Talking Points #10

Empowering Education: Critical Teaching for Social Change By: Isra Shor

Quotes:

1.) "People are naturally curious. They are born leaders. Education can either develop or stifle their inclination to ask why and to learn. A curriculum that avoids questioning school and society is not, as is commonly supposed, politically neutral."

People are naturally curious and we all have questions we want answered. I think it would be weird for a school to even have a curriculum that stays away from questions. Is that not the reason we attend school? To build our own points of view and question others? I believe all education should have the children ask questions so they can learn and make their own ideas about certain topics. We should not shy away from the questions children in our classrooms will have.

2.) "Participatory classes respect and rescue the curiosity of students. As Dewey argued, participation in school and society is crucial to learning and to democracy."

I read this quote and automatically thought 'DELPIT!' This is proving that there is a code of power and if we all do not learn the codes of power we are seen as people not involved in our society and our classrooms. And, you have to participate for democracy, which is the U.S. It is just showing hoe people all over need to learn the rules and codes of power to fit in.

3.) "Few students will learn academic material if it is lectured at them in a manner designed simply to transfer information. As I suggested earlier,subject matter is best introduced as problems related to student experience, in a language familiar to them."
I love this quote because it is exactly how I learn. I do not like it when professors lecture and then that is it for class. If this is what happens then I go home and teach the lecture to myself, the way I like to learn. Although, everyone learns in different ways you just have to find what works for you.

Comments:

I really enjoyed reading this piece and found it all pretty true. The different learning methods were neat to read about and I never knew so many different ways existed. I highly agree with this piece because it is always saying how participation is what helps us learn and it is very true. If we do not participate then we will not expand our knowledge.