Look out Cyber-World.
I am seriously fired up today and I would like to thank Kincheloe and Wigglesworth for provoking me into a state of "Yikes!"
When Chris made reference to Adbusters and the idea that we should be learning to subtract and promote living with less, feeling less entitled, I really thought about the view of education and critical pedagogy that Kincheloe was referring to. Kincheloe's article, in my humble opinion, is shouting at the top of its lungs "SAYS WHO?!?!" I was inwardly cheering and feeling validated by what I was reading.
Example-A teacher and I this week were talking about the recycling program and ideas for a whole group assembly. As I started to sing the praises of the recycling of paper, she reminded that the issue isn't about recycling. That should be our last option. She challenged that we should just use a lot less paper, period. And the massive amount of paper in the recycling should be reused for something else. This "piggish" use of paper in the school has become normalized to me, and I needed reminding that living with less should be moved to the forefront.
Another discussion around fundraising in school for the "extras". Even with a $40.00 increase per pupil and we still need more money for what we believe our students need. A TV in every classroom, dances four times a year, camping trips, ski trips, band trips, fun mountain... and the list goes on.
How popular is it to suggest that we be critical of this consumeristic stance? What if we, as educators, took a stance where our students and even ourselves as teachers, could do with less? When Kincheloe talks about the political nature of education, how would it be viewed by our union, our board of trustees and "the system" if we suggested that we would actually be more responsible by promoting values of moderation? Can you imagine at the negotiations table... "Actually, this year, you do not need to put any more money into the ______ budget because, right now, we actually have more than enough!"
How often do we hear that our kids "deserve the best"? The message we send them is perhaps one of entitlement and excessiveness. Maybe even where students shouldn't have to wait for certain things or certain experiences. How much should be available and seen as part of what we value in an educational experience at school?
How can we even begin to talk about social justice in public education in a time where deluxe educational experiences are offered in school - i.e.trips to Europe, ski trips, etc. and considered the norm, and yet so unobtainable and impossible for others to afford? For example, should we be setting a standard that it is part of the high school educative experience to travel abroad when considering the fiscal and environmental costs?
Kincheloe challenges educators to consider "correcting the ways particular students get hurt in the everyday life of schools".
Educators, for the most part, are not out to do their students harm. However, without a critical, questioning stance, how can we spot the injustices and errors in judgement based on the norms of dominant power? Kincheloe demands a rethinking of the "ways that power operates to create purposes for schooling that are not necessarily in the best interests of the children that attend them". Who gets to decide? -as Howard questions? If we don't, who will?
When Eric was really wishing for the emergence of strong leadership, I wonder if this critical pedagogy fits with that view? I welcome your thoughts and strong objections to these views and others.
lb
4 comments:
Wow, I can feel the caffeine in your veins as I read this. I can't help but think of Residential schools when Kincheloe talks about power. That is the extreme example. You are right to question the less extreme ones--"give the best (and most expensive) experiences to children".
BTW-these blogs are on pacific time. 5:00 am is really 8:00 am, a reasonable hour.
H
I have to follow up Howard's Wow with one of my own, holy WOW!! Lorelei, you really got me thinking with some very powerful questions.
My first response is that ultimately there must be some sort of balance. There is value in all things, and moderation (something I personally am constantly striving for in life) is an extremely important principal in all things.
I think you are right that we have excess in our society, and asking ourselves, as teachers and individuals, where we have enough and what we already have to be grateful about is a great start.
I am sure I will continue to ponder these ideas. Thanks for your insights
Lorelei,
I really connected with your blog today. You've left me with much to think about. I've used your blog as a jumping off point for my own blog tonight. Thanks for the moderation inspiration!
Catherine
Ah, Lorelei...you got right at the heart of what I was thinking while reading the Kincheloe but hadn't found the energy to blog about yet! Your questions reminded me of an interaction I had this summer with a teacher who was very proudly telling the story of a student-initiated project which had taken place in his classroom - in a nutshell, his students were excited about dinosaurs and some of them wanted to go to "Walking with the Dinosaurs" at the MTS centre - but not surprisingly, the $75 tickets were out of the price range of their parents. After a classroom discussion, the children decided to fundraise in order to raise enough money for the class to attend. In the end, they raised more than $700 (they got discounted tickets in the end, in case you are trying to get the math to work out!) by selling ice cream and baking to their schoolmates at recesses and lunch times. The teacher was very proud of his students in terms of the initiative they took and the learning which had ensued in terms of money-counting, change making, organization, entrepreneurial skills etc. - but I wonder now what the students had learned from this experience and what assumptions and attitudes had been left unquestioned. Let alone the fact that selling junk food in a school division that is trying to promote healthy eating is questionable, and that the money they raised was coming from pockets not much fuller than the pockets of their own parents (who were also providing the ice cream and the baking), I wonder what would have happened if the problem had been approached not from a "Yes, you are entitled to go to see Walking with Dinosaurs so let's fund-raise!" stance but rather a "What is the value of $75 in terms of a family?" stance. How many hours of work is that? How many groceries could that buy? What would that amount of money be worth to someone in a third world country? How much money is the MTS centre making from this show and who is getting the profits? Who can afford that kind of entertainment, and who can't? Why is that?
Approaching those kind of issues with young children is somewhat scary, but re-enforcing the consumerism to which young minds are so easily susceptible is probably not what we want schools to be doing - is it?
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