Zehara Eckert
9/25/11
Text/Service Reflection: (Freire Ch. 3 & CKCS #'s 2, 25, 31)
This chapter of Freire, “Teaching Is Not Just Transferring Knowledge,” was also my favorite. There were so many thought-provoking quotes, and it was rich in symbolism. “When I enter a classroom I should be someone who is open to new ideas, open to questions, and open to the curiosities of the students as well as their inhibitions” (Freire, 49). This quote should apply to students as well, because it is key to learning as well as teaching. Teachers should create an educational arena where critical thinking about a certain subject can thrive rather than just transfer their knowledge to their students. As stated by one of the students described by George Michie in the chapter from Holler If You Hear Me, “To me what makes a good teacher is someone who understands the students” (Michie, 13). I couldn’t agree more with this quote. Understanding the students and knowing how they think can make teaching easier for the teacher and the learning process more enjoyable for the students.
I see it like Freire: right thinking has nothing to do with pre-established notions. “I, for example, do not feel anger but pity when angry people, full of their own genius, minimize me and make little of me” (Freire, 51). This quote is amazing. Those words of Freire are an important element of my life philosophy. Holding on to our own identity in regard to others and the world gives us a way to experience ourselves in a cultural and historical context. To tie this to the quote posted on your prompt, Professor Julia, like Freire I believe that in this context one must realize that one is an unfinished being in this world and allow one’s consciousness to grow. “Whenever there is life, there is unfinishedness, though only among women and men is it possible to speak of an awareness of unfinishedness” (Freire, 52). Our awareness of our consciousness is what separates us from other animals. We have the ability to think, to speak in language (written and spoken), to grasp intellectual thoughts, and to communicate what has been grasped. The realization of our unfinishedness is crucial to the human condition, and it is what allows us to evolve. This awareness allows us to adapt, intervene, and re-create the world. In this consciousness is where learning the possibility of being educated exists.
I have to agree with Freire that being human is not about reducing the value of others due to envy or anger, even if they are questioning your presence in the world. The class discussion and activity in Wednesday’s class with Julie and JuanCarlos evolved around this theme of our own perception as well as how others perceive us. What I got from Wednesday’s discussion and class activity is that one’s existence in the world is not pre-determined or pre-established. One’s destiny is not granted at birth; rather it is constructed throughout the individual’s growth. There is an amazing story my mom told me as I was growing up. A man was stranded on his rooftop in a flood, and boat after boat came by. Each time a boat came by the people in the boat urged the man to get in, in order to move him into safety. Each time the man refused, saying “God is going to save me.” When the water rose too high, the man died and went to heaven. In heaven he said to God, “Why didn’t you save me? I had faith in you and I trusted you.” God replied, “My son, who do you think sent all those boats?” The message is that you might have faith and you might be destined to do something, but you have to take the responsibility to do your part and make it happen. God helps those who help themselves. Your growth as an individual cannot happen by passively waiting for something better to happen. Going back to Freire and our Wednesday’s class activity, our unfinishedness makes us responsible beings.
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