Curriculum in Saskatchewan & Place-based Pedagogy

What does it mean to be a “good” student according to the commonsense? Which students are privileged by this definition of the good student? How is the “good” student shaped by historical factors? 

According to commonsense, for different countries or races, individuals must maintain the same cultural understandings and practices within their given societies. In A History of Education, Painter states that “education does not aim to develop a perfect man or woman, but to prepare its subjects for their place in the established order of things” (9). The author emphasizes on different views of the importance of education relating to China and India. Chinese people are said to be focused on high scholastic standards, calling this “ancestral knowledge” (15). While, people from India follow a system of only been taught skills that help them do jobs that are often times chosen for them, this is called “caste education” (21). This reading contained many degrading comments to both races. For example, Painter referred to Chinese people as “practically unchangeable” (10), have “evident imperfections” (10), and the article states that “Chinese people [sic] have for many ages made but little progress in civilization” (10). In regards to people from India, Painter states “the people present strange contradictions of character” (16) followed by a list of insulting names – as well as declaring their learning “useless” (19). This article represents a Eurocentric viewpoint of other countries and their systems of learning. Although some of the information may be useful, they are depicted in a negative light and represented as not useful approaches to education. By historical factors, students are privileged as a “good student” if they follow the education system that they’re brought up in, by achieving high academic standards without questioning the lessons that they are being taught.

In Against Common Sense, Kumashiro contradicts our first reading of the week in regards to commonsense. The author states “…the standards that currently define what all students are supposed to learn contain very little that explicitly addresses oppression, thereby reinforcing the commonsensical idea that academic knowledge and skills have little to do with oppression” (27). The article lists two examples of children with different learning styles and those who question what they are being taught, which is commonly mistaken as misbehaving. Kumashiro affirms readers that children should learn to ask questions and communicates that students feel discomfort while learning new concepts (29). I myself, resonated with this reading when Kumashiro listed the example of misunderstanding themes to certain novels and revealing the discomfort of not understanding concepts in school properly. Kumashiro believes that “students need a learning process that helps them work through their crisis” (30). Any student is capable of being a “good” student with the willingness to learn, even when concepts might be discomforting. As future educators, we must provide support for the different types of learners in our classrooms rather than judge them, analyze historical concepts and biases, and search for anti-oppressive teachings to ensure inclusion for all of our students.

Painter, F. V. N. (1904). A history of education (Vol. 2). D. Appleton.

Kumashiro, K. K. (2013). Against common sense: Teaching and learning toward social justice. Routledge.