First Inventory of Writing Experiences
January 19,2014, 2:55PM
January 19,2014, 2:55PM
I actually like to write a lot, but I don't like research
papers and work cited and all that stuff. I am more into creative writing with
fiction and drama. I prefer writing that doesn't have a word or page limit. I
just like writing as a fun thing. My joy of writing came to me one summer that
I attended a summer program at Xavier, I signed up for the creative writing
class and from that day forward I was in love. Writing was my new favorite
thing, that was a very long time ago. However, a bad experience that recently
occurred was a teacher telling me my paper was too colorful and it wasn't what
she was looking for ( this was a research paper). So I literally had to go in
and change my whole paper around to make it dull and boring. Even though I
still made a passing grade on the paper I still hate research papers. My name
is Alesia Anderson and I am a Sophomore from New Orleans, LA. I am an English
major with a concentration of Secondary Education. After college I hope to go
on to graduate school so I can receive my Master's degree and after that I hope
to be an English teacher to the upcoming youth. Plus I wanted to get in contact
with some publishers because I want to write a line of children's books and
also write a novel or two on my spare time. I need this course for my degree
plan and I also was interested in it because anything that can help or enhance
my writing I'm all for it. I haven't written in a diary or journal for a very
long time, but whenever I feel upset or worried or maybe even happy about something,
I do write it down.
The Writing Task: Me, My Group, and Dewey
January 22, 2014, 8:09 PM
In the reading by Dewey a lot of topics were brought up that we may not necessarily think about. Dewey stated a lot of his examples and conclusions from true life facts. For example, Dewey says how the class and school isn't a place for experiences and that it has nothing to do with education. As we read over everyone's inventories in class, my group members and I realized that we have a lot in common. Mostly all of us loved to write or liked English a lot, but we weren't very fond of research papers. Research papers have always been a drag for me because of the way my teachers introduced it to me. Going back to what Dewey said with experiences; I feel that that isn't true because one bad experience with research papers have turned me off from them for good. I think we experience a lot with education. Many times that's how we make connections to things and understand, by experiences. I feel that education is very important and you also need good solid teaching to help the students grasp and understand the concept. I feel that writing can be abused because it's a very touchy topic. Writing is the foundation of learning. However sometimes it gets brushed aside and not taught correctly. I feel that we can change this though. We can work and help people break out of bad habits and more powerfully utilize the power of writing.
The Writing Task: Educational Autobiography and Analysis
February 6, 2014,
2:24 AM
I don't know what it was about elementary school, but we
didn't mix very well. I could remember like it was yesterday....
The seats were hard and unruly, there was bad breath
children everywhere you turned and most of all we were sitting in a cramped up
classroom with no way out. Sounds like prison, well guess what, it was worst,
it was the third grade. I hated third grade. Not because I didn't like school.
I just didn't like the work. Not because I didn't like the teachers. I just
didn't care for what they were talking about. Not because I didn't like the
uniform. I just hated waking up at 6:00 am and having to put it on five days a
week. This was the worst year academically for me, I was so focused on the
wrong things like recess and lunch....
Lunch was right before my favorite class in the sixth grade
"Come in and start writing in your journals." My teacher would say.
My sixth grade teacher was so awesome, I loved everything about her class. She
had a cool funky flare and she had red hair (bet you can't say that 5 times
fast). Once Hurricane Katrina came I didn't have anything else to turn to but
school work. This was my new escape. My living conditions were far from
desirable and I only had five channels on my TV. What was a girl to do! Instead
of making it a negative experience I made it a positive one.I was a completely
different person from Elementary school. I was making passing grades and
everything was going my way. But most importantly I was learning and having fun
doing it.
FUN, FUN, FUN.... that's all those ignorant children ever
wanted. They never thought about anything else but fun. I was now a freshman in
High School and back in my hometown. I only attended this high school because
my sister went there. The students were so mean and rude to the teachers, it
was crazy. However, I would sit in my seat and do what I was suppose to do and
it showed on every grading period. In ninth grade I had an English teacher who
taught me something very important. This would not only help me through high
school but also in college. It was the joy of reading. I decided to read books
for the fun of it even if they weren't interesting I didn't want to "
Judge a book by its cover."
