Critical Pedagogy: The Making of A Character
¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 Kamal Salem
¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 ENGL 985
¶ 3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 0 Dr. Alexis Lothian
¶ 4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 0 Assignment # 3
¶ 5 Leave a comment on paragraph 5 0 Nov, 05th, 2013
Critical Pedagogy: The Making of A Character
¶ 8 Leave a comment on paragraph 8 0 I am a part of all that I have met,
¶ 9 Leave a comment on paragraph 9 0 Alfred Tennyson
¶ 10 Leave a comment on paragraph 10 0 Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think..
¶ 11 Leave a comment on paragraph 11 0 Albert Einstein
¶ 12 Leave a comment on paragraph 12 0 ______________________________________________________________________
¶ 13 Leave a comment on paragraph 13 1 In this memoire, I intend to highlight the role my academic experience played in my life as both a teacher and a learner. I consider my journey in the academy as unique and considerably fruitful in both my academic life and regular life. My odyssey in the academic field started as a learner. For some political reasons, I was not exposed to English learning in my early childhood just like any other student. The ex-Libyan president had abandoned and banned teaching English in high schools since 1986 until 1993. Therefore, I started learning English as a second language when I was in tenth grade as a high school student in my home country (Libya).
¶ 14 Leave a comment on paragraph 14 0 I began my teaching career as an English teacher in one of the schools in the Libyan city of Khoms. It was only one week after I sat for my last exam in the university. So it was really a new and sensitive experience for me. Given the title “sir” shortly after I was a student was really exciting and challenging for me. All in all, this was a beginning for a new step for me in as far as English is concerned. I moved from the state of student to the state of teacher; in the language of Marx, from a consumer to a producer.
¶ 15 Leave a comment on paragraph 15 2 It is important to mention that the teaching environment in schools was not so different from that of universities, with some relatively better atmosphere to private school. Classes were dense with students, infrastructure not well-built, students and teachers’ level is relatively low, and no real academic environment was available. In the midst of this I started my teaching career in a private school. The management is keen on gaining students’ (customers!) satisfaction in order to maintain more income. So the target satisfaction was that of the student and his parent, sometimes on the expense of the teacher.
¶ 16 Leave a comment on paragraph 16 0 I had some knowledge of Freire’s problem posing methodology, so it was my basic teaching technique. However, both students and their parents did not appreciate this methodology as they were accustomed to the banking “hegemonic” system of teaching. Students felt more comfortable in being lectured on, dictated and given the one and only truth; so my “democratic” inclinations did not appeal to them.
¶ 17 Leave a comment on paragraph 17 1 I need to say that, overall, I was happy with the two years I spent in this school. I was pretty satisfied with the students’ progress, and I got good evaluation on my performance. However, as I mentioned earlier, there were certain complaints from both students and parents regarding my methodology. I got many notices from the administration, but I was determined not to change the “emancipatory” method to the “colonial” one. As a result of this conflict between me and the administration, I had to quit. I resigned after two years teaching with no particular plan for future work.
¶ 18 Leave a comment on paragraph 18 0 Afterwards, I was hired as a teacher in an educational centre. I should admit the experience in this centre was far more challenging than that in the private school. As before, the Freirean teaching methodology was adopted with focus on creating a healthy teaching-learning atmosphere where student’s involvement in the process was highly attained. I was respectful of the curriculum set by the centre administration, however, for purposed of involving the students, I made the syllabus loose, giving opportunity for students to add items of their interests. I also made them choose topics of their interest, among many other techniques I followed. Again, these “liberating” methods did not appeal to the majority of the students as well as the administration who had a weird liking for “autocratic.”
¶ 19 Leave a comment on paragraph 19 0 Before moving to the next stage of my experience in the academy (graduate student), I need to say few words regarding the influence my career had on me until that point. More and more, my admiration and interest in teaching increased. On the other hand, teaching helped me build my identity and high self-esteem, not only because I could express myself better, but also the fact that I taught others how to do so made me feel proud. Additionally, teaching made me realise that in the process of teaching one comes to learn as well. I admit that the process of correcting students’ papers, following up on their work and the personal research I made for this purpose enriched my knowledge in the field. Equally important, teaching made me discover the potential, stamina, enthusiasm and readiness for hard work in me.
¶ 20 Leave a comment on paragraph 20 0 Moving to my journey as a graduate student, I was admitted in University of Salford Manchester as a prospective MA student in English translation & Interpreting (English to Arabic and vice versa). The physical boundaries I crossed from Libya to the United Kingdom opened new horizons for me on the academic, professional as well as the personal levels. My study and life in Britain for around 4 years enriched my English knowledge, made me acquire more personal skills and gave me opportunities for better employment positions. It was really in the UK that a considerable and real progress in my English took place. Although I had previously recognised the miserable educational system in Libya, but when I went to England I realised that it is more miserable than I thought when I compared it to the situation in the UK universities.
