[Teaching_Composition] RE: Critical Pedagogy and Politics ... and Empowerment
Kathy Fitch
teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com
Tue, 3 Oct 2006 10:36:27 -0500
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_002F_01C6E6D7.C8526D00
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Oh, yes, power makes folks so uncomfortable, yet teachers have it, and
there=92s no gainsaying that. How we use it, examine it, or share, or =
claim
it is another thing. To me, a good way both to share and to claim it =
(that
is, to occupy it comfortably and without undue guilt) is to give =
students
some choices. Let them see the line-up of FYC themes ahead of time, and
choose as they will. Some teachers would *screech* (power over a =
captive
audience can be especially tough to sacrifice), but so what? Put it in =
the
agora, and see what happens. All sorts of interesting things do happen,
*including* students purposefully choosing the seemingly most radical
things. Choice matters.
=20
Kathy
=20
_____ =20
From: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com
[mailto:teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com] On Behalf Of Becky
Flores
Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2006 9:56 AM
To: teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com
Subject: [Teaching_Composition] RE: Critical Pedagogy and Politics ... =
and
Empowerment
=20
Kathy's comment about "empowerment" is key, particularly in the context =
of
discussing the power allegedly inherent in the critical pedagogy she =
rightly
questions (something I'd call a paint-by-numbers critical pedagogy, it
having taken the same lamentable path as=20
multiculturalism). Empowerment is a term, much like the ubiquitous =
"critical
thinking," that is often used yet infrequently considered for its =
suspect
undertones. The whole concept of "empowerment" (I'm drawing a lot from =
Bruce
Horner's work here) is problematic. Empowerment involves at least two
players -- the powerful and the powerless -- and then the act of =
empowering.
The result? Power is provided by those with power to those without. The
question here is power given by whom? "Allowed" by whom? And, isn't the
provider of power then suspect for having power to begin with, and the
recipient then compliant with the structure of dominant power? In short,
what's changed in the exchange of this much-touted "empowerment" other =
than
us feeling (misplaced) satisfaction about it having occurred?
=20
Ah, I do love these semantics.=20
On a final note, Horner's piece will be of interest to those considering
alternative perspectives to what being a critical pedagogue might =
entail. It
was published in JAC (2000): 121-52 with the title "Politics, Pedagogy, =
and
the Profession of Composition: Confronting Commodification and the
Contingences of Power."
becky=20
=20
=20
Becky Flores=20
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.=20
Dpt. English, Philosophy, and Education=20
Del Mar College=20
www.delmar.edu/engl/instruct/beckyflores=20
=20
-----teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com wrote: -----=20
To: <teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com>=20
From: "Kathy Fitch" <kfitch@kafkaz.net>=20
Sent by: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com=20
Date: 10/03/2006 07:38AM=20
Subject: RE: [Teaching_Composition] Critical Pedagogy and Politics=20
<< Critical pedagogy believes in problem posing. A critical classroom
starts with the students? collective interests and helps the students =
forge
a connection to larger ideology through analysis, facts and statistics,
logic, and plain old questioning. A critical pedagogue, for example, =
would
not assert that all hierarchies are wrong, as Kathy mentioned. Rather, =
he
or she might generate a theme around hierarchy for the students or pose =
it
as a theme that students are invited to accept or reject. The classroom =
is
not so de-centralized as to lack rigor. Rather, the instructor is =
sharing
authority with the students and making them responsible for their =
education.
