Reflection 4            Building the Ideal High School

        The activity we did in class on February 13 where we built our ideal high school was a refreshing way to see what people consider to be important in order for them to have a great high school experience. This activity was an example of critical pedagogy in that it forced us to think critically about the components that make up a school and how by altering those components, we can change our experience and reduce oppression. I wanted to have more clarity into critical pedagogy because I was still foggy with the idea of it, so I found a website that broke down some ideas and concepts regarding critical pedagogy. The generic definition provided by 'Critical Pedagogy on the web' refers to critical pedagogy as educational theory and teaching and learning practices that raise the learners' critical consciousness regarding oppressive social conditions (Critical Pedagogy on the web). The activity we did was exactly this; a teaching practice that raised our consciousness regarding the oppressive conditions that are seen in high schools currently. By creating our own high school, we were able to focus on what characteristics were important to us and which traditional aspects should be eliminated. 

            The idea of ‘praxis’ is also mentioned, which is the reflective approach to taking action and involves a cycle of theory, application, evaluation, reflection and back to theory (Critical Pedagogy on the web). A YouTube video I watched describes praxis as bringing issues of daily life to the conscious, knowledgeable level of the student and moving to action and then reflection (iepgmarc, 2011). The class activity is similar to the idea of praxis because we were involved in the cycle; we took an issue of daily life in the form of oppression experienced by high school students and looked at the theory of critical pedagogy, we applied it to creating an ideal high school, we evaluated what we created and looked at each aspect of it and now we have the opportunity to reflect on what we created. A strong point made in the description I read said that social transformation is the product of praxis at the collective level (Critical Pedagogy on the web), which means that when everyone works together (like how we did in class) we are able to create social transformation. Although we are a small class, what we learned will carry with us into the future and we can apply what we learned when we start our careers.
            The final product of our class activity came together on the white board and looked similar to the RSA video we watched earlier in the semester with everyone adding their own aspect to the larger body of art. Each group focused on and aspect of school, either infrastructure, staff or curriculum, to the overall product, but each of those ideas also had many counterparts that made the product all the more specific and meaningful. The ideas surrounding staff were the most shocking to me because one group suggested that we eliminate teachers altogether and replace them with talking computers. Although this idea may be practical in terms of eliminating any bias or prejudice that a teacher may emit in their classroom, the idea is still completely ridiculous in my opinion. Imagining a classroom full of 17 year olds with a computer teaching them is outrageous because the simple fact would be that the students wouldn’t be there. A talking computer holds no physical authority and if there is no one there to force a student to stay in class, they most likely wouldn’t. Students need the physical presence of a teacher for praise when they are doing something right, and for help when that aren’t and a talking computer would not offer that. 
             Other ideas posed in our ideal high school included having the school built so that there are common areas in the center of the school, such as the gym and the cafeteria, with pods for each subject around the school. This is similar to how my high school was set up, with pods for social studies, science, math and English and the cafeteria in the front and center of the building with the common lobby area. I really liked this set up and I think it would work well in other schools because you’re in an area with parallel subjects and the teachers all get along because the subjects they teach are so similar.

Two groups had ideas surrounding interconnectedness and how all students, staff and faculty need to come together to create a better learning environment that can allow ideas to flow through everyone. There were a lot of circles drawn, which can be interpreted as students being connected and also to face one another when discussing, which from past experience, I have thoroughly enjoyed. Seeing your classmates when discussing topics makes you feel like they are actually listening to what you have to say. 
            I didn’t  like the idea posed of allowing technology into the classroom in the form of personal laptops, iPods, cell phones, etc. I don’t see any of those things as necessary in a high school classroom. There are positives to keeping up with new technology, but I think the negatives outweigh the positives. If using technology was permitted, students would take advantage of this and cheat on tests/exams which would not be fair to those who actually want to put the effort in.  I really liked the idea one group suggested of more field trips, or just more out-of-classroom teaching in general. People are so wrapped up in technology that they forget to step outside every now and then and admire the world and everything in it and see what nature can tell us. Out-of-classroom teaching makes subjects more interesting and when something is interesting, people have a tendency to remember it better.
            I really enjoyed that class activity because it gave me an idea of what other people value when it comes to education and also how they are able to have a better learning experience. It was nice to interact with everyone and do something different in a lecture too. 




Images obtained from:
Praxis Cycle
Earth Image


References

Critical Pedagogy on the web. (n.d.). What is critical pedagogy? Retrieved March 3, 2012, from Critical                        Pedagogy on the web: http://mingo.info-science.uiowa.edu/~stevens/critped/definitions.htm          

iepgmarc, Y. (2011, September 22). Crosscultural Teaching -- Module 9: A Look at Critical Pedagogy Part 2 of 2. Retrieved March 3, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUZWG_BbPjc