¶ 21 Leave a comment on paragraph 21 0 As an admirer and advocate of the problem-posing rather than the banking system, what I most liked in the learning environment in Salford University was the democratic learning atmosphere that made the student as the basic component of the pedagogical process with no autocratic authority of the instructor that would impede the student’s sense of freedom. Although translation, unlike literature, deals with some sorts of facts that one should stick to in his work, there was no real sense of right and wrong in the process; with students having complete freedom to produce what they view as the appropriate translation, then coming to discuss it with peer students in a democratic atmosphere to produce the target text.
¶ 22 Leave a comment on paragraph 22 1 Studying minority literature made me realize a point that I was ignorant of. I discovered that the concept of literature in Libya is so much different from the one I met here, and represents a tiny piece of the discipline. In most of the Arab countries, the stress in the literary field is on the canon. So only canonical primary texts are included in the syllabus and canonical scholarships are assigned. That is why, for example, the stress was on big names such as Shakespeare, Milton, the Brontes and the likes, and on one particular literary period, namely the British Victorian period. This emphasis was so high that students almost had an idea that literature is only Shakespeare and the nineteenth-century England!!!
¶ 23 Leave a comment on paragraph 23 0 I mentioned earlier that I am fan of the Freirean pedagogical model; i.e the problem-posing model, or critical pedagogy. I also indicated that in contrast to the situation in Libya, and I guess in all Arab countries, this model is sufficiently applied in UK, which I admired a lot. In the Arab schools and universities, the dominant methodology is that of the banking system, with the teacher viewed as the one who possess the full authority, and the students waiting to be spoon-fed by him and then to return what he gives them in the exam. This is really very pathetic, especially when it comes to literature. Imagine a senior student of literature being examined on issues like when the text was published, when the author was born, who said a particular quotation to whom, when and what happened after and before. It seems that some of the professors there had some sort of academic paranoia where they presuppose that students trick them by not reading the text and then getting an A. That is why they tend to shoot back by testing whether this student read the text or not.
¶ 24 Leave a comment on paragraph 24 0 This is the same healthy educational setting I have found in my doctoral studies. Within this context, I would give examples on the democratic atmosphere I found in the class settings of the first three courses I took; namely Asian American Literature, Digital Literature and Teaching Writing. In opposition to the autocratic learning atmosphere described above where the teacher assumes full authority of the setting, the class in these courses depends on discussion, workshops, presentations exchanging points of view and sound argument. The interesting point is that professor’s stress this issue from the beginning, emphasizing that class will be mainly discussion, not lecturing. They even articulate this in the syllabus. Below I am quoting statements from the three courses addressing this point:
In the Asian American Literature course, the syllabus says: “This graduate course is student-centered and discussion-oriented. Much of the learning takes place in the stimulating exchanges of the interpretations, debates, and dialogues in class.” Italics mine.
In the Digital Literature course, the syllabus reads: “I look forward to your active, engaged and generously community-minded dialogue with classmates. We will discuss, explore even articulate our differences in a spirit of respectful inquiry. I do not require that you be an expert or that you pontificate! … if you are shy about speaking or intimidated by some of your classmates, write down questions, bring a copy of your post to the forum.” Italics mine.
The syllabus of Teaching Writing reads: “you will be evaluated on your engagement with the materials and in the dialogues of the class. This does not necessarily mean how much you talk in class. It means how engaged and connected you are and your willingness to challenge and change your own thinking and practices. In what ways is your work in this class preparing you for entering the conversation of the profession?” Italics mine.
It also emphasizes to the student that the “outline looks settled, closed, but in reality it is open to revision and will be altered in response to the class interests and needs.’’
¶ 29 Leave a comment on paragraph 29 0 If Freire was able to have a glance at these three syllabi, he will be happy that elements from his healthy teaching model are still there. Notice the stress on “engagement” and “dialogue: in the three syllabi; seminal concepts for critical pedagogy. The Asian American course stresses the “student-centered” nature of the course, a very basic concept to be applied if effective healthy teaching is to take effect. The Digital Literature course takes into consideration student’s shyness and finds solutions for this. In the same vein, it stresses the healthy feature of showing differences by articulating those differences. Impressive things appear in the syllabi of the Teaching Writing course. Significantly, it emphasizes that it is not how much you talk as much as what you talk. Equally important, it states the significance of the student’s engagement in preparing him for entering the conversation of the profession. More and more, it clearly indicates that the student should exercise the skill of conversation and exchanging views.