Frequently, a critical pedagogue will make the topic of the course a =
theme
or a starting point, what Ira Shor calls an ?academic theme.? In a =
writing
classroom, then, students would study the topic of good writing or maybe
writing processes or what the students have learned previously about the
rules of writing. Again, the instructor poses questions and =
problematizes
major issues for the students. >>=20
Of course, Bill?this sounds like a course we?d all love to be in, and =
all
aim to teach. But where is the great big threat against this approach? =
As
far as I can see, the objections are lodged and the concerns expressed =
when
critical pedagogy ceases to be what you describe (an idealized version =
to
offset what you see as a caricature of the overly politicized teacher?) =
and
becomes something else altogether. Something a whole lot pushier. I =
think
part of your concern?and I?d agree?is that the line between critical
pedagogy and politics run amok isn?t always as clear in practice as it =
is in
our own minds, where we know (for the most part) what we?re up to, and =
what
our goals and motivations are. =20
Unfortunately, things do get fuzzy. For instance, one could make the =
case
that a given theme itself (how it?s selected and defined, which readings =
are
chosen to explore it, the types of assignments written around it) can
constitute a kind of argument that really brooks no opposition by =
students
who find themselves--all unawares, with no forewarning, and often with =
very
little sense of how to get out--caught in it. I?ve inherited a few of =
those
students, and can tell you it?s a delicate thing, indeed, simultaneously =
to
get them back on track with FYC, and to promote respect for and good =
will
toward the instructor they?ve fled. How does a student trust comp after
feeling as though he or she has been forced into reading and writing =
about
gender issues, say, when those readings seem not only terribly pushy and
personal, but also essentially unrelated to what they thought would and
should be the task at hand? (It has also sometimes been a challenge not =
to
have the fled from teacher ticked off at me for agreeing to adopt the
fleeing student, but talking it through head on tends to ease things.) =
Oh,
and just think of how many first year students in that spot * don?t * =
flee!
One approach to preventing this sort of issue is to delineate themes
clearly and carefully ahead of time. If this course is to be all about
hierarchies, or sustainable resources, or the philosophy of language, or
gender studies, or the rhetoric of war, or whatever, it?s both wise and
ethical to tag it as such in the catalogue and/or schedule, and to =
circulate
(online is one good way) a fairly detailed description of it in advance.
When students are empowered to choose that way, fewer problems develop,
which is good for everyone. If I were teaching a lab/online/hybrid =
type
course in a school not heavy on technology use in FYC, I?d even want * =
that
* (seemingly innocuous, at least to me) course tagged and described in =
just
this fashion. If FYC can?t be presumed to be pretty much the same from
section to section?as, in many places, it can?t (thus WPAs and or Deans
feeling the lure of the departmental text and syllabus), then we do our =
both
our students and ourselves a great favor by clarifying the choices ahead =
of
time.
I?d have been ticked off by (and probably pretty frightened of) a =
professor
or instructor trying to transform me into her particular version of a
feminist, for sure. (It?s brave, wonderful, and a sign of wisdom for =
any
teacher to see that?s she done that, to regret it, to question how it
happened, and to reexamine that approach.) But by the time I landed in =
such
a situation, it was in a feminist studies course I?d deliberatively =
chosen,
where passionate exploration and disagreement were welcome all the way, =
and
I was free vociferously to defend or attack ideas as the spirit or the
keyboard or the readings or classmates moved me. If I?d landed in that =
spot
in FYC, it would have been a thing I?d gone into blindly, and felt =
trapped
by and resentful of, and rightly so. =20
We can demonstrate how deeply we respect both students and the =
profession by
taking the time not only carefully to examine our approaches, but also
carefully to tend to student responses. I learned this lesson very =
early on
when I was using a reader one department demanded?a reader that included =
a
section on abortion. Couldn?t get a lick of conversation or a spark of
interest going about that section (such interesting readings, too, =
na=EFve me
thought), so I finally did the only thing a teacher really can do when =
in
that spot, which is to ask the students why. They said, pretty much to =
a
person, that this was a hugely personal thing, and that whether they =
were
still thinking it through, or had already come down?temporarily or no?on =
one
side or the other was, essentially, none of anyone?s beeswax unless * =
they *
opted freely to explore it with others (teachers or peers) for, say, a
research paper, or in a creative writing class, or in a class on Human
Sexuality or Contemporary Ethics, and so forth.
