Kumashiro, “Against Common Sense: Teaching and Learning Toward Social Justice”

How does Kumashiro define ‘common sense?’ Why is it so important to pay attention to the ‘common sense?’

            In my opinion, I think, Kumashiro defines common sense as a way of knowing that is common among a group of people. For example, Kumashiro explains how the people of Nepal use rice or lentils in their cooking and that cooking without them means you don’t know how to cook. In this example, if you do not cook with rice or lentils it is assumed you do not know how to cook. In Nepal is it “common sense” to solely teach out of the textbook and prepare for end of term exams where as in the US or Canada it has become “common sense” to incorporate other ways of teaching and learning.

            It is important to pay attention to the ‘common sense’ because it has become such a regular way of thinking. Common sense has become routine for many people, whether you are from Nepal or from the US, it goes unnoticed. I think it is important to pay attention to this concept because some aspects, as stated in the reading, need to be challenged. For example, it is common for the schools in the US or Canada to use new and innovative teaching ways, so when Kumashiro was to teach in Nepal he/she was faced with the realization that there was “a failure to critique the unspoken assumptions about US superiority” (XXXI). It is important to realize that we as a people use common sense in our daily lives without question. Sometimes our personal idea of what should be common sense can differ from that of someone else’s idea of common sense. Neither person is wrong when it comes to common sense knowledge, it depends on who you are or where you are from that shapes our ideas of what is commonly thought or should be thought of independently.

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