Pedagogical Engagement ~ Post 9!

"Many professors remain unwilling to be involved with any pedagogical practices that emphasize mutual participation between teacher and student because more time and effort are required to do this work. Yet this really is the only type of teaching that truly generates excitement in the classroom, that enables students and professors to feel the joy of learning" (Hooks, 124, Google eBook edition).

Within this weeks reading, the 'new idea' which I encountered was pedagogical engagement as a teaching practice. While I enjoyed reading and learning about it throughout the chapter in Hooks' work, the above quotation stood out to me. While I've been aware as I read Hooks' work that it was written entirely from her perspective and based on her own learning, this quotation was the first I've read that truly came across as biased, and in turn essentially ignorant to teaching practices that were not her own. She is almost literally writing off any teaching professional who does not participate in her idealized form of teaching as lazy, and making the assertion that there is no more effective teaching method than her own.

I don't aim to deny that engaged pedagogy has merit. On the contrary, I believe that in practice it genuinely is one of the most effective ways for a teacher to influence and help their students learning. However, to assert that anyone who doesn't conduct that pedagogical style are unwilling to due to time and effort constraints is ignorant to the issues surrounding engaged pedagogy. As I've mentioned both this week and last within my forum postings and blog, this form of student - teacher relation is one which is heavily scrutinized within society. One misinterpreted event and a teacher's entire livelihood could be jeopardized. It is important for teachers to care about their students and care about the learning that goes on, but to assume that any who are unwilling to risk behavior that is societally taboo is to assume that teachers need to never think about themselves or their careers. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't a need for a teacher to be entirely selfish. Education is a career, not a life (in my humble opinion). If a teacher doesn't want to risk their livelihood by becoming personally involved in a student's life, they have that right - and they certainly shouldn't be labeled as lazy for it.

Getting beyond the assumptions made about the teachers, to assume that this type of teaching is the only one which generates excitement in the classroom is equally as biased and absurd. Teaching practices are constantly evolving and changing; to assume one in particular will always be above others is simply incorrect. On top of this, teachers are as unique as any other human being on the planet, and in this quotation Hooks' makes the assumption that any teacher can utilize this form of teaching effectively. The fact of the matter is this simply isn't true. A teacher who doesn't believe in what they're doing, or want to be doing what they're doing, is always going to be less effective than one who is passionate about their method of practice. To deny these outliers - fantastic teachers who simply cannot effectively utilize engaged pedagogy - the chance to be considered optimal teachers in their own right is, simply put, ignorance.

With that angry tirade complete, thanks for reading this week, and I'll see you back here next week.

Cheers!