The beauty of the practice of teaching [or being human!] is made up of a passion for the integrity that unites teacher and student [human and human]. A passion that has roots in ethical responsibility, . we are engaged in an effort to overcome debilitating dualisms because we are talking about the impossibility of separating . . . practice and theory, authority and freedom, ignorance and knowledge. . . As a teacher, I cannot help the students to overcome their ignorance if I am not engaged in permanently trying to overcome my own” (Freire 88- 89)
Lynn writes: The paradigm of artists and designers working on their own, in isolation, is becoming less relevant in light of today's diverse cultural and democratic needs. The practice of creating and designing is more about groups people working together, in teams, and creating solutions together. Situations where we are designing for, with, and by people, give us the opportunity to work alongside the ambiguity and complexity of today’s society. Based on your experiences working as a group in class last Friday, consider describing ways we develop as an individuals when we work collectively. What does it mean to own an idea? and what does it mean to collaborate on ideas?
I add: From a broader perspective, I would say that our whole paradigm/concept of what it means to be an “autonomous” individual is flawed and has led to a lot of the fragmentation, alienation, and dehumanization that we have discussed in class in terms of education and our democracy.
So, in thinking about Friday, use Freire to help you go deeper. Make connections between the process you experienced Friday and what Freire writes about teaching and learning—which, I propose is also about what it means to be human, to strive to increase our humanity through the challenge of seeing and addressing issues of equity, power, injustice. How did you see this happening or not on Friday? What was your role? What, in relation to Freire, might you now think about expanding in your own approach to this process?
Makre sure you include specifics from your Friday group process and at least 3 quotes from Freire that help you to reflect more deeply on your role, how you worked with others, how the ideas evolved through collaboration.
Robin Goldschmidt
ReplyDeleteCLQ: Thinking For Change
October 16, 2011
Blog 7
The work we did in class Friday was entirely based on collaborative work instead of focusing on the individual. We worked as a group pulling all of our ideas together and thinking about ideas together. Everyone came up with ideas separately and then we made them into the overall group’s ideas. This was a successful way of going about working together and getting everyone’s input, so we could make a powerful slogan. Freire makes some very interesting points about teachers and their connection with their students. One I believe is key is, “One is to make it always obvious to the students that respect for them is fundamental” (87). In order to successfully learn in school both parties need to have the utmost respect for each other. I have found that this is one thing that is lacking in MCCS. It seems that both parties do not have enough respect for each other. The students do not respect the teachers because it seems that they believe the students are mentally challenged, thus treating them like little children. Due to this the student’s responses are very hostile and the cycle just continues. I have encountered the same thing before, teachers have treated as if I was a little child, which I also did not respond to kindly too. Freire, states that the real beauty is between the students and their teachers and how they feed off each other. Therefore, he would be against the issues that are occurring at MCCS currently. I could also see that this issue was present this Friday as teachers always tried to get the MCCS students to talk and always referred questions to them and not the entire group. Freire also states that, “Another kind of knowledge whose existence I cannot doubt for a moment in my critical educative practice is that education, as a specifically human experience, is a form of intervention in the world” (91). This is very important because through education we are trying to make a change in the issues we see. That is basically, the point of making the speak up t-shirts and posters, to educate the population. This education we are taking part in is basically an intervention as we are educating people to fix and stop an issue that is currently occurring. This intervention is key in making a difference in society and seeing how successfully Dominican students can work with the MCCS students. Everyone in our group helped each other, there was no distinct job for anyone to do, which is probably why we were so successful. Another powerful statement Freire makes is that, “Freedom becomes mature in confrontation with other freedoms, defending its rights in relation to parental authority, the authority of teachers, and the authority of the state” (97). The idea of freedom is very important as it is what forms us and leads to do what we do in the United States. With this freedom we are able to secure an education that helps us advance in our future. We also only see the freedoms we have until they are pulled into question and are later challenged by other freedoms. However, it is important that some freedoms are challenged and that there is authority from people in power. Basically, in a school scene the teachers have authority and need to use that to make sure students receive a proper education and pay attention while in school. This is important as the education one receives while in school will have a very big impact on what one will be able to do in the future.
Jessica McKean
ReplyDeleteSilence is Golden
In chapter four, Freire talks a lot about the relationship between students and teachers. He talks about, as a teacher you must also be a good listener. “On the contrary, it is knowing how to listen well that I better prepare myself to speak or to situate myself vis-à-vis the ideas being discussed as a subject capable of presence, of listening ‘connectedly’ and without prejudices to what the other is saying” (107). I believe this to be very true; how can you understand and work together if you don’t listen. I feel our group did a pretty good job of doing this. It was hard to get our student to come up with ideas at first but then he thought about Jesus and how he isn’t necessarily white like many believe. Even though half our group isn’t religious, we went with it; we wanted his message to come to life so that he could say something to the world. I do feel like he wasn’t that into the project, because he is very quiet and seems somewhat distant.
