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Feminist theory and postmodernism
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Critical Pedagogy
The acclaimed lyricist Oscar Hammerstein once wrote, "You have to be carefully taught." Most will agree that properly educating children is essential for the good of a society. However, the best method of educating students is a much more debatable topic. What is the best way to educate a student? Is it through memorization? Discussion? Exploration? Experimentation? Through the ages many scholars, teachers, and other accredited individuals have offered their opinions on the science of teaching, or pedagogy. One such man is Henry Giroux, the author of Modernism, Postmodernism, and Feminism. In his introductory chapter to this novel, Giroux sets his principles for critical pedagogy. Among these principles is one belief that reads, "Critical pedagogy needs to create new forms of knowledge through its emphasis on breaking down disciplinary boundaries and creating new spaces where knowledge can be produced."
What does this belief mean to me? In order to understand my interpretation of the principle as a whole, it is necessary to understand my interpretations of the various words and phrases that make up the rule. Take the first phrase, "… to create new forms of knowledge…" I interpret "new forms of knowledge" as knowledge expressed in forms other than the traditional. For example, "old" forms of knowledge may be names, dates, numbers, and concrete facts that are memorized without being fully understood. On the other hand, "new" forms of knowledge may refer to abstract ideas, concepts, and theory, without definite answers. The next phrase of the principle speaks of, "…breaking down disciplinary boundaries…" I would define "disciplinary boundaries" as any boundaries or limits that prevent learning from taking pla...
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...-hand. For example, no one should have to figure out on their own body that hair is flammable, or that a wet tongue will stick to a metal flagpole on a cold day.
So, does critical pedagogy really need to create new forms of knowledge through its emphasis on breaking down disciplinary boundaries and creating new places where knowledge can be developed? Learning in this manner can be beneficial because the information is better understood, more fully realized, and more easily applied by the student. However, this manner of learning can also be counter-productive because the information is obtained much more slowly, and little effort is made to learn from previous research and mistakes. What is the most effective way to teach? While the best method of teaching will be under constant scrutiny, all will agree on one point. You have to be carefully taught.
In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Chaucer the author and Chaucer the pilgrim are both quick to make distinctions between characters and point out shortcomings. Though Chaucer the pilgrim is meeting the group for the first time, his characterizations go beyond simple physical descriptions. Using just twenty-one lines in the General Prologue, the author presents the character of the Miller and offers descriptions that foreshadow the sardonic tone of his tale and the mischievous nature of his protagonist.
In the year 1775 my life was turned upside down. I was born in Manhattan, New York, in the year 1760. Life was wonderful for my first 15 years. My father owned a print shop and his business thrived. Everything started to change when my brother, Abiel, and father, Jonas, left to join The Continental Army in December of 1775. Britain's power over the Colonies was troubling many people, including my dad. My father had always complained about the how the Stamp Act affected his business negatively and that the British are no good. When he joined the army, he had to sell off the shop to another family and left my mother and me with a dilemma; how would we support ourselves and our family? At the time of his departure I had a sister named Amity who was nine and a baby brother who was almost one. I had always assumed I would live in wealth until I married. However, nothing was guaranteed. I realized I was going to have to put in lots of effort to get my life back to how it was before, if that was even possible.
Marples, R. (2010). What should go on the curriculum? In Bailey, R. (Ed.), The philosophy of education: An introduction (pp 33-47). London: Bloomsbury
As professionals, pedagogues are encouraged constantly to reflect on their practice and to apply both theoretical understandings and self-knowledge to the sometimes challenging demands with which they are
In order to establish a PHILOSOPHY ON TEACHING, a sequence of events happen in history to open a doorway to “Society about Education and Schooling”, as the description of Public Education Goals for Our Educational System came from the ideas of two famous men, Horace Mann and Thomas Jefferson.
Alternative energy does not focus on the burning of fuel, nor the nuclear process. Alternative energy is basically an alternative to fossil fuel. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, or even natural gas. One day coal and oil will eventually run out, and the cost of these are getting more and more expensive by the day. We can reuse alternative energy, but no matter what energy sources we use, there will always be pros and cons.