I think they were right. Also, I expect, their response would apply in
somewhat subtler cases. Whenever we?re crossing into the land of the
personal or the private in a course not specifically geared to those =
topics
(a course in which students can predict that those topics will make up =
the
content, and choose to enroll or not, accordingly), then student =
resistance
is not only perfectly appropriate, but downright healthy. I?d call =
taking
that into account?and letting that response shape our courses even or
especially when it?s an unexpected response?a key part of critical =
pedagogy.
On a different note?I?ve hardly ever encountered the out and out morally
distasteful essay written by an FYC student. Thoughtfully designed =
courses
don?t leave much room for them, so that?s one thing, but the bigger =
thing is
that, for the most part, students are rooting for us just like we?re =
rooting
for them. Mostly, in my experience, they really want to learn a thing =
or
two about writing, and they?ll go a long way, indeed, to help us teach =
them
whatever we can in the brief time we have together.=20
Kathy=20
=20
=20
=20
_______________________________________________ Teaching_Composition
maillist - Teaching_Composition@mailman.eppg.com
http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition To
unsubscribe, please visit
http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition and update
your information.
------=_NextPart_000_002F_01C6E6D7.C8526D00
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<html xmlns:v=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" =
xmlns:o=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" =
xmlns:w=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" =
xmlns=3D"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-8859-1">
<meta name=3DGenerator content=3D"Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Verdana;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
span.EmailStyle18
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:Arial;
color:navy;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
</head>
<body lang=3DEN-US link=3Dblue vlink=3Dblue>
<div class=3DSection1>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Oh, yes, power makes folks so
uncomfortable, yet teachers have it, and there’s no gainsaying =
that.=A0 How
we use it, examine it, or share, or claim it is another thing.=A0 To me, =
a good
way both to share and to claim it (that is, to occupy it comfortably and
without undue guilt) is to give students some choices.=A0 Let them see =
the
line-up of FYC themes ahead of time, and choose as they will.=A0 Some =
teachers
would *<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>screech</span></b>* (power =
over a
captive audience can be especially tough to sacrifice), but so what?=A0 =
Put it in
the agora, and see what happens.=A0 All sorts of interesting things do =
happen, *<b><span
style=3D'font-weight:bold'>including</span></b>* students purposefully =
choosing
the seemingly most radical things.=A0 Choice =
matters.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Kathy<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<div class=3DMsoNormal align=3Dcenter style=3D'text-align:center'><font =
size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=3D2 width=3D"100%" align=3Dcenter tabindex=3D-1>
</span></font></div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><b><font size=3D2 face=3DTahoma><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font =
size=3D2
face=3DTahoma><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com
[mailto:teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com] <b><span =
style=3D'font-weight:
bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Becky Flores<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Tuesday, October =
03, 2006
9:56 AM<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b>
teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> =
[Teaching_Composition]
RE: Critical Pedagogy and Politics ... and =
Empowerment</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Kathy's comment about "empowerment" is =
key,
particularly in the context of discussing the power allegedly inherent =
in the
critical pedagogy she rightly questions (something I'd call a =
paint-by-numbers
critical pedagogy, it having taken the same lamentable path as =
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>multiculturalism). Empowerment is a term, =
much
like the ubiquitous "critical thinking," that is often used =
yet
infrequently considered for its suspect undertones. The whole concept of
"empowerment" (I'm drawing a lot from Bruce Horner's work =
here) is
problematic. Empowerment involves at least two players -- the powerful =
and the
powerless -- and then the act of empowering. The result? Power is =
provided
by those with power to those without. The question here is power given =
by whom?