Don't Judge a Book by it's cover!! For my 10th-12th grade
year I transferred to another school. At this school people thought I was lazy
and slow... until they actually had class with me. I was a cheerleader and
softball player and everyone thought that the athletes were slower than a
snail. But I wasn't, I overcame people's assumptions and ended up graduating
number eleven in a class of 220. As I grew up I started to realize that I had
to take advantage of every opportunity I was given. I decided that I would work
real hard so I can achieve my goals. In my senior year of high school I had a
teacher that stood out from the rest. She was joyful, excited, and ready to
answer any questions we had.The quick pace in her stride and the confidence
that could knock anyone down, she was my AP Psychology teacher, and she taught us
more than just Psychology, she taught us about life.
As I look back over the years I've had good and bad teachers
but all of them had a similar goal and that was to teach and make a difference
in the youth, and for that they get all my respect.
What Can We Make of Our Experiences so far
Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 9:47 AM
To comment on what your student said about college being an
"endurance test" I agree in some ways. I feel that college does test
your mental, physical, and emotional endurance every day. College is a choice
and the people who choose to be here have to make success for themselves. For
the year and a half that I've been in college I've realized that it's not going
to be a cake walk. I see that the teachers only help unless you take the
initiative to go up to them or go to their office hours. Other than that you're
just a student in their class. I'm not talking down on college professors
because I know that they're probably teaching four and five other classes and
they probably see a range of one hundred students a week. This is when a
persons self drive comes into play, I feel if you really want to succeed then
you'll endure the test.
As a college student sometimes I do only worry about my
"core" classes or the classes pertaining to my major. Why? because
it's something that I'm interested in. I'm not saying that I just push all
other classes to the side but nine out of ten once the test is over I probably
won't worry about that material anymore. This can be a bad thing because as of
now I'm not a huge fan of my Spanish class, this is my third consecutive class
and I'm just ready for it to be over with. I generally study vocabulary,
conjugations, and all that other good stuff, but once the test is over I just
kind of forget about it. Which is horrible especially for a foreign language
class that I need one more semester of because I'll most likely see all this
material again. sad
Why aren't we learning and progressing? Because maybe we
don't want to. Maybe some people feel that they know enough or what is being
taught to them is frivolous. I feel that we can always learn new things and
expand our minds but when it's being taught in such a boring way sometimes you
have no choice but to turn away from it. I feel that learning should have some
type of fun aspect tie into it. I don' think it matters how old you are or
anything, everyone still should enjoy what they're doing because makes it
easier to understand. Plus going back to what Dewey says about how experiences
help the learning process as well. Sometimes without previous knowledge on
things we can't fully grasp the concept like we want to, but with prior
knowledge or having to deal with a situation in which you’re learning about you
can form so many more connects and actually learn the material easier.
Lucy's Thoughts: Causes Not Effects
February 20, 2014,
9:23 AM
I really like the points you brought up. These are great
discussions questions. I agree with you when you said teachers aren't teaching
progressively because they have so much pressure on them for high standardized
test scores, and this is probably their main focus. So what should be done to
take some of the pressure off these teachers? I also agree with what you said
about how it's hard to believe a teacher coming into a profession that doesn't
pay well just to teach for the test. I also thought 13th grade sounded funny
lol.
Fear Essay: Greatest Fear
Monday, March 31, 2014, 8:24 PM
"Good Job Alesia, we’re so proud of you!” These are the words that I long to hear from the people who matter the most. I always want to be the one who achieves and reaches my goal. The sweet sight of approval from my parents is all I long and dream for. Don’t get me wrong I still live my life and make my own decisions however I do try to live properly and in a respectable way that they taught me. The words keep replaying in my head. “Good Job, Good Job.” But what does that even mean? Well I’ll never know because good may not always be good enough. My biggest fear is failure. I’m sure no one wants to fail, but what is it that consumes us about this strong F word?
During my earlier years of schooling I wasn’t a big fan of doing work and getting good grades. However, once I buckled down and applied myself I actually enjoyed learning and being a star student. The wonderful feeling of mastering a concept took over me. I loved the feeling of knowing something and being able to spread it to my peers. This feeling took over me like virus. All the energy I put into my schooling was glorified times ten. By middle school I was on honor rolls, getting special privileges and was a part of many achievement clubs. I loved the feeling of being rewarded for all my hard work. And once again I would hear, “Good Job Alesia, Good Job.!”
