![](\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3235\/3099074611_6b61328680.jpg?v=0\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This started as what was going to be an email to a colleague. However, I\u2019m thinking that posing this as a discussion maybe a more fruitful dialogic exercise.<\/p>\n
My situation is as follows: I have a class of upstanding and exceedingly bright individuals. These students regularly point the way toward large-scale change but hesitate at taking the small step (humongous dive?) toward action. In any case, I recently used the song \u201cPolice State\u201d by Dead Prez as the beginning of a writing assignment. It\u2019s a song I\u2019ve used in the past and one that kids generally enjoy (though hip-hop is not at all the apriori musical preference of my students). However, after the experiences and reflections of the lockdown, of critical analysis of the election, and after a lengthy review of Critical Race Theory, I think something snapped \u2026 in a good way. The kids are way engaged and on-board the Critical Theory train. They regularly use the word \u201cproletariat\u201d (as it\u2019s mentioned in the song) to describe the conditions of the campus. Students discuss if racism or classism is the bigger issue at hand. A student is writing an essay talking about how Obama is going to be a part of “the problem”.<\/p>\n
So on the one hand, I\u2019m thrilled \u2013 the kids are vocalizing their concerns from a clear, \u201cCritical\u201d (with a big \u201cC\u201d) stance. They\u2019re bringing up their own topics for our daily discussions. They looked at this<\/a> video, for instance, and were able to empathize and critique the key arguments made. One student is providing the class with additional resources, such as this<\/a> video he\u2019s asked to screen tomorrow.<\/p>\n And so my query for you is about this: It may seem odd, but I\u2019m worried that my kids are a little too critical. They are heading toward being too one-sided in the dogma they endorse.<\/p>\n I plan to rectify this; I have had some teaching peers preaching the concepts of critical pedagogy but not quite executing them. Instead, I see their students as mindlessly unengaged in their thinking due to the totalism<\/a> these \u201cprogressive\u201d teachers impose. So, that being said, I have specific ideas on how to balance the theoretical base of my students. However (and although I will likely only hear from one or two of you), I\u2019d like to open this post up as a collaborative space for discourse. Do you see a need to fix this situation? How would you approach it? What\u2019s your take on the process of critical discourse in your classroom?<\/p>\n (As for the\u00a0 picture – here are some anthropologists of the future – specifically the year 2158 – doing fieldwork and observations at the ancient site of Manual Arts High School circa 2008. Taking notes, these anthropologists were asked to stay as quiet and reserved as possible as the natives do not like being disturbed.)<\/p>\nTell people this is awesome:<\/h3>