I think the movement should start from the top down and from the bottom up at the same time. Kids should be ready to be led to the well and teachers should be available to lead them there.
Regardless, I loved your story Karen. If only more teachers were quite like yours.

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Freire’s views on education are a product of his time and environment: poor Brazil in the 60s and the economic and social disparities between classes. Nowadays, we have another form of disparity independent learning vs. mindless learning. So, in that respect, Freire’s views still apply to reconcile these two disparate pedagogies, in my opinion, of course :-).

You could assign chapters for students or groups of students to present to the class and you can be the moderator rather than the lecturer, thus achieving two goals: a) they are forced to learn at least the chapters assigned to them because and b) you introduce critical thinking and force the students to go above and beyond, rather than just bearing the brunt of the lecture.

Thanks Jyotsana. You know, I always keep in the back of my mind the story you told of how you changed the teaching pattern for high school students and how much they became interested in the subject. That’s subconsciously what I was doing with my kids, exposing them to different pieces of the puzzle hoping to peak their interest. As of now, I do it consciously and purposefully and we shall see how it goes

Thanks Cassie. You know, I always encourage the professors and PhD students I know to change the way they approach research: professors shouldn’t task their students and students shouldn’t just rely on the teacher. An exchange of idea and support is needed for the benefit of both parties.

Thanks. You know? I had the exact same thoughts. It is easier when you have a small group of people. BUT, one way to overcome the obstacle of a large class is to divide the class into groups and task each group with a question to solve rather than you lecturing them using power point. Obviously, no method is perfect but we will get the hang of it after SEVERAL tries

My point is, when we instill this questioning aspect in our at a young age, they will demand it in schools. They will seek it and eventually make it the rule rather than the exception. I think it’s a circle, send thinkers instead of robots and expect a different teaching methodology.

History is just one of the aspects that are dictated by the winner and exactly why we need critical thinking. If we grow up believing what is written in history books, we will never live the truth. There is no universal truth, it is rather a complex puzzle that needs to be completed with pieces in more than one source.

“I have learned now that while those who speak about one’s miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.” C.S.Lewis. You are miserable no more because you are working towards making education better for the generations to come :-D

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Before I went to college, the teachers just transferred knowledge and I just received knowledge by memoring mostly. The teachers didn’t care much about critical thinking because they focused on letting students to pass the exams.