There was still something at the pit of my stomach, something that still wasn’t sitting right with me. It was the foolish F word that sat in the back of my mind rocking back in forth, back and forth. And now that I’m in college I face the same problem. My parents still call me every now and then and say, “Good Job, Good Job.” I am the first child from my family to be successful in college so far, and actually have a positive experience. This just adds on to the pressure even more and how much I don’t want to fail. The funny part about all of this is that I’m doing fine and actually succeeding, so why do I still fill that I’m not doing enough? Am I afraid of my own success? With that being said I like this quote from Marianne Williamson’s poem Our Greatest Fear.
“Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.” -Marianne Williamson
Inventory, writing about our fears: Writing about, reading, and being read
Thursday, April 10, 2014, 10:19 AM
At first it was kind of hard finding the words to write my fear essay. My thoughts were all over the place and I wasn't sure how to "talk" about my fear. However, once I started typing everything fell into place. I was surprised with all that I had to say. It was almost like a therapy to get it of my chest and really say what my fear was. After reading my classmates essays I really felt closer to them. We all have similar fears but we also have many different ones as well. I really liked how people opened up and really took this assignment seriously. It was a joy to read these essays.
Last Writing Assignment: Letter to Self
alesia.andersonwecheer@gmail.com
aande84@lsu.edu
Well hello there Alesia,
You are in college right now at LSU lol. You are 19 years
old and this is April 29, 2014. I wonder how cool this will be re reading this.
In seven years I'll be 26 smile hopefully my life would be starting and I'd
have a family. OMG writing this is making me think about my future. I wonder
what job i'm going to have, how many kids ( if any at all), married? lol. I'm
so happy that I was able to be in this English 3301 class. It has opened my
eyes to so many issues that are going on in the world today and helped me with
my writing so much. Gosh, I hope I don't start tearing up when I read this in
seven years. Lol seven years, it seems so far away, but watch the time is
probably going to fly by. - :)
Responses to Assigned Readings
Experience and Education 1&2
January
20 2014, 6:52 PM
While reading these two chapters, John Dewey brought up a
lot of interesting topics that I hadn't even thought about. For example in
Chapter one he speaks on traditional and progressive education, and he lists
the pros and cons to every subject.. He also uses a lot of cool metaphors
like," Teachers are organs through which pupils rue brought into effective
connection with the material, and he says, " yet is used as educational
food in a society where change is the rule, not the exception." John also
states that school is being marked as a kind of institution sharply marked off
from any other form of social organization. He almost makes it seem like there
is a boredom in the classroom and teachers need to use their artistic abilities
to make school more interesting.
In the second chapter, The need of theory of Experience,
John talks about educational and personal experience. He suggests that
educational and personal experiences cannot be directly equated with each
other. In the reading it also says that school is not a place for experiences
and everyone acts differently to experiences. I personally think it's very
important that educators know and understand the nature of human experiences.
John also brings up the old schooling days and how there can be no
individuality because everyone wants to run back to the old ways and how they
thought things should be in a educational environment.
I really thought hard on the subjects that were discussed in
this reading and it made me think of my own experiences. I always thought of
school as a place of learning, work and social. You can learn a lot of new
things from your classmates just by sitting there listening to them. Everything
doesn't need to be taught out of a book, sometimes you can learn from your
peers.
Chapter 3&4
February 1 2014, 4:02 PM
As I read Chapters three and four I realized that Dewey was
bringing up some good points. In Chapter three Dewey is stating that for a
successful learning environment you need two things; continuity and
interaction. Throughout the chapter he lays out specific details stating why
they are so vital. Continuity is defined as experiences that are carried
forward and influence the future. And interaction is both the objective and
internal conditions of an experience. I feel that these are important as well,
because the best way to learn is by making connections to experiences that
you've had. The educator is also a huge factor in this because they have to
shape the curriculum in a way that would be understandable for their students.
I feel that without good teachers helping to make these connections with
experiences and the work then they end up making it hard and possibility boring
for the students.
