I agree. I’ve often asked myself the “never ask question”, how can I alone make a change? Then this question is followed immediately by absolute doubt in myself and anyone else attempting the same problem. But, perhaps there’s also credit in that question I shouldn’t ask, because unless someone is power or significance, or has the support of significant people, is it possible to redefine the way an age-old institution operates? Like politics, the people that can probably make the most significant changes are those that seem only to be self-absorbed (e.g., big bankers/oil businesses; i.e. people that would have more influential power than the president), or indifferent about the issue. ~ most of this is just my opinion based on personal experience as it pertains to these challenges.

I would like to think inclusion and a recognition (and perhaps celebration) of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts, allows for healthy discussion and empathetic conversation, free of prejudices and misgivings/misconceptions based on race, gender, nationality, etc, especially at our institutions of higher education. But that is an ideal and not reality. I think it is a goal we need to be working toward, foster a climate of community, guide reality toward that ideal as best we can. The classroom is a good place to start.

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I would like to think inclusion and a recognition (and perhaps celebration) of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts, allows for healthy discussion and empathetic conversation, free of prejudices and misgivings/misconceptions based on race, gender, nationality, etc, especially at our institutions of higher education. But that is an ideal and not reality. I think it is a goal we need to be working toward, foster a climate of community, guide reality toward that ideal as best we can. The classroom is a good place to start.

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A reading from several weeks ago suggested a more active approach to teaching (e.g., asking students to design test questions or group questions based on topics). I’ve rarely taken courses that are like this. I’ve had professors who knowingly cram line after line of facts down students’ throats, and demand similar regurgitation during a test. Unfortunately, these teachers appear to have less interest in teach and more interest in achieving a specific money quota in research. But, regardless of these, there are those teachers out there that are beginning to teach, and perhaps have a passion for seeing students grow, that are still exploring new ways of breaking away from traditional, pointless methods of teaching and finding ways to drive students curiosity.

Does education have to be either/or? Why does education have to be polarized as either liberating or domesticating, promoting either conformity or freedom? Seems absolutist and counterintuitive. Freire….

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Does education have to be either/or? Why does education have to be polarized as either liberating or domesticating, promoting either conformity or freedom? Seems absolutist and counterintuitive. Freire….

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Education without critical thinking isn’t much of an education. An understanding of the self and the subject material is a positive thing, certainly, and critical pedagogy is one way to achieve that. However, an instructor must ensure the students have a foundation of understanding before allowing them free rein to critique. Otherwise the classroom will resemble a political chat forum on Facebook: “Well, in my horribly uninformed opinion which is all that matters in this world the item under discussion is offensive and wrong. RRRrrrrrr.”

Great imagery! I concur; the banking concept eliminates agency, democracy, and ownership of students’ learning and their learning community, so it leaves the instructor as the sole proprietary to impart/construct knowledge. In contrast, the problem-posing concept is beneficial to students’, because it permits students with the ability to openly share their ideas, thoughts, knowledge, or experiences as well as question and assert their viewpoints, which then allows peer-to-peer educating/discussing different perspectives.

The open space creates learning in deeper levels of cogitation and an even more depth of knowledge in probing and questioning the instructor, so it would be imperative for the instructor to consider the ways they open discussion(s) and mediate discussion(s) in the learning environment. There are pros and cons to both concepts, but the instructor is tasked with identifying a balance between both concepts to have students demonstrate their understanding of the specific topic to challenge the instructor, provide opportunities for students’ to demonstrate their knowledge in teaching their peers and the instructor, occasions where students will learn solely from the instructor, and learn from their peers, but most of all learn from themselves.

Excellent post!

I really enjoyed reading your post and completely agree with you that we : teachers/ educators must actively work to empower students. And this empowerment may look different for different students for example: the way we develop teaching strategies, ways in which we instill critical thinking may be different for freshmen compared to seniors… I think ultimately the goal of the teacher should be to be intentional in whatever they do and teach. This would include preparing students for the ” real world” outside of the walls of the classroom.

Thank you for reminding us, Sihui, that context matters. Freire focused on literacy not for its own sake, but as a vehicle for raising consciousness. I would like to think that there is (or should be) room for his approach in nearly all educational systems, but I recognize that it will be easier to implement these ideals in some contexts more than others. I wonder if in the Chinese context just thinking about the teacher as a learner — someone who cannot be one without the other, and regarding one’s students as co-learners might help create some productive space?