Laura Nardozzi
Blog 6, Ch. 5
Essence Extractor, Literary Luminator
"...while power is implicated in both, in domination it is used to control, and in empowerment it is used to liberate."- pg. 132
I really felt this quote was very direct yet eye opening. I feel that this says a lot of the English language and the ability to use the same word to mean two completely opposite things. This seems to happen a lot in our language, I wonder if there is any meaning behind that?
"Multicultural education as practiced in many schools has little to do with critical pedagogy and empowerment; in many cases, it is reduced to only a celebratory approach."- pg 133
I believe this is important to remember as educators. Some teachers believe that because they hold an "international foods day" or recognize MLK Jr day that they are somehow supporting a multicultural classroom. I'm sure many of us have experienced this false representation at some point in our educations.
"A bridge provides access to a different shore without closing off the possibility of returning home; a bridge is built on solid ground but soars towards the heavens; a bridge connects two places that otherwise might never be able to meet."- pg. 141
This quote reminds me of a movie that I saw when I was a little girl. The premise of the movie is that the white people live on one side of the town and the black people live on the other. There is a bridge in that seperates the two towns but because of racial hatred, someone burns down the bridge. The main character in the movie is a young black girl named Polly and she comes in bright eyed and befriends an old white woman. Long story short, the little girl brings the town together after she is injured and the two sides decide to rebuild the bridge as a symbol of the reuniting of the two cultures. I believe it was called Polly, based on the book Pollyanna.
Essence: Critical pedagogy, empowerment and multicultural education are directly interrelated concepts.
Laura, if you are interested, Jonathan Erwin talks at length about the issues of "power" in the classroom in his book, The Classroom of Choice: Giving Students What They Need and Getting What You Want. He references William Glasser's Choice Theory in his descriptions of classrooms that are managed effectively with respect to students interests and needs. - Elizabeth
ReplyDeletehttp://books.google.com/books?id=hm2izqzIlBsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=jonathan+erwin+classroom+of+choice&source=bl&ots=B74-lz5uXL&sig=tP7jpEZn3V2RTvIF2nYwJTwZBpc&hl=en&ei=biV2TeHrAYLE0QGfxdniBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
Yes, that second quote u posted definitely reminds me of my childhood education. Seems as if the only time we integrated other cultures was through times of calendar events.This in reality is unrealistic because diversity should not only stand on these day s but every day because we all hold various identities.
ReplyDelete-Christina
Thanks Elizabeth that will be a good read when I get some extra time! Christina- Yes I think that we have a skewed view of what multiculturalism actually is. We see it as more of an event rather than a way of being.
ReplyDelete-Laura
The last quote that was posted really stuck out to me. It makes me think of the bridge that we as educators need to build between the school and home environment of our students. It's important that we take the time to recognize what goes on in the lives of our students outside of the classroom and bring it into the classroom.
ReplyDeleteShawne