In Chapter four Dewey spoke more on Social Control. He
talked about two distinct differences in this matter. For example, Dewey points
out athletic and recreational sports in the schools. All of the players know
that there is a certain code of conduct and set of rules that must be carried
out if they want to have a successful game. Furthermore he states both the
rules and the conduct of the game are standardized and hold the sanction of the
tradition and precedent. To add on to this, Dewey also talks about games to
show how individual actions are affected by the entire situation in which
individuals are involved. You can see how peoples attitudes, their body
language, and ability to play just by the people around them. People can change
socially when they see others changing. All of the individuals who are playing
are apart of a community and they all are connected by the actions and
attitudes of the whole group. Dewey then begins to talk about the roles of the
educators in social control. He says that educators should use their authority to show the interest in a
group. This kind of repeats on what was said in chapter three. The educator has
the power to set the pace in the classroom, they are the ones who have to teach
the students and show them social organization. Many educators go about this in
their planning period, they must find activities and helpful tools that would
help their students be the best they could be.
Chapters 5&6
February
10 2014, 8:52 PM
In these two chapters Dewey talks about The Nature of
Freedom and The Meaning of Purpose. I really like how Dewey throws figurative
language in his writings, it makes it more interesting to read. For example in
Chapter 5 Dewey states,"It's easy to jump out the frying pan onto the
fire." In this section he was talking about escaping from our external
control only to be in another dangerous one. I also liked how he said Education
is creation of power of self control. In this Chapter Dewey is breaking down
our impulses and desires and comparing that to our freedom. He also says there
is no growth without reconstruction. Furthermore, In chapter 6, he helps us
look deeper into the decisions we make and how we make them, our thought
process. I like how Dewey says purpose starts with impulse. Which is true. You
have to want something and then go out and get it. Once the purpose has become
impulse it then converts to desire. However, desire is not enough. Dewey's connection
to a man wanting a house was a great example. He says," Man has a desire
to buy a house, but he must form a plan and sit and think of what kind of house
he wants ." So there is more than just wanting something. You have to go
through all the steps and plans to actually get what you desire. As people we
all desire things, whether it's to be a great student, a successful business
owner, or a parent who can support their family. Dewey lets us know that desire
is normal. Finally, Dewey talked about observation and how it isn't enough. For
something to be effective you need consequences. With the consequences it
passes the experiences in your mind, which makes them learning experiences.
Chapter 7&8
February
13 2014, 9:57
Dewey has finally come to an end. It was very interesting to
read all of Dewey's philosophies and how he thought about situations in the
education field. However, I wasn't a huge fan of actually reading all this,
sometimes I had to go back and re read because the content was kind of blah.
However we rap up with Dewey with Chapter 7 and 8. The title of Chapter 7 is
Progressive Organization in Subject matter. Here's progressive again. He first
talks about experiences, and how we learn from them.He says that prior life
experiences must develop into a fuller more organized form. Then here's the
challenge for the educators, they have to find away to tap into the students
experiences an stimulate a new way for them to observe and judge so they can
expand to further and new experiences. Dewey then brings up two words that were
heard all through out the chapters; Traditional and progressive. He defines
traditional as being something that adults thought would be helpful to the
young ones in the future. This had to do with the past and what they thought
was useful. Progressive on the other hand was suppose to break free from the
cut and dry material of traditional. I liked when Dewey says the way out of an
educational system is to use the past as a way of understanding the present. I
feel that this means you have to compromise. Without the early teachings of
traditional we may not know some things we know now and we wouldn't have
experienced how much it was ineffective to the system. Dewey ends this chapter
talking more on educational experiences and how its only an effective
educational experience if the subject contains facts, ideas, and information.
Lastly, In chapter 8, Dewey's focus is on the Means and Goals of Education. From
reading the Chapters I can see the path that Dewey is going, all he really
wants is to find an effective learning strategy for students. It can be hard to
just have to sit and listen to a teacher talk and not really know what they're
talking about. Sometimes it's easier to have our own experiences because you
can actually connect it to the lesson and re use what you've learned for
further reasoning.
Summary of 7&8
February
13 2014, 10:17 AM
To
summarize what I got form Dewey, he seems like he wants to see a change in the
educational system. throughout the readings he has different philosophies of
what may help and I believe that the answer is somewhere in this reading. Many
of my classmates all pointed out the same things about experience and how it
should connect to the classroom. I really like reading and responding to m
classmates because it was great to compare what we actually got out of the
reading. Plus it's interesting to hear my peers stance on education. We are all
still students and we have strong opinion on what we think worked and didn't
work in our actual schooling experiences. I overall enjoyed what Dewey had to
say and it definitely has me thinking for future educational experiences to
come.