"Allowed" by whom? And, isn't the provider of power then =
suspect for
having power to begin with, and the recipient then compliant with =
the
structure of dominant power? In short, what's changed in the exchange of =
this
much-touted "empowerment" other than us feeling (misplaced)
satisfaction about it having occurred?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Ah, I do love these semantics. =
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p><font size=3D2 face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>On
a final note, Horner's piece will be of interest to those =
considering
alternative perspectives to what being a critical pedagogue might =
entail. It
was published in JAC (2000): 121-52 with the title "Politics, =
Pedagogy,
and the Profession of Composition: Confronting Commodification and the
Contingences of Power."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>becky <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
face=3DVerdana><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>Becky Flores <br>
B.A., M.A., Ph.D. <br>
Dpt. English, Philosophy, and Education <br>
Del Mar College <br>
<a href=3D"http://www.delmar.edu/engl/instruct/beckyflores" =
target=3Dblank>www.delmar.edu/engl/instruct/beckyflores
</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
color=3D"#990099"
face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#990099'>-----teachin=
g_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com
wrote: ----- </span></font><font size=3D2 face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3D2 =
face=3DVerdana><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>To:
<teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com> <br>
From: "Kathy Fitch" <kfitch@kafkaz.net> <br>
Sent by: teaching_composition-admin@mailman.eppg.com <br>
Date: 10/03/2006 07:38AM <br>
Subject: RE: [Teaching_Composition] Critical Pedagogy and Politics =
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'><< </span></font><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Critical pedagogy believes =
in
problem posing. A critical classroom starts with the students? =
collective
interests and helps the students forge a connection to larger ideology =
through
analysis, facts and statistics, logic, and plain old questioning. =
A
critical pedagogue, for example, would not assert that all hierarchies =
are
wrong, as Kathy mentioned. Rather, he or she might generate a =
theme
around hierarchy for the students or pose it as a theme that students =
are
invited to accept or reject. The classroom is not so =
de-centralized as to
lack rigor. Rather, the instructor is sharing authority with the =
students
and making them responsible for their education. Frequently, a =
critical
pedagogue will make the topic of the course a theme or a starting point, =
what
Ira Shor calls an ?academic theme.? In a writing classroom, then,
students would study the topic of good writing or maybe writing =
processes or
what the students have learned previously about the rules of =
writing.
Again, the instructor poses questions and problematizes major issues for =
the
students. <font color=3Dnavy><span style=3D'color:navy'>>> =
<u1:p></u1:p></span></font></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'><u1:p></u1:p>Of course, Bill?this sounds like a course we?d =
all
love to be in, and all aim to teach. But where is the great big =
threat
against this approach? As far as I can see, the objections are =
lodged and
the concerns expressed when critical pedagogy ceases to be what you =
describe
(an idealized version to offset what you see as a caricature of the =
overly
politicized teacher?) and becomes something else altogether. =
Something a
whole lot pushier. I think part of your concern?and I?d agree?is =
that the
line between critical pedagogy and politics run amok isn?t always as =
clear in
practice as it is in our own minds, where we know (for the most part) =
what
we?re up to, and what our goals and motivations are. =
<u1:p></u1:p></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'><u1:p></u1:p>Unfortunately, things do get fuzzy. For
instance, one could make the case that a given theme itself (how it?s =
selected
and defined, which readings are chosen to explore it, the types of =
assignments
written around it) can constitute a kind of argument that really brooks =
no
opposition by students who find themselves--all unawares, with no =
forewarning,
and often with very little sense of how to get out--caught in it. =
I?ve
inherited a few of those students, and can tell you it?s a delicate =
thing,
indeed, simultaneously to get them back on track with FYC, and to =
promote
respect for and good will toward the instructor they?ve fled. How =
does a
student trust comp after feeling as though he or she has been forced =
into reading
and writing about gender issues, say, when those readings seem not only
terribly pushy and personal, but also essentially unrelated to what they
thought would and should be the task at hand? (It has also =
sometimes been
a challenge not to have the fled from teacher ticked off at me for =
agreeing to
adopt the fleeing student, but talking it through head on tends to ease
