BLogarithm

I use my blog to reflect on what informs my practice and to refine how i do things in the classroom.

I often make reference to Paulo Friere’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed as one of the major influences on how I approach my relationship with my students and my pedagogical practices. However, now that I’m working at a new school I find that Friere doesn’t necessarily hold all the answers anymore.

I used to work in a school in an area of Atlanta that was in “transition.” The neighborhood was plagued by criminal activity, the school was often broken in to, and my students were often more concerned with their lived realities than my math class.

I’m not there anymore and the lens through which I viewed teaching must now take on a different hue. Friere’s philosophy was more geared toward the socially and economically marginalized adults of a society and not so much toward children, so I had to remix his philosophy to fit my lived reality. Now I’m working with a group of students from largely middle class means and adequate educational backgrounds. I don’t encounter behavior problems, major social issues, or anything out of the ordinary. They’re good kids who genuinely excited about coming to school and learning every day. Essentially, I’m working with the students that Harry Wong, Marilyn Burns, and Robert Marzano often write about.

That isn’t to say that I’m not faced with difficulties. My students are all female and I am not. Frierien philosophy, as far as I know, doesn’t really speak to the experiences of middle class females living in a male dominated world. I’m sure there is plenty of womanist/feminist literature out there to assist me with my new set of pedagogical needs; however, I don’t know where to begin.

I can say that I’m enjoying my experiencing so far and I’m learning just as much from them as they are from me. So far I’ve learned that my girls appreciate me knowing who they are much more so than what I know. They appreciate a firm but caring demeanor, and they respond well to challenges.

Something inside me tells me that this school in particular deserves to be studied. I’m really looking forward to what this year holds in store for me and the girls.