“The Miller’s Tale” opens with a blunt challenge to authority. When the Miller breaks with the hierarchy and demands to tell his story before the Monk, Chaucer makes the authoritative structure abundantly clear. Though the order of story-telling among acquaintances is a seemingly insignificant, far removed from the rigid hierarchy of medieval England, Chaucer is sure to fundamentally
Chaucer's "The Miller's Tale" should be tragic, because a lot of horrible things happen to the characters. The carpenter's wife is disloyal to him, sleeping with others and making fun of him with Nicholas. Also, he is depicted as a fool. However, readers get a humorous feeling from the story, rather than feeling sorry for the carpenter's unfair life. Chaucer makes the whole story come across as comic rather than tragic. This humor is created by the Miller's narration, the use of irony, the cartoon-like characters, and the twists of plot. These elements combine to produce an emotional distance which enhances the comic effect.
Critical pedagogy provides educators with tools to analyze how education affects students’ lives, empower students to learn deeply, and create tasks and activities that provide students the opportunity to question the hegemonic practices of society. Critical pedagogy focuses on positively shaping education and transforming knowledge for the future. It is a philosophy of education that supports teaching that seeks to connect teachers and students as co-learners in the process of learning. It encourages students to develop their own mind and conquer the challenges that come from emancipatory education.
The ability to reflect critically on one’s experience, integrate knowledge gained from experience with knowledge possessed, and take action on insights is considered by some adult educators to be a distinguishing feature of the adult learner (Brookfield 1998; Ecclestone 1996; Mezirow 1991). Critical reflection is the process by which adults identify the assumptions governing their actions, locate the historical and cultural origins of the assumptions, question the meaning of the assumptions, and develop alternative ways of acting (Cranton 1996). Brookfield (1995) adds that part of the critical reflective process is to challenge the prevailing social, political, cultural, or professional ways of acting. Through the process of critical reflection, adults come to interpret and create new knowledge and actions from their ordinary and sometimes extraordinary experiences. Critical reflection blends learning through experience with theoretical and technical learning to form new knowledge constructions and new behaviors or insights.
The thesis of Stephen D. Brookfield’s book, Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher, is that teachers usually have specific assumptions about what effective teaching really means and what it entails. In this regard, teachers embark on imparting knowledge and new skills to their students based on what they assume to be the best approaches as appertains to effective teaching. Additionally, Brookfield (1995, p. 9) goes on to propose that these teachers never really pose to examine the nature of these assumptions, which essentially guide the way they intuitively instruct their students. Some of these assumptions might be well-meaning but they might not necessarily translate to effective teaching. This is especially the case where the students being taught are either specialized or prone to holding their own opinions regarding the effectiveness of their teacher, which then affect the way they respond to a specific teacher’s lessons.
Jaime Escalante, a great educator, once said, “The teacher gives us the desire to learn, the desire to be Somebody.” As a teacher, my goal will be to show students that each of them can be whatever they want to be, and not only are they capable of being good at what they do, they can be the best. To reach this goal, I must be an effective teacher, which I believe can best be accomplished by teaching in a way that is comfortable for me. Therefore, I will not base my classroom around one single philosophy; I am going to seek comfort by utilizing certain aspects of different educational philosophies, namely essentialism, existentialism, progressivism, and social reconstructionism.
I believe that teaching is one of the most important careers that one can have, granted that there are many more jobs that come to mind that have more importance, but they all started with education. Without education society is left with nothing. Although, teaching isn’t just about giving the students the information, it is about building critical thinking, communication, showing their creative side and having them to embrace the information in order to achieve higher standards. I think that education is truly the foundation.
In this course I experienced an important change in my beliefs about teaching; I came to understand that there are many different theories and methods that can be tailored to suit the teacher and the needs of the student. The readings, especially those from Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011), Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2007), and Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., Nanlohy, P. (2010), have helped me to understand this in particular. In composing my essay about teaching methods and other themes, my learning was solidified, my knowledge deepened by my research and my writing skills honed.
I have almost completed this semester and a few weeks, students of KPMIM will face a war, final exam. We are busying with to fulfill the task or assignment that need to be submitted on the deadline. Yeah, it really kills my life and freedom. However, we have to bear with it because we are student. So, my thoughts about Critical Literacy had change a bit. It is not hard or difficult actually. We just need to know about it, learn and practice it. So it much more easier if you want it too.