Introduction:
Argument 1:
Teachers should not fill the minds of students' with just "contents" that are "detached from reality, disconnected from the totality that engendered them and could give them significance" (Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed). Engage the students in meaningful conversations with each other rather than the teachers "depositing" information into the students, who are the "containers". With the "banking" concept of education as Freire calls it, which is "the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits", the students are similar to an empty containers that need to be filled, which reduces their ability to think critically and creatively. Similar to that banking system, E.D. Hirsch believes it is better that the students should learn about the background knowledge to increase their comprehension skills (E.D. Hirsch's Curriculum for democracy). However, with the students receiving and memorizing the information given by the teachers, the students are being seen as machines rather than productive learners.
There needs to be a change in the banking system because it is oppressing the students into thinking that the information the teachers are giving are mostly true and the teachers are more the important role than the students. Changes that can be salvation towards the students are to awake their consciousness and tell them to think outside the boxes so they can try to become "fully human" as Freire thinks that the banking system is neglecting the critical thinking for the students. Students need to be critically thinking in order to widen their horizons at many aspects and point of views to help them achieve the reality that is going to be in front of them when entering society. When the students are able to think beyond what the teachers are telling them, then they would leap out of the cage of boxes and be able to stand for their own purposes.
Not only the students need to be aware of the oppression, the teachers need to be aware as well. Students might be easily influenced but it is the teachers job to help save them from the illusions that the society is showing the students. Teachers should use their experiences and inviting outside activities, which works for any subjects, and would be more fun for the students instead of sitting in the classrooms. This also give the students more chances to enjoy the good things about the world but also the bad aspects of the world and thus, that can create a meaningful period for the students to enjoy school if in their personal lives, they are in a bad mood. Additionally, the relationship between the students and the teachers can increase in trust, and the students can begin to think critically.
Argument 2:
Students should tried to understand the teachers' situation and the teachers' should tried to understand the students' situations too to create a balance relationship. If there is a lack of communication between the teacher and the student, then the connection between the two would lessen and creates an uncomfortable conversation when they both talk to each other. Additionally, if the teacher-student relationship became balance, then there would not be a need for the teachers being the oppressors. For example, in "Freedom Writers", the new English teacher, Mrs. Erin Gruwell comes into the class ready to teach her new students but when she sees the situations that her students are at, the way they sit with their own groups left her feeling not connected. The students have problems with Mrs. Gruwell because of her lack of understanding in the environment they live in. Then, Mrs. Gruwell teaches the students Homer and Odysseus even though the students did not have the provided education to learn that level of reading yet. So Mrs. Gruwell started to learn about the students' situations by visiting their houses to get a better understanding in her students' lives. Then in return, towards the end of the movie, Mrs. Gruwell and her students were able to share and have a good relationship through that the teachers were able to be courageous and wanting to care about her students.
Rather than learning about mechanical information, students should also learn "how to" skills from teachers and adults in their lives. Even though Hirsch believes that basic knowledge are need to be learned and used to provide them a good comprehension level but there needs to be more salvation towards the students to have a deeper understanding about the world as I had said in the above argument. Besides Hirsch, there is professor Pub Ted Sizer who thinks that students should "use their minds", to have the adults "provoke young people to grow up intellectually, to think hard and resourcefully and imaginatively about important things" (Pub Ted Sizer Speech). This is a way to break out the boxes and the machines that the school system is providing to the students and let the students have a mind of their own, to produce intellectual or creative thoughts in where they can debate for their own judgments and for their own truth.
Students should be immerse more in finding their own interests and to be aware of their surroundings to better educate and protect themselves. All of us want to find the truth and be smart about things so they would not fall into traps. This is similar to Weller Embler's "Language and Truth" (or the Use and Misuse of Language), where he talks about the abuse or distortion of language and how it is use to cover up or hide the truth to deceive people. He said, "It is the purpose of higher education, and the purpose of the humane studies especially, to help all students to learn to distinguish between that which is good and that which is not so good, so that they may participate in the universal judging of the best" (Embler 229). If the students are able to learn to judge and evaluate between the good and bad, they are going to be more attentive to what they are concentrating on and at their environment in return. There are a lot of ways for the students to receive and dissect the knowledge but if the adults are tempting to reduce and oppress the students for the high authoritative society's control, I believe it is up to the students, the teachers and others who are willingly to care about it to fight for it. The students would be able to begin having interesting conversation as they learn about the truth and in a lot of way, as well as the teachers to encourage them to change the educational system that the students are in. With learning the truth, the students can break out their minds emotionally and physically if they are able to control themselves in handling the rules that they want to change and if changed, it would prove that the students are intellectual beings rather than mindless sheeps.
Argument 3:
School should provide the equal "power" to all students with different cultures to ensure a balance and fulfilling education for the students. For Lisa Delpit, the "culture of power" is what is affecting the students' chances for education, because the dominant race in America is mostly White and they have better education than the other races such as Black, and Hispanic (Snyder). Delpit suggests that "students must be taught the codes needed to participate fully in the mainstream of American life" and the resources that the students learned from the "teacher's expert knowledge", the students are able to create their "own 'expertness'" (Lisa Delpit on Power and Pedagogy). If the expertness is created, then the students are able to learn about the codes given in what they are learning and the "power relationships they present" and have a fair chance to decrease the culture of power.
