RES 5530: Race, Class, and Gender in Literacy Research (Spring 2009)

In the doctoral program (which I encourage ALL of you to consider) we took a class where we looked at race, class, and gender in education. One of our readings was Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, which is mentioned in Hicks' work. As I read Hicks I thought of Freire several times. One of the most important things that I got from him is that teachers do not own the material that they teach. The knowledge that a teacher has to share with her students does not belong only to her. By teaching in a "I lecture, you listen" format, teachers are owning the curriculum because little attention is given to what the students bring to the classroom. The quote I share as my title speaks to the ultimate envirnoment where teachers share what they know, students share what they know and together they try to make meaning of it within the context of their respective backgrounds and experiences. Hicks' discussions on critical literacy connected with Freire because he also saw the need for teachers and students to critically analyze the curriculum to find its value and worth. I wonder if anyone has ever sat down and critically analyzed the North Carolina Course of Study or even more importantly the programs that promise complete academic success to every student?

I also think that we have to work to create more critical thinkers in our classroom. I think the days of simply accepting the authority of a textbook are gone and the days of teaching our students how to critically judge and evaluate their resources is here. As teachers and masters students we are asked to do that on a regular basis and I have to be honest that it has been a struggle for me to get to the point I am now. It took many growing pains for me to learn how to not accept the printed word as absolute truth and to find the justified means for evaluting that same printed word. While I completely honor my teachers and I am grateful for all that they have done for me, I wonder if some of my struggle came from what I didn't have in school. I was the student who just wanted to get the right answer and while that worked well for me in elementary, middle, and high school, it didn't work as well in college or graduate school. I was asked to look for all of the answers and more importantly to analyze why those would be right or if those would be right, etc. Creating critical thinkers is difficult. It means giving up control because the students are playing an active role in their learning, but the most important thing is that THE STUDENTS ARE PLAYING AN ACTIVE ROLE. I'm looking forward to getting more into this book because I know that a critical look at the education of working-class children will help me become more aware of my own teaching, whether in a K-12 classroom or in an undergradute classroom, I need to remember that all of my students come from different backgrounds but all of them deserve the same chance to succeed and learn.

Amie Snow