Freire also talked about the importance of silence in communication. “The importance of silence in the context of communication is fundamental. On the one hand, it affords me space while listening to the verbal communication of another and allows me to enter into the internal rhythm of the speaker’s thought and experience that rhythm ad language. On the other hand, silence makes it possible for the speaker who is really committed to the experience of communication… to hear the question, the doubt, the creativity of the person who is listening” (104). Sometimes silence is best; it gives you time to think and to really understand what another person is talking about. I’m not one who likes silence that much, but I tend to be silent so I can listen to others opinions and thoughts. I don’t think that I did the best job of listening to our student. It was hard because he was quiet and I wanted to keep our brainstorming going to create the best idea we could. But I’m also not really sure how to get him more involved; it doesn’t seem like he wants to be, but I could be mistaken. I will just have to be more observant to “understand the meaning of a moment of silence, of a smile, or even of an instance in which someone needs to leave to room” (89).
Brittany Philpot
ReplyDeleteImportance of Teaching
“If I consider myself superior to what is different, no matter what it is, I am refusing to listen” (Freire 108). When working with the MCCS students on Friday’s, I try to make them feel like we are equals. By communicating with them and talking about things they like, I feel like they are more open with me and aren’t scared to tell me how they truly feel about something. While we were working on the ideas of the phrases we wanted on our t-shirts, they were both very engaged and put what they really wanted to say into words. I never once felt as if they didn’t want to be there. They both were excited about helping design the image for the phrase. I really enjoyed working with them on the ideas because I could tell they truly cared. If I were to act as if I was there teacher or someone superior to them, then I do not think they would have been as open to give their opinions to the ideas or help out in designing the images.
In class, while we all worked as a group, I felt everyone was participating in putting their own input into the idea. When my other group members were making suggestions that made me come up with new ideas based on what they came up with. This group work enables us to learn from each other. We all have different ways of imaging things and when we work together we can bring together all our ideas in the best possible way to make our project the best it can be. Working in a group allows us to learn more than we would if we worked alone. “Our work is with people, whether they be simple, youthful, or adult” (Freire 127). This is an important concept because in life we must always work with others, so we need to understand how to do so and also why working with others is beneficial for a project.
“It is intolerable to see teachers giving themselves the right to behave as if they owned the truth – and taking all the time they waste to talk about it. Such an authoritarian attitude presupposes that the listener’s time is also the speaker’s time” (Freire 104). While reading this it made me think of when we were working on the project on Friday and instead of just talking the whole time about what I wanted to do, I tried focusing on listening to what the MCCS students really wanted. In doing this, as a group we were able to come up with great ideas quickly. We all listened to one another and did not have one person talking about what they wanted the whole time. Everyone had their chance to speak up about their views.
Last Friday working in a group and thinking of ideas was harder than I thought. This was the first time for me that I experienced the MCCS students really not making an effort to participate. So I kept trying to think of ideas that would relate to them and maybe spark something to get them thinking. Slowly but surely one of them started to participate. I realized that working in a group allowed my thinking to expand. Not only with the MCCS students but also my fellow Dominican students were saying ideas that I would not have thought of. Working in a group was helping to expand my personal bubble of comfort. We started to feed off of each others ideas and learn from each others perspectives.
ReplyDeleteAlthough last Friday I was not in the position of a teacher, Freire makes a good point that can be related to this situation. He says “I can not be a teacher without exposing who I am”(87). Like this quote I could not be a working member of the group without revealing part of myself. I was making myself vulnerable to criticisms and having my ideas shut down by people. This can be a difficult process but when you understand that it is for a process of learning it feels better. To answer the second question of what it means to own an idea is very complicated. I feel that all human beings have learned from one another, the past, mistakes made, and our living situations. So when someone says that they own an idea I think that is pretty hard to believe that they were not influenced by anyone else throughout their lifetime.
This chapter by Freire speaks so much about standing up for your opinion. He says “I cannot be a teacher if I do not perceive with ever greater clarity that my practice demands me a definition about where I stand” (93). Having your own opinion is very important when working with a group because if your group is really against your idea it is important to still stand up for what you believe in. You may need to simply work with something that you don’t completely agree with for one assignment, but out of the classroom it is great know what you stand for individually. Freire also says “neutrality in education is impossible” (100). This is so true in all aspects of education. No matter what you are doing in order to really learn you have to have an opinion. Whether you are working in a group or individually an opinion is always necessary.
Giving respect to get it.
