Month: October 2021

There are many things that must be considered when thinking about student success in the classroom. In the reading “Culturally relevant pedagogy and critical literacy in diverse English classrooms: A case study of a secondary English teacher’s activism and agency” by Lopez, the importance of culturally relevant pedagogy is highlighted. It is stated that “given this social reality, it is imperative that teachers engage in teaching approaches that are effective in educating today’s diverse student population” (Lopez, 2011, p. 75). This is something that I strongly agree with being that all students learn differently. Culturally relevant teaching involves students experiencing and engaging in solving higher-order problems, students identifying the strengths within their identities and cultures, and students developing a critical consciousness in order to analyze the norms associated with social inequities. When it comes to what culturally relevant pedagogy will look like, sound like, and feel like in my future classroom, there are many different approaches that I could potentially take. In relation to how I would like my classroom to look, I want it to be a safe space where students can open up about their feelings in a cooperative manner, even if it might be hard to talk about. As the teacher, I am responsible for recognizing the many different identities and cultures in the classroom so that these can be incorporated into lessons. In terms of what this will sound like in my classroom, the voices of the students are of utmost importance and are what will be heard the most when it comes to the discussion of topics that could potentially tie into their identities. This type of pedagogy “offers students opportunities to speak from their point of view and on behalf of those who are often silenced or marginalized” (Lopez, 2011, p. 78). When talking about what this will feel like in my classroom, the main goal is for students to feel comfortable and confident in discussing their experiences in the classroom. There should be no negative behaviours or judgment towards anyone discussing feelings of discomfort as to not cause emotional harm. With my future classroom being high school science or math, it could potentially be more difficult to include culturally relevant pedagogy, but I believe that this for me will involve the use of other types of knowledge, such as Indigenous knowledge, rather than just focussing on scientific knowledge. Similarly to how the case study in the reading involves using culturally relevant pedagogy in an English class through the use of performance poetry, I could have students look deeper into the history of science or math concepts and how they have been altered with respect to different cultural viewpoints, while also making connections with their personal lives and communities. This takes into consideration the curriculum content that is important to be taught and the success of all students in multicultural classrooms.

The idea of place-based learning has always been something that is considered significant when it comes to forming connections with local environments, which also includes the importance of considering cultural differences. Within the reading “Placing elementary music education: a case study of a Canadian rural music program” by Brook, it looks into how music education can develop or deepen the students’ sense of place. When it comes to place-based education “our educational system should facilitate the development of positive relationships with the land as well as with others” (Brook, 2013, p. 293). In the case of music education, we see that this involves a connection with the community as a place where they can make and perform music, which is how it creates a sense of place. We see specifically that “students were able to contribute to their communities in authentic ways that were valued by all and were embedded with the cultures of the communities” (Brook, 2013, p. 301). When it comes to how I, as the teacher, will contribute to the sense of place for my future students, it will be a little different compared to music education. I will ensure that they always feel welcomed and that their values are accepted. Again, keeping in mind that my future classroom will be high school science or math, there are multiple options for creating a sense of place. The most general way that I can achieve this sense of place for my students would be to go on field trips to places close by that will help them engage with their environment and enhance their learning. This would have them become involved with their local diversity and traditions. When it comes to other ways of achieving this, there is always the option of simply going outside within the community and doing a science experiment that involves the use of the natural environment. There are many opportunities in science lessons to go out and learn about topics in relation to your local community. This could also include making real world connections in math by having students directly relate certain concepts of math with things in their community. Another way I could do this would be to bring people into the classroom from the community to share and discuss their stories on certain topics. Being that place-based education also recognizes how important diversity is within the community, these ways of creating a sense of space also have students in culture, rather than just learning about it. By making all of these connections to the community and environment, the students will generate a better understanding of their place, allowing them to feel like they belong.

References:

Lopez, A. E. (2011). Culturally relevant pedagogy and critical literacy in diverse English classrooms: A case study of a secondary English teacher’s activism and agency. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 10(4), 75-93.

Brook, J. (2013). Placing elementary music education: a case study of a Canadian rural music program. Music Education Research, 15(3), 290-303.

