True Learning is Uncomfortable

When I think of our discussion on Wednesday it made me think of an article I read last semester by Kevin Kumashiro it's called Preparing Teacher's for Crisis: a Sample Lesson. To quickly summarize Kumashiro believes that true learning happens when people are uncomfortable. When people are comfortable learners, they gain knowledge but there view of the world remains the same. When people are uncomfortable learners they gain knowledge and their perspective of the world shifts. Here is an illustration that demonstrates this belief:

What happened at MCTC this past week makes me believe that MCTC is unsupportive of letting students learn in uncomfortable ways. Through uncomfortable learning comes profoundly more important understanding of each other's worlds. I think that especially in college it is important to challenge each other's view and perspectives and I expect my school to provide an environment that promotes difficult conversation. By reprimanding Professors and taking legal action reinforces that MCTC is not supportive of learning uncomfortably.

What can happen when people learn in discomforting ways? If you look at the picture above in figure 1 the student is smiling, after learning in an institution that learns in comforting ways the student leaves smiling with more knowledge. In figure 2 the student enters an institution that encourages challenging students to learn in uncomfortable ways, the student leaves with more knowledge but more importantly their previous knowledge have been reshaped. I encourage MCTC to challenge my beliefs and perspective.

Classroom Connections Essay

My Outline:

My Philosophy:

                I have to think that the banking model of education is inefficient. We could become more efficient by inheriting Freire’s philosophies and implementing a praxis model in education.

 Paulo Friere states that: The more students work at storing the deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of that world.

How does the current structure support and negate critical consciousness?

·         Does it differ between schools?

o   Yes.

§  Anyon

My structure

                Student vs. Teacher-centered environment.

The kids need to be involved in their education. Relevant pedagogy.

·         Are we different?

o   I think cultural communication is necessary

§  How is cultural communication used in the current model?

§  How is it avoided?

·         Yes we are different.

·         Delpit

My praxis

How do I make my philosophy congruent with my praxis?

·               How can I translate theory into practice?

o   What do I see? Compared to what I’m learning

• Movie project, thats praxis? Is it respected/ aknowelged?

 

 

·            How can I integrate my theory with actuality?

o   Children are in class for 55 minutes? Is that right I don’t think so.

Friere and Delpit

Describe the major tensions between Freire and Delpit.  How are their approaches different?  Use text to support your thoughts.  How does Delpit shift your understanding of Freire?

While Delpit and Friere both discuss how the oppressed can become free of oppresion their methodologies for doing so differ greatly. Delpit believes for the oppressed to escape they must learn the language of their oppressor or "the silenced dialogue". Where as Friere believes that there needs to be structural change, the oppressed must fight to emancipate themselves and become revolutionaries. This difference is best seen in the conciousness of the oppressed and the oppressor in Delpit and Friere two visions of oppression. Friere believes the role of the oppressor is very clear and intentional while Delpit describes a more ambivalent  unaware description. For Friere the dichotomy of the oppressed and oppressor is very evident. To have an oppressor there must be the oppressed, the process is dehumanizing for both however, the oppressor benefits through material wealth and political power. Friere believes the oppressor exploits the oppressed to strenghten and develop there power. For friere, the first step is for the oppressed to become aware or concious of their oppression. For Friere, the oppressed are least concious of their situation while the oppressor is well aware.. Oppositely Delpit describes the oppressor as unaware... " Those with power are typically least aware of- or least willing to aknowledge- of it existence. Those with less power are typically most aware of it. Delpit's picture of the oppressor is ambivalent rather than aggresive.