Blog Post #7: Critical Pedagogy in an Urban High School English Classroom

I love everything about this article. Duncan-Andrade and Morrell’s article combines a lot of the amazing ideas and philosophies I have encountered throughout the quarter, and applies them to an educational approach that is “rooted in the existential experiences of marginalized peoples” (1). The article doesn't simply describe what the theory of critical pedagogy is, rather it shows exactly what critical pedagogy looks like in a real classroom. Actually seeing a theory put into practice helped clarify a lot of the concepts and practices I have encountered throughout this quarter.

I really enjoy how relevant and engaging the units they described are. The content seemed to really push students to not only invest in the learning that occurs in the classroom, but also in the community around them. When teaching literature in a secondary classroom, one of the major hurdles to effective teaching is creating curriculum that is relevant and engaging to all students. How can the “classics,” such as Hamlet and Macbeth, actually be relevant to a diverse population in the high school classroom? I remember being a high school student and complaining about how pointless it was to read Shakespeare. We have all been there. But now, as a preservice teacher, I understand the value of the “classics,” and this article shows that a multicultural reading can be applied to any text, “even one several thousand years old” (5). Exposing students to literature of other times and places allows students to make relevant connections to their own everyday experiences, while at the same time, gaining an understanding of similarities across time and cultures.

One thing I never considered, before reading this article, was the value of pairing a book with a film. In my educational experiences films have been used to fill up dead time or almost as a reward at the end of a unit. I think showing a film in class has almost become a taboo, because for so long teachers have used them incorrectly. However, when films are properly incorporated into the classroom they provide students with a deeper understanding that, in turn, “facilitates a more personal and deeper analysis of the themes…found in the text” (20). Duncan-Andrade and Morrell have opened my eyes to the fact that the systematic involvement with popular culture in academic settings can facilitate the development of academic skills and critical faculties.