George Dei
Alyson's Sociology of Education Blog
A personal blog dedicated to reflecting on sociological theories of education and their applications to my personal life, through critical responses to material and examination of relevant media topics.
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Afrocentric Schools: A Review
Sunday, 1 April 2012
Roses in Concrete: A Review
In my
search for course-related materials, I found this website and related videos of
a class discussing the importance of education that focuses on community. The
videos come from an organization in Oakland called “Roses in Concrete” in which
Jeff Duncan-Andrade teaches a cohort of 26 students through their 4 years of
high school. The approach is described as, “quite simple; encouraging students
to take pride in their histories, cultures, and communities in order that they
might share personal and collective commitments to grow healthier communities”.
The organization is determined to achieve their goal of building a whole school
in Oakland following the same program, that encompasses the needs of the
society, which motivates their children to become successful students who will
go on to college and then give back to their community in order to bring higher
development to urban areas.
Friday, 30 March 2012
Reflection 5: Performed Ethnography as an Example of Critical Pedagogy
Tara Goldstein introduced a teaching approach
where, using empirical data, she designed an ethnographic play script that deals
with homophobic education (Goldstein, 2010). Her students are teachers who,
through their reading of the play, are able to examine the attitudes that
educators have toward attempts aimed at the reduction of homophobia in school
systems (Goldstein, 2010). The “performed ethnography” introduced by
Goldstein is an example of critical pedagogy at work because the content helps
students examine to examine the issues of domination and challenge the
conditions of oppression. It promotes the freedom of oppressed groups and
argues for their right to have an input. The exercise of “performed
ethnography” is interactive with students, encouraging critical thinking and
expression of individual knowledge and feelings.
Pinterest as an Educational Tool: a Review
Recently I have started browsing a site called Pinterest. It is self-described to be "An online pin-board to organize and share things you love". Essentially, it is an electronic bulletin board where users can "pin" photos of their favourite things, good ideas, future plans, crafts, recipes, etc.
On Pinterest, there is a whole section of the site dedicated to education. It is a category where students, teachers, parents, preschool leaders, etc. can share their classroom activities and ideas. Others can comment on the pictures to share whether they have tried the idea and it was effective, or ways to adjust the idea to work better. Each picture links to the site that the idea came from, or directly to step-by-step instructions on how to carry out the activity. There are pins on how to create no-mess finger-paint stations, recipes on healthy snacks that follow the weekly theme, activities that provide hands-on learning of the concepts of multiplication, spelling, etc. The possibilities are endless.
On Pinterest, there is a whole section of the site dedicated to education. It is a category where students, teachers, parents, preschool leaders, etc. can share their classroom activities and ideas. Others can comment on the pictures to share whether they have tried the idea and it was effective, or ways to adjust the idea to work better. Each picture links to the site that the idea came from, or directly to step-by-step instructions on how to carry out the activity. There are pins on how to create no-mess finger-paint stations, recipes on healthy snacks that follow the weekly theme, activities that provide hands-on learning of the concepts of multiplication, spelling, etc. The possibilities are endless.
Reflection 4: Our Critical Pedagogy Approach to High School
Critical pedagogy is an approach to education that challenges the current banking method
and encourages students to question what they are being taught, and be active
participants in the learning exchange between teacher and student. It
encourages the recognition of how knowledge and power are intertwined in
education, and emphasizes recognition of the student voice. After reviewing
Paulo Freire’s theories on education and criticism of the banking method, as a
class we participated in an activity where we designed our ideal high school using
a critical pedagogy approach.
Saturday, 17 March 2012
A Vision of Students Today: A Review
The original video, "A Vision of Students Today" was created by a cultural anthropology class at Kansas State University. I absolutely loved this video. It encompasses the lives of students today and how inadequate the system is in meeting their needs and I personally viewed a lot of my own feelings and characteristics in these students. Main points the students recognized in their educational careers were irrelevance of subject matter to daily lives, lack of teacher contact or creative teaching methods, and difficulties in juggling responsibilities of student life while being financially stable.
Monday, 12 March 2012
One Last Conversation with Paulo Freire
“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.”
― Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
― Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
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