The Problem with Common Sense

In the novel, Against Common Sense: Teaching and Learning Toward Social Justice, Kumashiro defines common sense as the ideas people have about how teaching and learning should take place. Although nobody ever directly tells you, “this method, and this method only, is the most effective way to learn”, people gain commonsensical ideas surrounding education through their own experiences in school.

Even arbitrary things, such as the months of the year students are in school, become so engrained into our minds as common sense that the mere thought of school taking place any other time seems absolutely ridiculous. For example, if someone in the USA or Canada proposed we begin the school year in February and end it in November, they would be immediately shut down and told that idea is utter nonsense. However, this is the exact model considered common sense in Australia, as it coincides with their summer.

People tend to blindly accept and defend these commonsensical ideas they have about the education system, as it is human instinct to be more comfortable with the practices you are accustomed to than a new or foreign practice. However, educational practices, methods of teaching, and school systems differ throughout the world. This means that, in reality, our “common sense” about education is merely a reflection of the geographical location of the school we attended and the methods of thinking that were privileged at that school.

The problem with common sense is that it causes systems of education and teaching practices to be accepted simply because they are used, not because they are actually good.

As educators, it is vital that we pay attention to and consciously examine our own “common sense”. Otherwise, we will likely just accept our commonsensical ideas and mimic them in our own classroom without ever determining if they are actually effective for students, oppressive towards certain groups, or inclusive of all learners. It is important that we learn to challenge our ideas about teaching and learning to ensure we are using methods that truly do work in the best interest of our students.

I bring many common sense understandings about education, curriculum, and pedagogy with me into this course. My current commonsensical ideas about education are a mixture of my learning experiences from elementary school, high school, and my first year of university. I think that my ideas surrounding how curriculum should be taught differ depending on the subject area. In my mind, it is obvious that subjects such as English and Drama should include open discussions and focus on encouraging students to develop their own individual opinions on the curricular topic. However, when I think of subjects such as Math or Science my “common sense” tells me that it only makes sense to teach these subjects in a more traditional model where the students are lectured and then required to memorize the information and prove they learnt it through standardized testing.

As a Math major, I am really hoping to get the opportunity to examine and challenge my commonsensical ideas about teaching this subject through ECS 203. My understanding of my current pedagogy tells me that I want a much more open and fluid learning environment than the lecture and test method provides, but I struggle to get past the idea that this is the only way to teach Math. I am very much open and looking forward to hearing other educator’s input on this, and I hope to be able to discover a teaching model that is effective in teaching the mathematical topics found in the curriculum while also being engaging, open to discussion, inclusive, and accessible to all students.