After reading the second chapter of
Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, I realized that in part, I did attend
an oppressive school system. My
educational experience comprised primarily of read this, memorize this, learn
that, get good grades, and regurgitate. No discussion, or feedback from students, just
sit, listen, and hopefully learn. I had
very few classes where the teacher tried to engage with the students or spark
creativity. Not many opportunities
existed where we were encouraged to delve deep into the material and pull out
information as to why this is significant for our learning, or how this
material is going to help us in the future.
I agree with Paulo Freire where he
implies that our educational system is flawed. We are not producing machines, we are readying
humans who think and interact with each other. We are social beings who work best when we are
allowed to interact and not be mere sponges deprived of the most important
learning tool: dialogue. Learning needs
to be more than receiving, memorizing, and repeating. Dialogue amongst students, interacting with
each other and the teacher, provides for optimal learning that will be
retained. This is what creates a
building block for future learning.
We are stifling creativity. Today with the “Common Core,” concept, fiction
is ousted and non-fiction is the teaching point. It is a shame that a country so fixated on
individual expression is assuaging creative development.
No comments:
Post a Comment