Kumashiro defines ‘common sense’ as ideas that are: unquestioned, pre-existing, familiar, and unchanged. Basically, those ideas or methods that we have practiced for a long time, and any noticeable change or alteration could appear scary. In a way, Kumashiro compares ‘common sense’ to tradition or ritual. This was obvious, when Kumashiro mentioned his lack of critical thinking for ‘American superiority’. It was ironic, when Kumashiro explained his story because of its criticism of Nepali tradition, yet it was enforcing its own American tradition or common sense onto Nepal (Kumashiro, 2009, p. XXXII). Now, we know Kumashiro’s definition of ‘common sense’. Let us explore more on why, it is important to recognize ‘common sense’.
It is important to pay attention to ‘common sense’ because without critical analysis we would never improve. No idea, method, or strategy is perfect, and as Kumashiro wrote, Nepal was using outdated and archaic methods compared to The United states of America’s standards. However, if we relied too much on ‘Hidden Curriculum common sense’, we would be causing inequalities and injustice, but Nepal’s outdated ideas and theories (by American standards) cannot be compared to The United States of America because of cultural differences. As an example, Nepal is a poverty nation, which has a more complex context than The United states of America. This does include many different situations and entities. As an example, a racial or sexual minority in a poverty school in The U.S.A will have a different experience with ‘common sense’, compared to a White majority (Kumashiro, 2009, p. XXXII) (Cappello, 2019).
References
Kumashiro. (2009). The Problem of Common Sense. Against Common Sense:
Teaching and Learning Toward Social Justice ( XXIX – XLI ). Unknown: Unknown.
Cappello, Dr. Michael., & Hildebrandt, Katia. (2019). Proceedings from ECS 210: The
First Lecture. University of Regina.