By Paige Taylor
Critical pedagogy is a philosophy of education that examines the spaces where social justice and democracy intersect with teaching and learning. The critical pedagogy philosophy embraces the idea that teachers should encourage students to examine power structures and systems of inequality, especially within their own schools or communities. I believe that all preservice teachers should be educated on critical pedagogy because we owe it to our future students to give them as much autonomy and choice in the classroom as we can.
My own journey into critical pedagogy began in my senior year of college when I was enrolled in a course that examined it. I had no idea what the term even meant, but by the time the class ended, I had a completely new outlook on the teaching profession.
Critical pedagogy has taught me to challenge nearly all of my preconceived notions about what it means to be an educator. I have learned to look on a student as a human being first, not just a student in a classroom. To love my students first, no matter what. And most importantly, to always build trust.
At the end of every day, our students go home to myriad unique circumstances and experiences. And although we may never be able to understand some of their situations, it is important to see our students as multifaceted human beings. We cannot give students what they need if we do not take into account all their identities, circumstances and attributes.
Critiquing classroom management systems
One concept we discussed in my critical pedagogy course is the importance of reconsidering classroom management systems and reward systems. Because I have worked with students who deeply internalize behavior reward systems and, as a result, are incredibly hard on themselves, these discussions really hit home. I have seen children adopt altered views of themselves, perceive their classmates differently, and even police each other’s behavior due to behavior management reward systems.
By targeting children through these systems, we inadvertently tell children that they need to be fixed, and we tell their classmates that it is OK to not only judge their behavior but police and reprimand them.
Critical pedagogy has taught me to reframe classroom behavior systems. When we see children questioning their self-worth because of a behavior management system, we need to ask ourselves who is benefiting from that system. If our students are questioning their self-worth and monitoring each other’s behavior, we must look at the larger power structures in our classrooms and schools.
Educating ourselves first
Critical pedagogy has not only changed my educational views, but the way I view so many structures of power around us. This philosophy is incredibly important for all preservice educators to learn about and internalize.
After all, today’s preservice educators are tomorrow’s teachers, and if we want to see any systemic change in public education, we must educate ourselves first.
Paige Taylor is a senior at The College of New Jersey and a member of NJEA Preservice. To learn more about NJEA Preservice, visit njea.org/preservice.