I've had very similar experiences to Cynthia's where
students were talking about violence and murders in
their community and I became concerned that I wouldn't
be able to handle what might come up in the
conversation. But I have found that when I let the
conversation go in the direction that the students
needed to go, regardless of my initial discomfort with
the topic, that students were definitely thinking
critically about concerns that mattered to them. I
think this highlights the need for curriculum to
include topics that are important to students  in
order to make best use of students' natural tendencies
to think critically.



--- Cynthia Peters <cynthia_peters at worlded.org> wrote:


> There have already been great responses to the

> excellent question David

> raised. I have one more thing to add, which also

> maybe brings us full

> circle in this discussion of critical thinking —

> and that is, our own

> critical thinking — which of course is a key

> element to our ability to

> "teach" (or inspire/encourage/foster) critical

> thinking.

> 

> If, as a critically engaged teacher, we have

> students who organize

> together and make the case that they should use

> textbooks, I think the

> most important thing to do at that time is engage

> with the students on

> what that means, why they want them, how they (along

> with you) will

> evaluate how effective they are, etc.

> 

> It would be a great time to discuss goals, to think

> about past

> experiences with text books (or lack thereof), to

> process whatever comes

> up around all that — including for you, the

> teacher. 

> 

> The point is to not respond to any situation in a

> knee-jerk way. If we

> can avoid clamping our minds down and clamping down

> others' minds, we

> can all usually grow. We have to notice what makes

> our minds shut down.

> I remember once in one of my classes, everyone was

> talking about the

> rash of inner-city murders in Boston. A lot of the

> students had friends,

> brothers, nephews who had been murdered. I remember

> at one point

> shutting down the conversation and moving everyone

> to the next algebra

> problem. I hope I wasn't rude, but I know I was

> driven by a sort of fear

> that unfolded something like this: I don't know how

> to handle this. This

> is overwhelming. What can I do? I can't do anything.

> Oh right, I can

> teach algebra. Everyone, please open your books to

> page such and such.

> 

> Maybe I was groping for feeling some power in that

> moment. Maybe I was

> retreating the safety of algebra where murders don't

> happen. Maybe it's

> not even so bad that we all got to retreat to that

> place for that

> moment. 

> 

> Another time (which I wrote about in the women and

> literacy issue of

> The Change Agent) one of my students said that if

> his son were gay, he

> would kill him. Talk about wanting to change the

> subject! Talk about

> wanting to use my authority as a teacher to shut him

> down somehow! But

> for some reason, in that moment, I was able to let

> his comment take up

> room. Which enabled others to respond, which enabled

> us to have an

> incredibly productive conversation about sexuality

> and family and love.

> 

> 

> If student leadership takes the class in a direction

> you don't agree

> with, my feeling is the most important thing is to

> respond as a critical

> thinker. If, in the end, your response is that you

> can't go in the

> direction that the students are trying to take,

> that's okay. You've

> modeled critical thinking in the process. You've

> shown that you're

> willing to think hard, to listen respectfully, and

> to disagree if you

> feel it's right to do so. You can also help students

> think of another

> way to get their needs met if you find you can't

> meet that need in the

> classroom.

> 

> Cynthia

> 

> 

> 

> -- 

> 

> Cynthia Peters

> Change Agent Editor

> World Education

> 44 Farnsworth Street

> Boston, MA  02210

>  

> tel: 617-482-9485 ext. 3649

> fax: 617-482-0617

> email: cpeters at worlded.org 

>  

> Check out The Change Agent online at: 

> www.nelrc.org/changeagent 

> 

> 

> >>> On 7/16/2008 at 8:36 AM, in message

> <003001c8e740$9c4eeb00$6401a8c0 at YOUR85A8F7B8EC>,

> "Catherine B. King"

> <cb.king at verizon.net> wrote:

> > Hello Sally:

> > 

> > One way to distinguish merely memorizing for a

> test, and the more

> remote 

> > development that will help open horizons and

> create the basis for

> more and 

> > better understanding (and critical thinking)--is

> to focus a session

> on the 

> > activity of understanding itself.  One way to

> "focus on understanding

> 

> > itself" is to have them do some self-reflective

> exercises, for

> instance, 

> > where they locate and write about (or talk about)

> having had an

> INSIGHT (an 

> > Aha! moment) in a real-life situation (we've all

> had them), or where

> they 

> > discovered they had been on the wrong track, and

> righted their view,

> or just 

> > 

> > didn't see the whole story or problem, and then

> REALIZED it, and that

> 

> > realization sent them off in a different

> direction.

> > 

> > What was the experience like?  What were the

> circumstances? What made

> them 

> > have the insight?  What changed because of it? 

> How does it feel to

> have 

> > such an insight?

> > 

> > Part of the "self-esteem" problem (across the

> board in education) is

> that 

> > such moments of clarity and sometimes-critical

> judgment AS

> EXPERIENCED are 

> > taken for granted, not reflected on, and not

> valued by the learner 

> > themselves.  This judgment is fostered by our

> sometimes-obsessive 

> > assessments environment and by us, the educators,

> who continue to

> give the 

> > implicit message through our focus on testing,

> that such learning is

> really 

> > not that important--wink/wink, nod/nod.   And yet,

> these moments are

> the 

> > substantial internal movements, without which, all

> education is

> "rote" and 

> > meaningless.

> > 

> > In my view, it's not that testing and assessments

> are bad; it's

> rather that 

> > an over-focus on assessments has erased its own

> substantial center. 

> If we 

> > cannot directly test for it, then it must not be

> important?

> > 

> > Catherine King

> > Adjunct Instructor

> > Department of Education

> > National University

> > San Diego, CA

> > 

> > 

> > ----- Original Message ----- 

> > From: "Gabb, Sally S." <Sally.Gabb at bristolcc.edu>

> > To: "The Adult Literacy Professional Development

> Discussion 

=== message truncated ===