Chapter two from Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire was for me one of the most impactful works of literature I have read in the process of becoming a teacher. A lot of what he said deeply resonated with what is becoming my philosophy of education. He distinguished between the “banking method” of teaching (which is to simply deposit information into students) from “problem-posing” education where:

…the students–no longer docile listeners–are now critical co-investigators in dialogue with the teacher…The role of the problem-posing educator is to create, together with the students, the conditions under which knowledge at the level of the doxa is superseded by true knowledge, at the level of the logos.

In order to adopt problem-posing education into my practice I have to shift my identity from “teacher” to “teacher-student” and my students’ identities from “students” to “student-teachers”. The goal does not revolve around tests and grades; rather it is to foster conversation and learning that brings forth creativity, reflection, original thought and action. I believe that this kind of experience for a young person is priceless. Challenging common knowledge will help them to genuinely engage with life and the world around them. To me this kind of education is an investment in the progress of humanity. I want to challenge kids to think beyond their conditioning. I want to create an environment that fosters creativity both from myself and from my students. And I want encourage their potential.

Kumashiro is another author whose philosophy has inspired me. The aspect of his viewpoint that I want to mention here, which is outlined in Against Common Sense, is the significance of learning through crisis. He defines crisis as “a state of emotional discomfort and disorientation that calls on students to make some change.” This occurs frequently in any classroom whether it is realizing that you have been spelling a certain word wrong for years or you are being introduced to a new perspective on American history you have never considered. What Kumashiro emphasizes as important is working through the crisis so that true learning and change occurs. If I am not intentional about fostering an environment that encourages students to face crisis by working through their emotions, seeking out more information and putting their new knowledge into action, I could be doing them more harm than good. As Kumashiro points out, if crisis is not worked through and frustration becomes too overwhelming, it can make a person more closed minded to new information than they were before. I hope to create a healthy and safe environment in my classroom where students can freely question information, seek truth, reflect honestly and develop according to their discoveries.

The third example I want to draw from is Jesus of Nazareth, the greatest teacher who ever lived. He employed both problem-posing education and learning through crisis in his teaching methods. He brought information to the table that was contrary to the teachings of the religious leaders and counter-cultural to the Roman Empire. He made people struggle internally with this new information until they either internalized it and changed their worldview (example of a positive experience in learning through crisis), they became indifferent and went on living as if nothing happened, or they violently rejected it. An example of this is in Luke 18:18-24. A rich, young man came to Jesus wondering how to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to obey the commandments. The man said he did since he was a young boy. In response Jesus told him he lacked one thing. He should sell everything he had and give to the poor. This created a major crisis for the young man. He either had to accept this new information and put it into practice or reject it. The young man left sad because he was wealthy and not  ready to take action, but his fate is never revealed. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up working through that problem and growing from it. Learning through crisis sometimes takes years.

Though my content will be much different than what took place in Luke, what I learned from Jesus about teaching is to avoid “spoon-feeding” and not to force crisis. First, what I mean by avoiding “spoon-feeding” is that I shouldn’t feed them the conclusions I’ve drawn. Instead, I should present the raw material and allow them to make their own judgments.  Jesus never over-taught. He left a gap between where his teaching ended and where understanding began so his students had to work for it. As a student, it is a struggle to learn this way, but in the end it is totally satisfying, generates true learning and fosters a healthy addiction to development. In this example Jesus’ response to the man’s question was succinct and incomplete. He simply stated “You know the commandments” and he listed a few. By holding back he made the knowledge the man was seeking more valuable. The young man’s response of “all these I have kept since I was a boy” indicated he had not reflected deeply, so Jesus pointed toward one thing he could work through to get a true answer to his question: “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.” He didn’t go into an elaborate explanation about the political implications of rich people, poor people and inequality. Rather he posed a problem that would help him do that thinking himself. All people have access to Jesus’ teachings but those who really grow through them are the ones who work for answers. Therefore, in my philosophy of education I want to craft my practice so that I can help students think and struggle for answers without spelling things out for them. I want them to look within, around and above for answers, not to me. In the same way that Jesus simply posed problems and questions for people to struggle with, I hope to do the same.

Secondly, what I mean by not forcing crisis onto students is that as a teacher I should not have too much expectation for my students to have a crisis breakthrough while they are in my class. Jesus didn’t expect the crisis moment of the rich young man to be solved immediately. He did not pressure the man to change at that moment. Jesus understood that the fullness of this man’s realization might come under another Rabbi or not at all. So he did not measure the success of the interaction based on the man’s immediate response. My goal should be progress of critical thinking and reflection, but I should not expect major breakthroughs necessarily (though that would be very exciting!). I believe that only God teaches authentic learning through crisis and I am only a tool to help foster that process. With that understanding I will respect the unique journey of each of my students and try to fulfill the small role I play in each of his or her narratives.

Another aspect of Jesus’ pedagogy that I want to emulate is the way he encouraged and treated his disciples. Romans 4:17c says, “[God] calls things that are not as though they were.” Jesus called his disciples leaders, revolutionaries, and great men before they showed any sign of being these things. He saw their potential with vision. He called them out from among the rejects of society including a political rebel, a tax collector, and simple fishermen. He changed Simon’s name (which means sand) to Peter (which means rock) at the beginning of their relationship to give him tangible hope of becoming a great man. Jesus understood how important morale and a positive environment was for his disciples to overcome their weaknesses and what society had branded them as. I want to create a similar environment in my classroom. I refuse to invest only in the students who initially seem to show promise. I believe that every person has prospective to be great. I want to get to know each student until I see their unique potential and can specifically fuel their talent and confidence. I want to help them see their lives, their communities and their generation with vision, and to identify how they fit into it. I want to regard them as great members of society in spite of their reputation or how they are treated elsewhere because in fact, that is who they truly are.

And finally, I want to strive to be a servant teacher. Jesus was clearly his disciples’ teacher, but he had other roles as well. He was their friend and advocate. He earned their respect because he lived what he taught. He never asked them to do something he wouldn’t (or didn’t) do. He respected their decisions. He was incredibly patient. He learned alongside them. He was totally and completely involved in their lives. He cared about them more than he cared for himself. I also want to be this kind of teacher for my students. I want to be their friend and advocate but I don’t want them to feel like a charity case. I have to continually challenge my mentality so my relationship to them is genuine. I want to be an authentic teacher who practices what she teaches. I don’t want to treat my students as subordinates or to be condescending. I want to learn from my students. I want to suffer for my students. I want to suffer with my students. I think being a servant teacher will take a lifetime to master because only Jesus did it perfectly. But I think it is a worthy pursuit and I include it as an important part of my working philosophy of education.

So as I continue my studies in education I hope to develop my philosophy further than what I have expressed here. I am glad I was exposed to Freire and Kumashiro thus far to begin shaping my belief about how education should be done. I am also thankful that Jesus’ life has been recorded not only so I can study it on a spiritual level, but also to glean pedagogical principles from his examples.