and administrators” to help our students that attend our classroom. Engaging with the families and making each child be seen and heard. Usually it can be hard to incorporate culturally responsive teaching when we ourselves are not aware of the cultural difference in our students which is why communication, equity, and most of all applying Freire's critical pedagogy. Education should not be about oppressed vs. oppressor or who is the smartest. It is all about collaborative work between the educator and the learner.
Here are a few videos and an article about Freire's critical pedagogy or concepts around that belief:
Jenn,
ReplyDeleteWOW, what an outstanding blog, powerful graphics, and what wonderful resources you linked to your own writing for your readers to learn so much more through a few great links. Your link to the UN World Teachers' Day was so powerful and broadened your reader's thinking to the larger scope of global education and goverrnment's important role in supporting teachers and quality education for all. I learned a lot from the 5 minute Freire video. And the link to the TEDx talk was right on target. You did such a wonderful job of including both the picture and a quote by Dr. Lizaire Duff, our guest speaker. (I'm sharing your blog with her).
Thank you!
Professor Knauer