In chapter 28, McLaren talks about education and knowledge in terms of social functions and social constructions. This reminded me a lot of the issues we talk about very often in my English Education classes. Specifically we are always talking about how reading is a social interaction. Many people would think reading is an activity to be done alone and in isolation, but we have discovered that reading is very social especially when discussion takes place around a text by many people who have read it. I can see how many people would think knowledge and education in general are things that reflect individual pursuits. Besides being social in terms of friendships and peers, schools and education can be a social pursuit by a group of many people seeking a common goal.
While I think the focus of the article, how we have socially constructed ideas about education and knowledge, is a worthy focus, I get a little tired or reading and talking about it only in these terms (although this again is worthy if we are to challenge the status quo). It is draining on my mind and sometimes very depressing to think about how our schools are run currently and how they really should be run and the amount of time/work it is going to take to get us to a better place. Again, it is texts like these that will help us challenge the status quo and tackle these issues when we get out into the real world and in real teaching positions. If many people read and buy into these theories we will change the educational system and that is very exciting.
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6 years ago
1 comment:
I totally agree with you. The most memorable engligh classes I recall contained interactive discussion between the teacher and those who read. This allowed the class to get involved with one another, create a more social and welcoming atmosphere, and also gave us insentive to read the text supplied.
Since social studies is my field I like to figure out how to use this technique in my classroom. In a scial studies environment this could be used in many ways. A teacher could hand out a primary source and use a similar group discussion rather than using typical textbook and day to day assignements. THis way the students can get a beter feel for first hand history rather than simply hearing it from a historians point of view.
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