ReplyDelete"To accept and respect what is different is one of those virtues without which listening cannot take place. If I am prejudiced against a child who is poor, or black or Indian, or rich or against a woman who is pleasant or from the working class, it is obvious that I cannot listen to them and I cannot speak with them, only to or at them, from the top down. Even more than that, I forbid myself from understanding them."(108)
I think this is the case with the MCCS students and their teachers. I am not saying that the teachers are prejudice but I think the teachers fail to understand the students because they cannot relate to them individually. They do not fully understand what is really going on outside of the classroom walls for these students, therefore the students don't have a common ground with the teacher and creates a lack of respect towards the teachers. The teachers may think that they have it all figured out when in reality they don't. This automatically creates a barrier between the students and teachers. Due to this barrier between the students and teachers, respect between the two parties are not present which only hinders the true development of self-confidence and autonomy in each individual.
"My security does not rest on the false supposition that I know everything or that I am the "greatest". On the contrary, it rests on the conviction that there are some things I know and some things I do not know." (120)
This is a much better approach towards students. I think this is very important for everyone when dealing with people and life in general. My grandfather would always say " The more you know, the more you don't know". I think it is necessary that we self reflect and self evaluate ourselves. We should always remember to stay grounded and be humble. It is so easy to get caught up and distracted by our sometimes natural egotistic ways.
During our project on friday MCCS and DU students worked together to brainstorm and think out loud. There was no authority hovering over anyone. In the beginning the students were a bit shy but when we started to talk about issues that affected them they immediately opened up and shared their thoughts. The students also showed more respect to us than their teachers. The fact that we were all students and that we were working on a project new to all of us, allowed us to have better chemistry and deeper connection.
"The climate of respect that is born of just, serious, humble, and generous relationships, in which both the authority of the teacher and the freedom of the students are ethically grounded, is what converts pedagogical space into authentic educational experience."(86) The students may have also felt that we were taking the time out to understand them as individuals and not be biased towards who they are. We all were on the same level and respected each other.
We, like the MCCS students, were building up our own autonomy by listening and speaking up. They spoke out on what they wanted and we expressed our thoughts on what we wanted. Everyone was working together as one, we were ethically responsible and we were united.
John Sansone
ReplyDeleteThinking For Change
Reflection 7
October 19, 2011
“Is my curiosity able to express itself? Is it growing? One of the essential qualities that an authoritative, democratic teaching practice ought to reveal in its relationship with the freedom of students is a sense of its own self-confidence” (85). When we met with the MCCS students this Friday we had the task to express our ideas we shared as a class on Wednesday and then get the students to buy into them. The exercise on Friday required us to have self-confidence in our own ideas in order for us to share the points of are speak out slogans. My group was Robin, Anissa, Gerard, and I who were responsible for two MCCS students Jonathan and Ryan. At first it was very hard to get them to talk and interact with us in the project. The two boys just did not seem interested in the project what so ever. At this point we all turned to one another and realized that everyone needed to take on a leadership role and have the self-confidence to express themselves for the betterment of the group. We all took on the responsibility to teach these students all about our slogan and explain how this slogan would speak volumes to their peers. “There is no teaching without learning” (35). This quote embodied Friday’s exercise because in order for my group to help teach these students about the assignment we needed to get to know them on a more personal level. This meant that we needed to break out of our comfort zones. We started to ask them about their interests and what they like to do in their spare time. Surprisingly both students explained how they ejoyed drawing alone in their rooms at night, it was a way to express themselves. Keeping this in mind the group began to get a rhythm and the conversations starting flowing and now we were all on the same page. I was able to interact on a personal level with Ryan; a latino teenager who looked like he did not want any part in this project before I spoke to him. After I started to talk to him he showed me a completely different side to him that was amazing. He told me that his life consists of hard work and that he wants to make a way out and start a better life. He told me that he washes dishes everyday after school until the evening at a local restaurant, however he enjoys working a lot he exclaimed. “The importance of silence in the context of communication is fundamental” (104). This quote spoke to me because obviously the conversation may not always be going smoothly or may lose substance. In this moment we must understand that silence does not hurt. In fact silence is powerful and allows people to focus and concentrate on the task. When others see people concentrating it rubs off on them and serves as a good influence for those observing. I think that we all posed as a good influence for the MCCS students because each meeting we teach them little things that can make them a better student and more importantly a better individual. This means so much to me when I can impact someone else’s life at such a young age from all the things I have learned from my elders and knowledge. It is important to me that I can influence someone everyday hopefully always as a good example. This is why I enjoy being a leader especially in sports as a team captain. That is why whenever I was elected to be captain, I made sure to have my actions speak louder than my words. People learn and follow best when they can simply watch by good examples. Keeping this in mind ideas begin to flow in collaboration because is working towards the same goal.