thoughts on reading freire

There are things teacher's colleges don’t prepare you for.

Sure, there are classes on methodology, classroom management, content knowledge, but nothing really prepares a person for the role of instructor in a public education classroom.

People come in to teaching by one of two ways: they either fall back on it because of their love of the content or a lack of knowledge for what else to do with their lives, or they are called to the occupation because they genuinely believe in one person’s ability to affect change in young minds, and thereby, change the world.

So many of us who feel this “calling,” whether from a higher power or a genuine belief that humans can reach self-actualization through access to knowledge, become disillusioned when we see the system that we are forced to work through does not lend itself to the actual “shaping of the minds.”

Instead, we become weary from:

The structure—as we fight for, not what standards must be met or by what funds can be allotted for specific projects or groups of students, but what is good for kids.

The kids themselves—who see no need/use for education and who do not believe in their own ability to be critical thinkers, or part of the dialogue that shapes our communities and world. They do not see the value of learning as we, ourselves, have done. They do not see the need for becoming more than the low expectations held before them by their families, schools, communities, government policies.

Sure, we know schools must meet certain standards in order to be in compliance
with No Child Left Behind, but even if it was possible to proficiently educate 100% of the US population in reading and mathematics and graduate entire populations within a building, the more intelligent students have come to resist this and have become strategic in the ways they can “get away with doing less” and still pass the class, or graduate from high school.

This mentality has percolated into the colleges as well. Students understand that professors have an obligation to “get students a degree” not to challenge the way they view the world, or to actually engage them in knowledge of abstracts such as truth, justice, or humanity.

I won’t be the first person to call this a crisis of the education system. I won’t even be the first person to offer suggestions to reform the system. That’s all been done.

The question I hope to answer is: What can the average classroom teacher hope to accomplish with his/her own students to combat this monstrosity the system we have chosen to work in has created?

We can’t expect things to change with new leadership in office. We can’t expect charter schools or vouchers to revolutionize the way education is handled. We can’t even expect our own buildings to bring in the “right program,” or the “right administrator,” or even enough brilliant teachers to inspire students.

It must start with one. Or several. Who are committed to the “calling.” Who are willing to continue to fight for the students, along with the students; who are willing to challenge commonly held ideals; who are willing to open discussion with students and believe in their inherent ability to think for themselves.

This person must be willing to keep faith that one can change the life of a few…not by force, but through genuine love, patience, humility, trust, and open dialogue.

The role of “teacher” must shift from one who knows all, to one who learns with; from one who enters the room with a hidden agenda to one who allows for self-discovery and who encourages self-confidence.

This is not something I say easily, because I like to think that I have it all-together—that I know what I’m talking about; that I’ve had enough life experience and education that by my knowledge alone, I should be able to reach and inspire. But that would be assuming that I had all the answers to my students’ individual situations, which I don’t. It would be assuming that I had acquired all the content knowledge that I could ever need, which I have not; that I have reached a point of self-fulfillment, which would be pretentious to assume. I would have to be a god of my classroom to assume that everything a student needed or wanted, I could give to him/her.

So, what’s the point then?

A “teacher” must realize that in order to truly affect change—the student must realize that this change must occur, and then figure out how to act towards that change.

Then, what must teachers do?

Figure out a how to help students reach this understanding.

How?

Well, I’m still working on that one…