Exploration of critical pedagogy blogs

1. Week 7 ApplicationActivity
For this week’s application activity, I’llbe looking at
http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/, a blog that discusses critical, digital, and
online pedagogies. Beginning in January, Hybrid Pedagogy ran a MOOC, massive
open online course, in which people could explore themes of critical pedagogy.
Each week would include a list of assigned reading or other media, a discussion
prompt, and a discussion held over socialmedia at the end of the week.
I’llbe looking specifically at weeks one and two, The “Critical” in Critical
Pedagogy and RadicalPedagogies; Pedagogiesof Care. In thefirst post, the
author, who has a background in creative writing, links showing vs. telling in
writing with Freire’s idea of banking vs. critical approaches to education. In
writing, the adage “show, don’ttell” indicates that the story should come from
illustration rather than exposition. With illustration, the readers can reflect on,
and grasp for themselves the meaning of the text. In contrast, through exposition
the author leads the reader directly to their conclusion, forsaking theneed for
reflection or critical examination. This parallels Freire’s description of a banking
model, where the conclusions areforegone and the teacher imparts them to
students who, in turn, memorizethem.
The first postalso contains a caveat against false consciousness and
domesticating education. For education to be liberating and dialectical, teachers
must avoid imposing freedom on students or holding themselves or anyone else
up as the authority of critical pedagogy. To avoid the subject/objectdichotomy,
teachers musttrustin the creative power and rational abilities of their students.
Teachers should engage with the students in critical thinking with the goal of
emancipation. Their methods should be dialogical, rather than prescriptive.
The second postdiscusses feministperspectives in critical pedagogy. The
promptmentions an article by Elizabeth Ellsworth, Working through Repressive
Myths of Critical Pedagogy, in the Harvard EducationalReview. In it, Ellsworth
discusses how her own identity as a middle class white woman will always
constrain her understanding of racism. This may suggestthat individuals who

2. experienced oppression, may notbe able to deeply understand racismand
therefore critical liberation.
The second promptadditionally looks at the way texts are used in a
classroomwith a critical pedagogical approach. Texts are not meant to be held up
as the golden standard of knowledge, butrather as a promptfor dialogue
between students and teachers. The actual content of the courseis this dialogue.
I like how the courses on this blog are MOOC. Instead of having a roster of
the people signed up, it encourages anyoneto participate however intensively
they like. I like that it engages people in a dialogue through social media (Twitter,
blog post, Youtube hangouts). Italso encourages people to create blog posts or
Youtube videos about their own experiences and thoughts regarding the subject
matter. I wish I had discovered this a few weeks earlier so that I could have
participated in it.
I’mgoing to be applying several of the themes fromtheses blog posts to
the creation of my own project. To avoid the subject/objectdichotomy and allow
for dialogue I would like my website to be open to guestcontribution. Ideally,
there would also be a messageboard where people utilizing the site could engage
in a dialogue with each other. Articles written on the site would also have a
comment section. Onepotential problemwith this however, is that the site would
be geared toward young adults so any chat/posting functions would need to be
moderated. If the website grew to have many people using it, then it may be
more than I can moderate on my own.
On the note of Ellworth’s writing, my websitewill presentsexuality as a
spectrumand as someone who is straight, it’s important to me that I collaborate
with queer-identified people to compile information on different sexualities and
gender identities.
The site will examine sex and sexuality within the context of the culture
that we live in, and attempt to critically examine ideas and stigmas surrounding
sex, sexuality, and sex education. The information on the site will, ideally, be
engaging and presented without stigma. I want people who usethe site to feel

3. empowered to learn and ask questions. I’mhoping that the site will not only
provideinformation, but promote open discussion.
In order to attempt a revolution with and not for the people, I will try to
find out what people want out of sex education. I will do this by conducting polls
and personalinterviews. I will use this information to help guide the project,
rather than justincluding the information I think people should have.