Blog #4:
Common sense understandings in the culture of Western society have shaped the idea of what it means to be a good student – conforming, excelling in examinations, punctuality, etc. Those that can adhere to traditional classroom practices and structures excel in their studies (the good students), and everyone else is left astray – commonsensically categorizing the rest as bad.
In Kevin Kumashiro’s book, Against Common Sense: Teaching and Learning Towards Social Justice, this idea – good student/bad student – is explored through Kumashiro’s personal teaching experiences. It has to be understood that “the way we think about learning that can be oppressive” (Kumashiro 2010). Difficult situations such as misbehaving or questioning authority (seen through students M and N) do not occur because of “bad students”, but because learning needs and interests are not being met. Ultimately, it is the educational frameworks and pedagogies that need to be corrected, not the students themselves.
Historically speaking, educational systems were molded for the benefit of one distinct population… and one distinct population only. Good students were white (Anglo-Saxon descent or white appearing), Christian, and wealthy. The result of education, as expressed by Painter, should be “a noble manhood, whose highest exemplification, the ideal of all culture, is Christ,” (1886). All of these aspects and more created an oppressive, improper precedent tainting the definition of a “good student” which still affects our current day school practices and beliefs.
Sources
Kumashiro, K. K. (2004). Against common sense: Teaching and learning toward social justice. New York, NY. Routledge.
Painter, F. V. N. (1886). A history of education. New York, NY: D. Appleton.