In this new post of my blog, I´d like to write about some ideas of critical pedagogy. Critical Pedagogy -for those who don´t know what it is about- assets that men and women live in a world with many asymmetries of power and privilege. These differences are usually sustained at the schools.
There are many concepts that explain the difficult relations between individuals and society. However, I´d like to focus on “discourse”. McLaren defines discursive practices as the rules by which discourses are formed, rules that govern what can be said and what must remain unsaid, and who can speak with authority and who must listen.
If we attempt to see the actual application of this in the classroom, some little details can be identified. For instance, how are the desks where children work placed? Are they all facing the teacher (main source of knowledge)? Or are they shaping a circle (giving all the students the same relevancy as the teacher)? Does the teacher ask open questions with many possible answers (allowing children to be critical and real thinkers)? Or, on the contrary, does the teacher pose close questions that only admit one correct answer (letting them see that it´s only the teacher who has the truth)?
These facts and ways of teaching show some hidden rules that are created by the society and at the same time teachers make children understand that´s the way in which society works.
Depending on the kind of society we want to create, we should make decisions about these ideas and analyze our teaching practice in a critical way.
Should we prepare children for the world outside the classroom or should we prepare them to change the world outside?
No comments:
Post a Comment