Halfway Home: Gary Tate
February
19 2014, 8:25 PM
I like the article, I thought it was very interesting to
read. In the beginning Tate speaks about growing up and the struggles his
family had to face because they weren't very wealthy. His parents sold the
house and moved into a trailer and headed west while he was in college.Then for
graduate school Tate ended up at the university where his father cleaned
sorority houses. Through all these years you see Tate's attitude change about
"where he comes from." It also says that he lent his father money so
he could by his mother a coat, I thought that was a beautiful thing. However,
when Tate becomes ashamed of where he comes from he see's his life falling
downhill from there.
From reading Tate's experiences about his students he seemed
like a hater to me. When he spoke about how he couldn't really relate to his
undergraduate students like he could his graduate students it made me feel
sorry for him. Everybody is not able to go to Paris, or to not have to work
while in college because they can afford to do what they want, it doesn't make
it right to judge them for it. Also in the beginning of the reading Tate says
how he only gave 2 A's in a class of 179. I don't really understand what type
of teaching he was doing but it wasn't very effective. The reading also states
that he turned to drugs. I feel that this is when he really started going down the
wrong path. It was crazy to hear that he was still teaching while he had this
problem going on. I think that he should have talked to a therapist or
something so it wouldn't affect other people but most importantly his students.
It seemed to me that Tate just wanted to teach to say he was
more successful than the people he grew up around. I don't really believe that
Tate liked teaching at first, it was just an emotional cover up that he used to
mask his true feelings towards his parents and where he came from. I feel that
there are ways to be successful in this world but you don't have to be ashamed
of where you came from. Instead I feel that Tate should have embraced his short
comings in the past and instead of being so hard on his family, he could have helped
them.
I don't believe that I've had any teachers like Tate. Yes, I
have had some pretty hard teachers in the past but I don't think it was like
Tate. However, I do believe that there are teachers out there like Tate, who
probably really don't like teaching or their students. In my opinion these
people should not be teaching because the negative vibes they give off on the
students and turn them off from learning and academics for a long time. To me,
I feel that a teacher is suppose to help you and watch you progress by positive
reinforcement. Furthermore, in the end of the reading Tate talks about his
Negotiating Differences class and how on the first day he had an off the wall
syllabus. However his main goal was to get the students working together and
draw up a new syllabus that everyone would agree on so they could negotiate it
with Tate. I think that was a cool way on the first day of class to get the
students interested in the class,Negotiating Differences, and interacting with
their fellow classmates.
Strickland Confrontational Pedagogy
February
24 2014, 9:47 PM
I thought Strickland's method was very interesting. It was
definitely something different that I hadn't heard before. Strickland sounds
like he isn't big on handing out grades, however he gives his students a chance
to collectively write evaluations and rebuttals about how they feel on certain
topics. He calls them position papers. From what I read I feel that these
papers are just stating how you feel about the class, what you've learn, and
what you think could have been done better. I also thought it was pretty
interesting how he said if a student didn't like a grade they received they
could write an essay about it, and see what happens from there. Many times
teachers don't want to hear what you have to say, the grade you got is the
grade you earned. The advantages to Strickland's method is that he'll be able
to see what his students have to say about the class, how he's teaching, and
also it's a chance to actually see if the students are learning in class. I was
always told if you're able to elaborate or speak extensively on a topic then
you've mastered the material. However there are also disadvantages. Towards the
end of the reading Strickland talks about the pros and cons to collective
writings. I don't know if I read it right, but to me it sounds like students
were put into groups and graded off their collective responses. This could be a
good and bad thing because while students can be actively learning from one
another, they may have slackers in the group who aren't really learning and
just want to get by.
If I was a teacher I would adopt Strickland's method of the
position papers.These papers should fully lay out what the students thought
about the class, key/ main topics discussed in class, and just an overall
summary of how their experience was. I think this would be beneficial to any
teacher because they'd actually be able to see the students viewpoint but most
importantly, they'll be able to see what the students learned. I feel that
Dewey would be interested and happy about Strickland's method because Dewey was
all about replacing traditional education with something different and I feel
that Strickland's method could possibly be that.