¶ 30 Leave a comment on paragraph 30 1 I have highlighted this feature a lot because the Arab educational system lacks it a lot. The authority of the teacher in the Arab university is so paramount that it creates an image of a dictator who cannot be argued with, or it creates a barrier between the student and the professor so that the latter seems to be coming from outside the planet. In fact, I could see this in some students’ witty remarks and questions; some students for example were wondering if the professors eat as we eat and go to the bathroom!!! The students knew the answer to these questions; so these questions do not need an answer as much as they reflect an unconscious feeling of the professor’s alienation coming from his unquestioned authority.
¶ 31 Leave a comment on paragraph 31 0 This image of the professor in the Arab students’ minds is the reason for their fascination, excitement as well as wonder over the complete opposite image they find in the US universities. Personally, I was amazed in the first lectures how the professors were friendly, cooperative and how they accepted other points of view. This was not known of our Arab professors. Even the casual dress I see on the professors here contrasts with the extremely formal dress for the Arab professors, adding to their alienation.
¶ 32 Leave a comment on paragraph 32 0 The problem posing methodology or critical pedagogy is one of the basic benefits I gained in my learning teaching experience and saw it in best form at IUP. Aside from being a profitable and ideal teaching model, this methodology reflects a global tendency towards democratization and rejecting hegemony. If teachers stick to the banking model, they will be relegated to the back of human civilization. Critical pedagogy based on emancipation, dialogue, engagement and the student being the center of the teaching process should be implemented in teaching.
¶ 33 Leave a comment on paragraph 33 0 The implementation of this model starts by the teacher rejecting all orthodox forms of authority. The remaining authority for the teacher is represented in his management of the class and maintaining order. Otherwise the teacher is a moderator and the students are active participants in the class. Students participation can start from making them choose topics that are of their interest and reflect their social realities. Brainstorming and exchanging ideas is fruitful in this regard. Peer review is also important. More importantly, in correcting students’ assignments, the teacher should not depend on right or wrong in terms of ideas.
¶ 34 Leave a comment on paragraph 34 0 By and large, as this survey of my academic journey shows, the academic influence has had a long history with me. It started back in 1993 and is still in effect until this day. In more particular terms, the influence of Freire’s pedagogy has been so tremendous on me in the personal, the academic and the professional levels. On the personal level I became more able to express myself in both written and oral discourse. The logic that I got used to reflected in my conversations. On the academic level, I gained much progress in various skills of English. On the professional level I gained many skills that I believe would make me a good teacher for various levels of students. In brief, my academic odyssey has made me believe that in learning and teaching through critical pedagogy, one comes to learn and teach life.
¶ 35 Leave a comment on paragraph 35 0 Reading Used: Anne Cvetkovich: Depression: A Public Feeling
¶ 36 Leave a comment on paragraph 36 3 In writing my memoire, I drew on Anne Cvetkovich’s Depression: A Public Feeling. In her memoire, which highlights her professional ( academic) experience, Cvetkovich focuses on depression as a collective feeling more than a personal one. This depression, the author suggests, is the core of neoliberal capitalism. She also highlights that lived experience is the major factor for social transformation. As such, Cvetkovich book is more than a personal memoire. It constitutes a cultural critique and explores social and political issues. I argue that memoire is based on the same outline mentioned above. My account highlights my academic experience with special focus on the influence of Freire’s pedagogy. The essay insinuates my feeling of depression, which is essentially a public feeling as the whole Arab academy suffers from the banking system. Like Cvetkovich, I allude to the influence of capitalism in the making of the class setting. My experience entices me to call for a social change that highlights democracy and emancipation, not only in the academy, but in all aspects of life. That is why, like Cvetkovich’s account, my memoire carries a political message.
Indeed, thanks for reading my personal narrative.
As a hegemonic model of teaching, the banking system is colonial by nature. It assumes the existence of a non-questionable authority (the teacher) to whom all subjects (students) report and whose orders they should obey. The problem-posing model, on the other hand, is liberating (decolonial). It believes in equality, emancipation, freedom of thought and equal opportunities.
It is really ironical that it is the colonial countries that implement decolonial education. This is not very strange as it springs from the double standards that these countries adopt. America and the UK are colonial with the East only. They aim at occupying the East in terms of military, education and culture. Conversely, these countries are liberal with their citizens. In addition, they aim at changing the negative view of their hegemony with the East by implementing liberating educational models.