Disruptive Pedagogy and the Practice of Freedom

Teachers must be actively committed

“Teachers must be actively committed to a process of self-actualization that promotes their own well-being if they are to teach in a manner that empowers students.” https://t.co/EBVvzwILZZ pic.twitter.com/kDKG7vxdKq

— Will Richardson-BIG Questions Institute (@willrich45) October 12, 2018

This tweet by Will Richardson caught my attention and I read this article in Hybrid Pedagogy and this paragraph captured my attention.

“The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions… What societies really, ideally, want is a citizenry which will simply obey the rules of society. If a society succeeds in this, that society is about to perish. The obligation of anyone who thinks of himself as responsible is to examine society and try to change and fight it – at no matter what risk. This is the only hope that society has. This is the only way societies change.”

— James Baldwin, “A Talk to Teachers,” 1963

In light of what is happening around the world today, where the rich and powerful meticulously have their own interests as highest priorities, we need to educate students to be responsible citizens. This is a priority in the design of our new Norwegian curricula  and an important topic that we spend a lot of time discussing in our schools. We should never forget as the author Julie Fellmayer / highlights,

 I have yet to hear any EdTech expert or 21st century education guru refer to disruption in the transgressive sense that Baldwin was evoking 54 years ago. The difference, of course, is that Baldwin was not worried about preparing students for “the jobs of the future.” Too many modern educational calls for disruption tout themselves as progressive and revolutionary, and yet ultimately do not see students so much as they see future employees.

You can read the rest of the article here.