Friere: First 8 paragraphs
Freire 2nd ten paragraphs
Tompkins: Pedagogy of the Distressed
March 12 2014, 9:24 PM
I really liked reading Tompkins' narrative, I actually
thought it was pretty funny with some of the examples and connections he made.
It was interesting to read about Freire's
banking method which described teachers as depositors and their students
as depositories. I thought that that was a funny way to think of it. (students
are human ATM machines)haha.
But back to Tompkins, I thought it was interesting when he
talks about the performance model. To me if seemed like he felt as if he was a
show off to his students, and how he spent all his time trying to make it seem
like he was so intelligent. I actually didn't see anything wrong with being a
knowelgeable teacher because the students are coming to learn so if you know a
lot about the subject why not share it with your class. However, he then goes
on to say that he felt like he was performing, not teaching. Tompkins says he
only wanted to show his students that he was smart, knowledgeable, and
prepared. Tompkins then explains that fear is the driving force for performance
models. He states that in the younger years, children wanted to mirror their
elders and forget about their childish ways. Not only were children good at
imitating the elders they also were not being themselves to try and prove to
others that they were so "educated." I never stopped to think about
it that way.
Tompkins also connects sex with teaching. He says "you
don't openly speak about it, but had to know how to do when the time
came." He then goes on to talk about his new method of teaching were he
doesn't give grades and the students teach one another. The students were
responsible for presenting the topic that they chose in front of the class.
I've had two classes like this since I've been in college and I can say that I
did learn a lot from my peers and it's a great way to get to know your fellow
classmates. However, my teachers did give grades.
In the end, Tompkins has revelations about how the world and
education should be. He says that piling on the work doesn't make you learn the
material any better and it's not effective. Instead he says the point is not to
make people suffer.
This quote was funny to me:
"Education is not a preparation for war, the university
is not a boot camp."
March 17 2014, 8:46 PM
I must say that reading the first eight paragraphs wasn't
easy, but I got through it. From what I
read so far I think Freire's main focus is on dehumanization, humanization, and
oppression. Freire connects all the subjects together because they build off of
one another. For example, he introduces dehumanization and defines it as
humanity that has been stolen, this person has now become oppressed. On the
other hand the oppressors want control over the oppressed and make them seem
like they are objects or things, not humans. I thought it was really
interesting when he brought up the idea of the people who take humanity away
from others, and catergorzing them as dehumanized as well because they are
violating the rights of others. I never thought of it that way. (The person who
is taking power away from others is also taking power away from him/herself)
"Ideal is to be men, but for them, to be men is to be
oppressors." I really liked this
quote from the reading because it shows a ripple affect. The oppressors want to
control the oppressed, therefore making the oppressed and themselves
dehumanized. And then when the oppressed try to liberate and change they tend
to go down the path of the oppressors and start the cycle all over again. Who
will break the cycle?
I haven't really
thought of this idea of "oppression" being present in the classroom.
However, now knowing more about the subject I do feel that this does relate to
our culture and classrooms because it's an ongoing challenge. To me I think
teachers could be oppressors and students could be as well. I think it really
depends on the actual setting and the people.
March 20 2014, 1:44 AM
This was an easier read then the first eight chapters. I
want to start off and comment on the quote, " the oppressed find in their
oppressor their model of manhood."
It's almost crazy to think that the people who are thinking less of you are the
ones that you look up to or try to mimic. I never really thought about it in
that way. However, if I were to use the example in the classroom. Many times
the teacher is seen as the head honcho of class, and the person who is all
powerful. The students see the teacher as an educated scholar who knows an
excessive amount of information and someone who is put at a higher level than
them. Another quote that stood out to me was, " Because of their
identification with the oppressor they have no consciousness themselves as
persons or members of an oppressed class." I think this means that the
oppressed has been dehumanized for so long that they don't even know or
understand what is going on. They just sit back and things be, which then
corresponds with the "fear of freedom."
To me when I read about "the fear of freedom" I
think it's saying that the oppressed have been use to a type of living where
they've been dehumanized that if they are given freedom they wouldn't know how
to handle it because they're use to be guided by their oppressors. Prescription
is one basic element between the oppressed and the oppressors. The behavior of
the oppressed is prescribed behavior. The oppressed follow the guidelines of
the oppressors and that causes them to be afraid of freedom. Because they
already had certain rules that were "right" and they didn't want to
go against them.