things.) Oh, and just think of how many first year students in =
that spot
* <b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>don?t </span></b>* flee! One =
approach
to preventing this sort of issue is to delineate themes clearly =
and
carefully ahead of time. If this course is to be all about =
hierarchies,
or sustainable resources, or the philosophy of language, or gender =
studies, or
the rhetoric of war, or whatever, it?s both wise and ethical to tag it =
as such
in the catalogue and/or schedule, and to circulate (online is one good =
way) a
fairly detailed description of it in advance. When students are =
empowered
to choose that way, fewer problems develop, which is good for
everyone. If I were teaching a lab/online/hybrid type course =
in a
school not heavy on technology use in FYC, I?d even want * <b><span
style=3D'font-weight:bold'>that </span></b>* (seemingly innocuous, at =
least to
me) course tagged and described in just this fashion. If FYC can?t =
be
presumed to be pretty much the same from section to section?as, in many =
places,
it can?t (thus WPAs and or Deans feeling the lure of the departmental =
text and
syllabus), then we do our both our students and ourselves a great favor =
by
clarifying the choices ahead of time.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>I?d have been ticked off by (and probably pretty frightened =
of) a
professor or instructor trying to transform me into her particular =
version of a
feminist, for sure. (It?s brave, wonderful, and a sign of wisdom =
for any
teacher to see that?s she done that, to regret it, to question how it =
happened,
and to reexamine that approach.) But by the time I landed in such a =
situation,
it was in a feminist studies course I?d deliberatively chosen, where =
passionate
exploration and disagreement were welcome all the way, and I was =
free
vociferously to defend or attack ideas as the spirit or the keyboard or =
the
readings or classmates moved me. If I?d landed in that spot in =
FYC, it
would have been a thing I?d gone into blindly, and felt trapped by and =
resentful
of, and rightly =
so. <u1:p> </u1:p></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>We can demonstrate how deeply we respect both students and =
the
profession by taking the time not only carefully to examine our =
approaches, but
also carefully to tend to student responses. I learned this lesson =
very
early on when I was using a reader one department demanded?a reader that
included a section on abortion. Couldn?t get a lick of =
conversation or a
spark of interest going about that section (such interesting readings, =
too,
na=EFve me thought), so I finally did the only thing a teacher really =
can do when
in that spot, which is to ask the students why. They said, pretty =
much to
a person, that this was a hugely personal thing, and that whether =
they
were still thinking it through, or had already come down?temporarily or =
no?on
one side or the other was, essentially, none of anyone?s beeswax unless =
* <b><span
style=3D'font-weight:bold'>they </span></b>* opted freely to explore it =
with
others (teachers or peers) for, say, a research paper, or in a creative =
writing
class, or in a class on Human Sexuality or Contemporary Ethics, and so =
forth.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>I think they were right. Also, I expect, their =
response would
apply in somewhat subtler cases. Whenever we?re crossing into the =
land of
the personal or the private in a course not specifically geared to those =
topics
(a course in which students can predict that those topics will make up =
the
content, and choose to enroll or not, accordingly), then student =
resistance is
not only perfectly appropriate, but downright healthy. I?d call =
taking
that into account?and letting that response shape our courses even or
especially when it?s an unexpected response?a key part of critical
pedagogy. <u1:p></u1:p></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'><u1:p></u1:p>On a different note?I?ve hardly ever =
encountered the
out and out morally distasteful essay written by an FYC student.
Thoughtfully designed courses don?t leave much room for them, so that?s =
one
thing, but the bigger thing is that, for the most part, students are =
rooting
for us just like we?re rooting for them. Mostly, in my experience, =
they
really want to learn a thing or two about writing, and they?ll go a long =
way,
indeed, to help us teach them whatever we can in the brief time we have
together.<u1:p> </u1:p></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>Kathy <u1:p></u1:p></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'><u1:p> </u1:p></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'><u1:p> </u1:p></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt'>_______________________________________________ =
Teaching_Composition
maillist - Teaching_Composition@mailman.eppg.com
http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition To =
unsubscribe,
please visit =
http://mailman.eppg.com/mailman/listinfo/teaching_composition and
update your information.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>
------=_NextPart_000_002F_01C6E6D7.C8526D00--