In the reading “Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy as a Form of Liberatory Praxis” by Akom, he discusses a teaching strategy referred to as Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy (CHHP). He states that “this approach attempts to address deep-rooted ideologies to social inequities by creating a space in teacher education courses for prospective teachers to re-examine their knowledge of hip hop as it intersects with race, class, gender, and sexual orientation” (Akom, 2009, p. 52). I see this type of approach as being very effective as a tool when it comes to social justice since the youth already have strong relations to the hip hop culture. With this being said, it is clear that youth have an interest in hip hop which means there is a good chance they will show interest in school related activities revolving around hip hop. This is important being that “it challenges the role that schools play in reproducing social inequality” (Akom, 2009, p. 63). This type of pedagogy is something that I have never heard of prior to reading this article, but with the topic of oppression being discussed in class, I understand why Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy is a functional way for students to recognize and take action against this oppression seen within education. 

When thinking about how hip hop can be used as a tool to promote social justice and youth activism in the classroom, it is important to see that hip hop is more than what people typically see it as, which is simply as a genre of music or a type of dance. It has roots “in the long history of the Black freedom struggle and the quest for self-determination for oppressed communities around the world” (Akom, 2009, p. 53). When looking at hip hop in this context, it is easy to see how there are many activities and lessons that could be used in the classroom to promote social justice and youth activism. As seen within the work of hip hop artists, there can potentially be engagement and open discussions that evolve from the hip hop culture. This promotes awareness and allows for the removal of the norms that often silence students. It is a tool that reveals “problems of poverty, police brutality, patriarchy, misogyny, incarceration, [and] racial discrimination” (Akom, 2009, p. 54). This revelation will produce an environment in which students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts on the past issues to allow them to consider ways in which they can create a better future in terms of social justice. With this pedagogical approach being student-centered, there is the opportunity for the problems that students of colour face to be identified through hip hop, allowing for the cause to be analyzed and a solution to be found. It is suggested that students should analyze data within the hip hop culture such as “field notes, video footage, photo-voice, web research, artifacts of popular culture, interviews, archival research, oral history, and surveys” (Akom, 2009, p. 55). Upon doing this research, students can then use their findings and link them to their community issues that must be solved. I can see hip hop being used as a tool to form school work that explores social justice and that has direct ties to the curriculum, which can be done by taking an issue from hip hop culture and engaging students in how they can seek social change. I believe that all of this allows for genuine questions, and even answers, to be generated by the students, leading to more youth activism. 

The relationship between hip hop culture and the development of critical consciousness amongst students is essential for students to make connections to their own lives. The origins of hip hop can be defined as being very complicated, but Akom describes it in a broader way in which it “has multiple elements, histories, origins, and births” (Akom, 2009, p. 52). Hip hop culture involves a language that dominates amongst the youth and is where theory can be merged with practice. In order for students to form critical consciousness, they must have a deep understanding of their world, meaning they must be exposed to social issues and be able to act against these issues. This generally cannot be done in this case without first looking into hip hop culture. There is the need for students to understand and, in a way, experience the issues that correlate with hip hop before they can even begin to develop a critical consciousness. This relationship is all about the students having the freedom to form their own opinions in order to build this critical consciousness that is needed to act on the social justice issues that are portrayed within the hip hop culture. In particular, the marginalized youth are able to gain this critical consciousness through observing the hip hop culture and how their personal experiences have been shaped by something much larger. I believe that it is important for each student to develop their own unique critical consciousness relating to social justice, which can only be done through the presentation of hip hop culture in the classroom.

References:

Akom, A. A. (2009). Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy as a Form of Liberatory Praxis. Equity & Excellence in Education, 42(1), 52-66.

The curriculum in education is something that holds a lot of importance, but can be viewed and discussed in many different ways being that there are so many details within it. It is comprised of those things which students are expected to know and do by the end of the school year. This is something that has been around for a very long time and with this being said, there is the need to update and alter it every so often in order to continue a beneficial education within our changing society. There is a lot of controversy involving the curriculum and its contents due to how decisions are made or who gets a say in making these decisions involving curriculum development. There are so many different considerations to be made when it comes to the curriculum, specifically what should be included and what should not be included. I have never truly considered how difficult the process of forming and developing the curriculum can potentially be, due to the simplistic view that I have always had of it.