These chapters weren't the easiest to read, it took a lot
out of me to focus and grasp what Freire was trying to say. In chapters 19-29
Freire is revisiting old topics but he also is introducing something new.He
talks about objectivity and subjectivity, Freire says you cannot have one
without the other. Objectivism is defined as the denial of the latter when
analyzing reality or acting upon it. And subjectivism is the denial of
objetivity in analysis or action. Freire wants to make it known that these two
have a relationship with one another. Freire uses the example of humans and the
world to compare objectivity and subjectivity. He states," This objectivistic
position is as ingenuous as that of subjectivism, which postulates people
without a world. World and human beings do not exist apart from each other,
they exist in constant interaction."
Another key word that I thought was important was praxis.
Praxis is defined as reflection and action upon the world in order to transform
it. Freire uses praxis as a way to let go of oppression. He states, "
oppressive reality absorbs those with in it and thereby acts to submerge human
beings' consciousness. Oppression is domesticating. To no longer be prey to its
force, one must emerge from it and turn upon it." Freire makes many
interesting points throughout these paragraphs and he made me think critically
about most of the topics he bought up,
Freire paragraph 49-82
April 7 2014, 7:02 PM
In these paragraphs Freire is talking about the oppressed
actions and emotions towards certain things. Well, at least that’s what I got
from it. There were many quotes that I thought were interesting to what Friere
was saying. For example he says, “Conditioned by the experience of oppressing
others, any situation other than their former seems to them like oppression.” I
feel that Freire is saying that once they’ve had something taken away from them
or the lifestyle that they’re use to changes, they suddenly think that they,
the oppressors, are oppressed. “For the
oppressors, "human beings" refers only to themselves; other people
are "things.” To me when Freire is talking about the oppressors in this
section they are explained as stuck up and mean people. I say this because it
seems like everything has to go their way or they’re not having it, and they
feel they must dominate or control everything/ one around them.
Another quote that stood out to me was “For the oppressors,
what is worthwhile is to have more -- always more.” This reminded me of my fear
essay because I talked about failure being my biggest fear. Throughout my essay
I gave examples about how I’ve always tried hard with my academics and how I’ve
been a star student. However, there was a part of me still missing, I feel that
I still need to prove something or that the success that I have isn’t good
enough. Even though I’m no were near failing, I actually am doing pretty well
with my academics and life goals. But there is always something inside of me
telling me to do more and push myself harder. Freire’s quote about the
oppressed reminds me of myself because I want more, always more. (Does that
make me an oppressor?)
Baker/Pink
April 21 2014, 8:57 PM
In Baker's writing he seems to be very confused at the
beginning, to me it seems like he wanted job stability and be able to say that
he was doing something productive with his life after high school. I feel like
I can relate to Baker in some ways because when I was a senior in high school I
was indecisive. I didn't know what I wanted to major in college let alone what
I wanted to be in life. I would see all my classmates joyfully talking about
their future plans in life and how successful they hoped to be and I really
felt left behind. It wasn't until the end of my freshman year in college that I
really found something that I loved to do, and that was writing.
While reading Baker's writing I felt sorry for him because
it seemed like he was ashamed to be a writer. Even though writing is a very
important skill, he felt that it wasn't a profitable profession. Through
everything that he went through he still had some type of support system. I
liked how his mother told him "Something will come along." By Baker hearing
that and getting the extra push from his classmate, Charlie,and his teacher he
was exposed to a new world that was beneficial to him.I also liked when Baker
talked about his teacher, Mr. Fleagle. When Mr. Fleagle read Baker's work to
the entire class I think that gave Baker the extra motivation to go forth in
writing.
I wasn't able see the entire TED talk because the wifi isn't
my best friend right now. However, the part that stood out to me the most was
when he talks about being rewarded. I thought that this was interesting,
because many times people do stick rewards onto things in hope that they'll
receive a positive outcome. In some cases this could help with teaching
writing, but for the most part I feel that writing is a skill that everyone is capable
of but not everyone is interested in. In the end, I believe its not about who
you are it's about your willingness to work for what you want.
