"I entered the classroom with the conviction that it was crucial for me and every other student to be an active participant, not a passive consumer...education as the practice of freedom.... education that connects the will to know with the will to become. Learning is a place where paradise can be created."
- bell hooks (1994)
My educational philosophy is based in the work of Paulo Freire, Augusto Boal, bell hooks, and Gloria Anzaldúa who believe that education is a powerful tool to transform individuals and society. I am hopeful and optimistic about the power of people and of education to create social change, however, I am also aware of the time, patience, hard work, and growing pains necessary to make these changes. As a teacher, I know that the work is never done, yet I strive to promote equity and liberation through teaching in a collaborative, creative, holistic, critical and transformative way.
Collaborative
"Whoever teaches learns in the act of teaching, and whoever learns teaches in the act of learning," (Freire, 1998).
Teaching for me is a collaborative process with my students of exploring, critiquing, and reflecting on relevant issues and working together to problem solve and create a vision for change. As a teacher, I don’t go into the classroom hoping to impart skills and knowledge onto my students, but rather to engage with my students in the process of learning and growing. Collaborative teaching includes group dialogue, creative group projects, and a continual integration of students' knowledge and ideas into the curriculum. The teacher is not seen as the only authority of knowledge; all students’ knowledge and wisdom are valued in a collaborative classroom.
Creative
“Theatre is a form of knowledge; it should and can also be a means of transforming society. Theatre can help us build our future, rather than just waiting for it,” (Augusto Boal, 1992).
A creative pedagogy uses the arts as both a source of knowledge as well as a means for critiquing and producing new knowledge. I strongly believe in the power of the arts as a tool for social justice and personal transformation. Creativity is the opposite of destruction, oppression, and violence. Art connects us to our own humanness and the humanness of others, which is essential to our liberation as a society. I do not view art as a luxury reserved only for the elite, but rather a human right that all people deserve and can participate in. A creative approach to teaching uses art as a vehicle for self-expression (especially for those who have historically been silenced), and encourages students to creatively respond to the world around them.
Holistic
“We may think that if we send out the ‘disobedient’ child, we have removed the pain from our (classroom) system. It simply does not work that way. Rather, when we exclude a child, we introduce another social stressor into the micro ecosystem….the decision to remove a child, rather than heal her, is not only bad for the child, but is also destructive to the social ecosystem of the classroom,” (Duncan-Andrade, 2009).
Holistic teaching means seeing one’s self and each student as a whole person: mind, body, soul. A holistic approach to teaching sees our cultural contexts, our bodies, and emotions as sources of knowledge that can enhance learning. Holistic teaching involves prioritizing curriculum that allows for students to bring their “whole” selves to the classroom and honoring various modes of learning and expression. For myself as the teacher, knowing my students in a holistic way allows me to better reach them and incite their learning. For the student, being seen holistically can promote pride and a sense of worthiness, allowing them to fully participate as a member of the class. Furthermore, a holistic approach looks at the root causes of oppression and also tries to connect each individual's experience to the broader community: seeing the interconnectedness of local and global issues of inequity and oppression.
Critical
“The discovery cannot be purely intellectual but must involve action; nor can it be limited to mere activism, but must include serious reflection: only then will it be praxis,” (Freire, 1970).
Critical pedagogy, based in Paulo Freire’s (1970) theory of liberatory education, is key to my philosophy. Being critical first means becoming aware of the reality around you; it requires waking up and being conscious. As a teacher, I try to pose questions that push students to critically explore relevant issues and to question and challenge oppressive ideologies and practices. Facing the reality of oppression in their lives can be a painful process for students if it is not combined with the other aspects of Freire’s praxis theory: action and reflection. Once students become critically conscious of the world around them, they can begin to envision how to take action and transform their reality.
Transformative
“I change myself, I change the world,” (Gloria Anzaldúa, 1987).
My teaching is based in the firm belief that all people have the potential to transform themselves and the world around them. As a teacher I must give students hope that nothing in life is permanent or fixed: their skills/abilities, their feelings, their oppression; this means everything in life is up for reinvention. This possibility for change is the source of motivation for learning, and can also empower people to act against oppression and fight for liberation. Furthermore, similar to the creative process in which you enter the process one way, but exit the process completely transformed, I see teaching as an unpredictable and transformative journey both for the students and teacher.
References:
Anzaldúa, Gloria. (1987). Borderlands/La Frontera. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Books.
Boal, Augusto. (1992) Games for Actors and Non-Actors. London: Routeledge.
Duncan-Andrade, J. (2009). Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete. In Harvard Educational Review, 79:2.
Freire, Paulo. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder.
Freire, Paulo. (2001). Pedagogy of Freedom. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
hooks, bell. (1994). Teaching to Transgress. NY: Routledge.