Peter McLaren's "Critical Pedagogy: A Look at the Major Concepts

Peter McLaren’s Critical Pedagogy: A Look at the Major Concepts brought attention to several cultural issues that can relate to teacher candidates. One aspect of the reading that caught my attention was the “hidden curriculum”, which referred to the unintended results of the schooling process.

The hidden curriculum explores the displacement of superficial education ideas and goals of the classroom teacher and the unintentional procedures used with specific groups of students. Critical education theorists perceive that curriculum represents not only the program of study, text and the syllabi but “it represents the introduction to a particular form of life” (74)It went on to explain that certain curriculum favors certain forms of knowledge for select groups of students over other groups. McLaren’s explains that teachers unconsciously give more intellectual attention and academic help to males over females. An idea that really stood out to me in this section was that “When boys call out comments without raising their hands, for instance, teachers generally accept their answers; girls, however, are reprimanded for the same behavior” (75). After reading this I began thinking about my own classes as well as the observation class I am in, and whether I am guilty of this. The article states that it is subconscious, so the teacher is not aware they are doing it. One instance I remember in my observation classroom was a female and male student both blurting out the same answer at the same time, and I treated the behavior equally and called on a different volunteer instead.

I appreciate that each of the readings that we have experienced are in some way attached to each other, in this instance the idea of oppressive outcomes. Although the hidden curriculum has its challenges in the educational settings, the point is to identify the structural and political assumptions and to attempt to change the institutional arrangements of the classroom in order to offset oppressive results.

Paulo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” Chapter 2

Chapter one of Freire was a confusing blur to me, yet after in class discussion the chapter was a lot clearer to me. Through discussion I learned that Freire was explaining that education can open spaces students don’t know are there. I also was introduced to the question of whether the teacher’s role is to break down the power structure and to help students achieve independence. Understanding chapter one allowed for chapter two to be more easily read.

The purpose of school is to prepare students for what comes after high school, in education and life. Although some believe that students are just vessels of knowledge, “Narration (with the teacher as narrator) leads the students to memorize mechanically the narrated account. Worse yet, it turns them into "containers," into "receptacles" to be "filled" by the teachers” (Freire), there is more to the student then that, they are young adults seeking to grow. The classroom should allow a save environment for students to ask questions and grow.

The job of teachers, therefore, is to encourage a safe environment. Teachers spend as much time with students nine months of the year as their parents do, and in some cases more time. As Freire explains, although a student may remember information, they may forget the principles that guide them to that information. Students are exploring their knowledge through voice, and their fresh perspective should be acknowledge and encouraged by teachers.

After reading chapter two I gained a lot of knowledge, yet at the same time developed a lot of questions. The idea of the banking concept of education caught my attention and I hope after discussion today that I will better understand what Frier was meaning. Freire, although it was difficult for myself and a few fellow candidates to understand entirely, is beneficial to teacher candidates because of his approach to education, and the purpose of both teachers and students. Frier opens doors that some may not think to consider or try to understand.

Paulo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” Chapter 1

I am going to start with WOW. I had to read certain lines in chapter one a few times more than once to try and understand what was being said. And I still don’t fully understand much. The knowledge that there are people in society who are being dehumanized and oppressed is not new information, therefore, this article gives a more deeply examination of oppression. This article can be beneficial to me, and other teacher candidates because, if I have gained some understanding correctly, the idea of oppressors/oppressed/and those supporting the oppressors can relate to the status in education of teachers/students/and “experts” on school standards.
 Dehumanization of all people is the focus of Freire’s theory. My understanding is that oppressors have lost their humanity because they have lost their compassion, and understanding. Also those in control do not want to alter the functions of society, possibly because they don’t want to chance losing their oppressive position. Footnote #3 states, “The oppressed are afraid to embrace freedom; the oppressors are afraid of losing the "freedom" to oppress”. I believe this is portraying that all people are relying on the status quo.
Although the article does not specifically describe human nature interactions in the world, my understanding is that there would be three types when referring to oppression. The oppressed are those whom are taken advantage of, the oppressors are those who are taking advantage and then thirdly are those who are in a position to support for the oppressed.

I don’t believe it follows that exact break down of human nature, but I do believe that education could be a reliable example of the three types.  It seems as though the students are to continue to rely on what the teachers teach to them, and the teachers seem to rely on what the state standards voice to be appropriate instruction for all students.

Common Core State Standards

Common Core State Standards, although we have had the chance to explore them in each of our education classes, continue to be slightly difficult to understand. Although the CCSS are difficult to understand in detail, it is apparent that the creators are hoping for students to excel and be better prepared for future education. The CCSS are direct enough so that there will be no room for students to slack off, in hopes that they will not fall behind and will advance in their schooling.

For response purposes I focused on the Literature, Information Text and Foundational Skills CCSS for grades 9-12 because I am placed in a high school language arts classroom. A commonality that I found in these three specific CCSS is that they build upon each grade level in order to increase difficulty in expectations. One example is in Literacy.RL.9-10.7 Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment, where the students are asked to analyze one subject and two different mediums. When students get to 11-12 grades they will be asked to evaluate multiple scenes in multiples mediums, Literacy.RL.11-12.7 Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. Another commonality that I found will be helpful for teachers, students and parents to understand the CCSS is the word choice describing what is expected. Words such as analyze and determine are found in the classroom on a regular basis. One thing that I was surprised by were the range of reading and level of text complexity in the reading literature because it was broader then I expected.

I have spoken with current high school teachers who have been teaching for countless years, and they are not very ecstatic about the introduction of CCSS. After looking through the three reading portions I believe that if the teacher is introduced to the Common Core State Standards at an early stage teacher candidate they will be able to use them in a more positive way because they will be just as prepared as the students. The CCSS are mapped out for what is expected of the students, it is up to the teachers to use these guidelines to help their students succeed. I wish the best of luck to my fellow classmates, and present and future teachers!

Side Note: There is an APP for the CCSS for iphones and Androids!