Chris+Lackey

Christopher Lackey

All three Curatorial projects and the Teaching Philosophy can be found [|here].

Curatorial Project 1 --- "Working on the Work" by Philip Schlechty

Curatorial Project 2 --- Modern uses of computers and technology in education. This is a .zip archive of screenshots and video. (Files with the .snag extension can only be opened with SnagIt, don't worry about them.) For more about SnagIt and Camtasia, visit http://www.techsmith.com

Curatorial Project 3 --- Powerpoint with slides of possibilities of simulations in education, particularly math, physics, and digital media.

Teaching Philosophy --- Essay format, but will have additional materials for the presentation.

Very interesting Freire-inspired read: "Notes to my Students", from a Communication & Rhetorical Studies teacher about what to expect (and not expect!) from his course. Powerful, motivating style of writing. http://radicalpedagogy.icaap.org/content/issue6_2/rodriguez.html

Pedagogy of the Oppressed --- Introduction and Chapter 1

Several themes stood out for me in this reading. First, Freire's conception of a “realized” human being as a “Subject” who can transform the world---who sees the world not as static or imposed from the outside, but as a continual problem/possibility---resonated well. His exploration of the spectrum between “object” and “Subject” was illuminating for many reasons, but the most interesting was the emphasis placed upon action or work. It is not enough to think one is liberated and a Subject, one's actions and words need to reflect this; and it is a constant challenge based upon the wide variety of circumstances one finds oneself in (often you will change radically based upon how you feel about a situation or another individual).

A quote from Shaull's introduction stood out: “Our advanced technological society is rapidly making objects of most of us and subtly programming us into conformity to the logic of its system. To the degree that this happens, we are also becoming submerged in a new 'culture of silence'.” When discussing Ed Tech, this is an interesting viewpoint; obviously there is much truth to this, but at the same time, participatory Web communication alleviates this considerably, should one choose to use it in this manner.

On pages 32-33 Freire gives a succinct summary of the “oppressed” individual. “They are at one and the same time themselves and the oppressor whose consciousness they have internalized. The conflict lies in the choice between being wholly themselves or being divided...between acting or having the illusion of acting through the action of the oppressors...” etc. I found this “duality” description unnervingly accurate, and began wondering how many other “personalities” I or anyone else carry around with them, due to the psychological weight of our influences and the strength or weakness of our sense of self. Freire's emphasis is upon a rather stark and extreme duality, but I think all kinds of other useful identifications are possible and could be beneficial using such a model of thought; it certainly behooves educators to consider these factors in themselves and their students.

“...the solution of this contradiction [oppressor-oppressed] is born in the labor which brings into the world this new man: no longer oppressor nor longer oppressed, but man in the process of achieving freedom.” This gives good support to the idea of transformation of the individual through work and “mediating through the world”, as he discusses at length later. For the educator, thinking about learning using an active, questioning model (rather than a passive, “banking” one), this is a crucial element for success. The teacher-student relationship can be beneficially equalized through the mediation of information and questioning of the world and one's beliefs. This is true even in what could be the most “fact-based” courses; indeed, if any course is overly focused in this way, it is probably past time to restructure it so that student and teacher alike uncover the real reasons that learning the material is worthwhile.

Freire --- Question for Chapter 2:

With all the talk about the "banking model", do you think there are appropriate times to apply it in a classroom? If so, how and why do you do it---that is, present facts or concepts *to* the students, rather than drawing them out through discussion? Where is a good balance between the ends of this spectrum, and what factors determine or affect that balance?