Within the reading “Curriculum Policy and the Politics of What Should Be Learned in Schools” by Levin, he discusses curriculum decisions and the relations to politics. There is the main idea that “curriculum decisions and choices are shaped in large measure by other considerations – ideology, personal values, issues in the public domain, and interests” (Levin, 2008, p. 22). After understanding the general idea of public policy and politics in terms of government, it became easy for me to see the connection these things have with curriculum decisions. They are very similar in many ways, including the idea of how not everyone can be pleased by each of the decisions made, in both government politics and curriculum politics. There is also a lot of pressure and responsibility seen within both of these types of politics. They must focus on the priorities and only consider the demands that are reasonable, which shows me how hard this can become. It is described that “because schooling is seen as so fundamental to the development of our children, it can turn into a battleground for wider social disputes” (Levin, 2008, p. 15). This is why it makes sense for there to be a lot of debate within curriculum decisions. These debates are about things such as what should be included in each subject or at what grade level certain things should be implemented. There are many disagreements that come up when mentioning certain topics being included in the curriculum, such as sex education, and after discussing this in class, I know how serious these debates can be. There is the idea that policy involving education should be derived from experience or knowledge according to educators, but politically, “evidence and experience are not enough to drive decisions, and they may be among the less important factors” (Levin, 2008, p. 13). This is something particular that I find hard to believe because evidence proves something to be true and is usually preferred to alternative methods. This is an interesting way to look at curriculum and explains a lot about how certain things become so extended within education, showing specifically why there are people who agree with the curriculum and some who don’t.

In the reading “The Saskatchewan Way: Professional Led Curriculum Development” by the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF), we see that the curriculum can be complicated and is not as easy as it may seem. It is said that “the degree of success of curriculum reform and implementation depends upon the depth and genuineness of the involvement of teachers” (STF, 2016, p. 2). I can see why there is the belief that it is important for educators to be a part of this curriculum development, because I do agree. The teachers are the ones acting upon the guidelines of the curriculum through their pedagogical methods, which is why I see it to be crucial for them to have a say in what the curriculum involves. The teacher involvement was meant to assist the students’ experiences with the curriculum, but it also had more benefits such that “it allowed teachers to see curriculum as something dynamic and relevant, not an immutable imposition from above” (STF, 2016, p. 5). This is something that I did not think of when it comes to teacher involvement, but it is important since teachers often think poorly of the curriculum. They also go on to mention how it is important to include a variety of other parties in curriculum renewal, such as educational partners, parents, students, and the community. This is important to recognize because these voices are the ones being directly affected by these decisions and are the ones who hold all of the experience and knowledge. With this, it is important to consider that “as you delve deeper and consider everything that is taught and learned in a classroom, curriculum becomes much more involved” (STF, 2016, p. 3). I believe that The Saskatchewan Way lays out a process for the curriculum to be beneficial, and even though it still may involve some disputes, it can ultimately be successful in the end.

As these readings have shown, there are a lot of things to consider when thinking about the curriculum. We can see a difference in what people believe is the best way to approach curriculum development. Within Levin’s writing, there is a focus on the importance of curriculum decisions being “part of a much larger public debate that often extends beyond education to larger questions of public goods” (Levin, 2008, p. 22). This recognizes that there is an importance in having the say of educational expertise, but that this alone could result in decisions failing, which is why they bring in the importance of politics. In contrast, the STF has ideas that revolve around the necessity for teachers to lead the way in curriculum development, while still being assisted by other parties. It is stated that there is “the importance of teachers being deeply involved at all levels and in all aspects of curricular change if education is to change for the better and, ultimately, if students are to benefit” (STF, 2016, p. 8). There are so many different things that people would like to see included in the curriculum, but there is only so much time, which is why it is so important to create a curriculum that aims to efficiently benefit the students.

References:

Levin, B. (2008). Curriculum Policy and the Politics of What Should Be Learned in Schools. In F. Connelly, M. He & J. Phillion (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of curriculum and instruction, pp. 7-24. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.

The Saskatchewan Way: Professional Led Curriculum Development. (2016). Saskatchewan Teachers Federation, pp. 1-8. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FwQqfod6RqG_c73DP7a2kZGttSjDwghP/view