Lack of resources and consultations are some reasons that different student cultures are not getting the full education that are needed. Delpit thinks that school should ensure that "each classroom incorporate strtegies appropriate for all the children in its confines" and that for the poor communities and for parents, they should "participate fully in the discussion of what kind of instruction is in their children's best interest" (Lisa Delpit on power and pedagogy). Parents are busy with work and that causes the parents to neglect the children, leaving the responsibilities to the teachers. However, as more parents are willing to participate to talk about the interests of the students (mainly) then their own, and with the teachers placing their hands together to combine the parents into a closer, diverse community, then there would be hope for the students to get a better education. I do not think it is only the students who need to do the work, but also the adults that surrounds and shapes the students. If the parents and the school are able to come up with a way that students with different level of power can learn equally, the same with the people in the culture of power, then there is a chance that a "positive vision of the future" can occur for the poor communities and the students (For Better or Worse: Building Inclusive Schools in Poor Communities).
Lack of resources and consultations are some reasons that different student cultures are not getting the full education that are needed. Delpit thinks that school should ensure that "each classroom incorporate strtegies appropriate for all the children in its confines" and that for the poor communities and for parents, they should "participate fully in the discussion of what kind of instruction is in their children's best interest" (Lisa Delpit on power and pedagogy). Parents are busy with work and that causes the parents to neglect the children, leaving the responsibilities to the teachers. However, as more parents are willing to participate to talk about the interests of the students (mainly) then their own, and with the teachers placing their hands together to combine the parents into a closer, diverse community, then there would be hope for the students to get a better education. I do not think it is only the students who need to do the work, but also the adults that surrounds and shapes the students. If the parents and the school are able to come up with a way that students with different level of power can learn equally, the same with the people in the culture of power, then there is a chance that a "positive vision of the future" can occur for the poor communities and the students (For Better or Worse: Building Inclusive Schools in Poor Communities).
Alternative:
"Dead Poets Society" Would limiting the students' freedom and having them abide to the number of rules allow the students to listen to the controllers better? In the movie the "Dead Poets Society" is about an all boys Christian school where the students there are being oppressed and listen to the teachers' words and rules of the schools. It is a very strict school with a lot of mechanical old teachers. Each day, they have a lot of homework and there is a time limit in what they can do and what they can choose to do; the teachers are always watching them and if they get into trouble, they get punished by having a spatula-like instrument smack on their behinds. With the enormous amount of work that the boys have to do, stress builds up and the movie focuses on this group of boys who revives the Dead Poets Society club from this new English teacher who is different and tells the boys to express their thoughts and be outside the box. The bad thing is, the boys began smoking, drinking and with the discovery of the club, the boy named Charley was punished as that club was not a good thing... and the good English teacher who is trying to free the students' minds gets fired. Isn't that a bad thing? To fired a good teacher over a mechanical teacher. And lastly, with the parents constantly forcing one of the students, named Neal to follow the path of the smart and rich people even though Neal is interested in acting, that pressure had made him suicide.
Students are still ignorant children and by applying too many rules on them, it will only backfire them but if there is not enough fun in what they are learning, they would only back out. I find that schools are build for the students and parents sake as well as jobs for the teachers who want to pass their knowledge and experiences onto the students. However, to have school as salvation, it needs to think better of the students, to make priority of the students better instead of fame or whatever reputation there is. Because if the adults and that school are able to connect and understand the students well, then the students would not be as ignorant as they are seen. Then the students are able to willingly follow and have their own thoughts. Therefore, the school need to go by the students' lives and their rules in a way to fully develop the students into fully humans.
Significance/connection:
I find that S.O.F. develops the students into critical thinkers and is one of the example of school as salvation. My class got to interview the principle, Mr. Fanning and one of the classmates ask him what are his goals for this school? Goals that he said was "to develop the students into critical thinkers", to have the seniors graduate, and for the students to learn in their owns ways plus become life long learners. I am not sure about other schools but I think in this school, we are learning and sharing ideas about our opinions; to reveal the truths that lies between literatures and of course, the teachers' knowledge and experiences. Like writing this paper let me think about school in many ways that I have not really think about. I come to school because I was taught conditionally that school is what benefits me the most and to get a college diploma is the complete target of what I need to get a good job in society. In that case, school can be a salvation for whoever wants an education that can get them the goals they need. I believe if the teachers have the dedication and the students have the purpose in finding their own interests and path through education and from school, then it is a good combination.
Additionally, Mr. Fanning said goals are very important as it shows the students progress but he created this goal plan to have the teachers and students connect with each other more, where the teachers can help with the students' goals. Mr. Fanning wanted to produce "individuals than old factory producing clones" so it showed that he is not siding with the banking system that much, which I think is a good thinking for a school. However, there still needs more improvement in school but as for what kind of improvements, it is hard for me to say because there can be improvement for everything. One improvement that can be made is if students can made their own curriculum plan and their own rules, with the exception that the teachers are there to keep at least minimal control over the students (because we are still ignorant and want to be free). To be free is like a fish being bigger than a pond and finding their own created space, rather than a "pond" to exist in is a salvation for one self and in school. (:p A rather bad simile but it was what I was thinking about.)
Fish cartoons:
Conclusion:
Improvements can be made to make school as salvation. Reducing the inequality, anti-intellectualism and meaninglessness in society, which also infects the schools helps retain back the freedom the students get to have and the change for equality of the "culture of power". Relationship between students, teachers and adults are important to have an efficient, balance, respectable and meaningful conversation and understanding of each others' situations/environments. I believe school is not a place for rules and regulations to be bought to oppress the learners but it is for the learners to come together to learn from each other, to derive the truth from the world and to combine powers to help each other plus understanding each others' cultures.
Sources:
- Pub Ted Sizer Speech (this link was taken off, I'm sorry)
- Wellers Embler, "The Use and Misuse of Language" - "Language and Truth"
- "Freedom Writers"
- "Dead Poets Society"
- J. Fanning
- A. Snyder
No comments:
Post a Comment