Oh how I would love if the system was rebuilt on passion versus fear. If learners had the opportunity as children to focus more on what they are passionate about, we would have a lot more innovative discoveries. Children are very smart but I feel they hold back because they fear being told they are wrong. Educators should support learning with passion more.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I completely agree with you. It is sometimes difficult for students to memorize all of the information being thrown at them. Faculty should make sure the student is connected with what is being taught along with the people in the class. Throughout my education, I have dealt with imposter syndrome and faculty should find a way to make everyone feel connected.

The photo of your group alone is the perfect visual for critical pedagogy. In my eyes the group is not only students but also future teachers, that in return will provide additional knowledge to others. While preparing to teach us with this blog post, you were also collaborating and researching to gain additional knowledge which is in a sense the definition of critical pedagogy. I appreciated each bullet point as they hit right on the head major ideas around critical pedagogy. And my favorite was the meme related to teaching children how to think , not what to think! I agree 100%

I agree with Cindy. When looking at education, teachers need to be current. Even though one graduates and may be considered an expert in their field, things are continuously changing. Teachers should maintain their knowledge base by staying up to date on subject matter and learn along side their students. The visual meme is also something that I can relate to. Minds should have multiple browsers open because they should always been learning something new.

I love the theory of allowing children to be curious. The bullet points provided in the definition of critical pedagogy states, encourage children to question and reflect on everything. This would be awesome if all classrooms provided this type of environment. It truly does make the different in a student wanting to learn more.

Thank you, we definitely can use that cap as a motivator. Yes, we should always ask why! I am a strong believer in asking for more information if I do not understand.

I have not had much time to think about it but I know I will try to incorporate it in some fashion. Just learning myself what critical pedagogy is I have learned a lot and will be making several changes in the future.

Thanks, we worked a long time on making sure it captured each one of our groups thoughts on the definition of critical pedagogy. When it comes to learning, I think it starts with administration because they are the ones that create policy as well as they complete evaluations which lead to pay. I find it difficult to place all the blame on teachers, faculty and professors, it starts at the top. Expectations are set by the administration and when it come to education, we should have higher standards.

I agree that some professors want the students to just memorize the information and move on, but is that really learning. Yes, it makes it easier for the faculty as they can have a teaching plan and get through it but it doesn’t truly grasp at critical pedagogy. The professors should be learning while teaching and I feel this can only be done when one gets the perspective of their students as well as get challenged on some of their thoughts and opinions. This causes one to look further and research more, which leads to additional learning.

You’re exactly right…students should know they have the freedom to ask questions and learn as much as they can. The classroom should be a safe place but sometimes it doesn’t feel that way. Administrators should make it a point to inform teachers and faculty to make their classrooms a safe place to learn and advocate for questions from students.