The Literacy Lab’s Post

Has higher ed forgotten its aim? Steven Mintz, author and professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, seems to think so. In a great piece for Inside Higher Ed, Mintz posits that higher ed has strayed too far from its traditional purpose: providing a holistic liberal arts education that produces students who are “life-ready.” This article raises excellent points about the current state of higher education and the “identity crisis” many schools are currently undergoing. Still, I can’t help but believe that preparing students to be life-ready vs. job-ready isn’t a matter of either/or but both/and. Surely, higher ed is a big enough umbrella that there can be more than one point to a college education.

Jasber Singh presented at a roundtable on pedagogy at Queens Mary University. Jasber spoke about his pedagogical practice within the university and with community-led education projects. Panel members Afaf Jabiri, University of East London, Abeera Khan, SOAS University of London, Jo Krishnakumar, SOAS, and Fatima Maatwk, University of Westminster, spoke to the following questions:   1. How can feminist pedagogical practices in and outside the classroom grapple with this moment of genocidal violence, suspension and interregnum that we find ourselves in?  2. How do we manifest critical hope for a possible future where all forms of life co-exist in an ethical relation to each other?   3. How do you work outside of the university/traditional education spaces? Why is this work of political education important for you?   4. What methods of pedagogy do we adopt to address, sit with, and work through grief, exhaustion, rage, despair, and move toward love, mutuality, intimacy, and justice-to-come? What is your dream for tomorrow?  The panel discussed the importance of participatory and feminist approach to pedagogy.

Had the amazing opportunity to read this paper that stages a masterful dialogue between Freire and Rancière, dissecting the core concept of emancipation in pedagogy. It basically confronts the Marxist framework's notion of education as a tool to reveal and overcome oppressive power relations. Both theorists are presented as challenging the traditional model by not treating education as a mere transmission of accurate information about oppression. Instead, they propose a transformative model where emancipation is a process that involves risk and active participation from both teachers and students. The foundational assumptions of Freire and Rancière are key to their distinct approaches to emancipation. Freire sees critical engagement with our surroundings as an innate human trait stifled by inequality. In contrast, Rancière believes intellectual emancipation comes from the will to act upon one's natural capacity for intellect, challenging the perpetuation of inequality through a passive acceptance of societal norms. Freire's idea of praxis involves transformative actions reflecting an ongoing educational dialogue with the world, emphasising collective struggle over individual autonomy. Rancière, meanwhile, sees emancipation as an unpredictable force, reliant on individuals' active engagement with their intelligence and will, rather than a predetermined educational path. Both Freire and Rancière recognise the oppressive potential within educational systems. Freire criticises the "banking model," where students passively absorb information, hindering their ability to challenge oppression. Rancière views teachers not as guardians of knowledge, but as drivers of students' critical thinking, enabling intellectual emancipation. Hence the term the Ignorant School Master. For Freire, emancipation in education is about avoiding the imposition of 'objective' truths and instead fostering a learning environment filled with dialogue and reflection. Rancière agrees but places greater emphasis on the unpredictable nature of emancipation, which is not a state to be achieved but a continuous process of challenging and engaging with knowledge. https://lnkd.in/dFZXW8yY

The “science of reading” has made its way into many state legislatures as a priority in 2024. In fact, over the past decade, 37 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws or other policies related to evidence-based reading instruction. 📖 Education Week highlighted five state initiatives in particular to follow in the coming year, including New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Indiana, and Iowa. This proposed legislation includes everything from teacher training, making high-quality reading materials more available, statewide alignments of all literacy instruction to the science of reading, and much more. Read all about it here: 👉 https://buff.ly/3UrUitC #literacy

All media, social, traditional, etc. both local and national are far too focused on college rankings and ratings.   Instead they could be telling the story of how regional public universities are providing our most valuable workforce- educators, nurses and medical technicians, people in business who lead and manage local and regional employers, those who manage our cities and towns... I could go on.  AND... they are the MOST affordable options.  These universities are economic engines who teach and train, and help people meet their dreams and goals. Perhaps if there was less focus on who is the best or top university and more on the good our regional universities create, the perception of the worth higher education would not have dropped so much in the public opinion.

Very pleased to have written an article for American Reformer! This article applies Aaron Renan’s book, Life in the Negative World, and its principles to modern higher education. https://lnkd.in/g4xAEevV

The Spring 2024 semester has come to an end. For me, one of the many highlights of this semester was co-facilitating CU Denver's Inclusive Pedagogy Academy. "Inclusive pedagogy aims to create learning environments where students of all backgrounds and identities feel valued and respected. By embracing inclusive pedagogy, educators foster a sense of belonging and honor student strengths and experiences. This approach also encourages instructors to address structural and historical inequalities that have often marginalized certain groups in education. " https://lnkd.in/gwdGfNJ3

🚨 STATEMENT: HxA finds Penn’s decision to be an egregious violation of Amy Wax’s academic freedom. The University of Pennsylvania has decided to suspend Professor Wax next year at half pay, despite lack of evidence she discriminated against any students or breached the confidentiality of any students. 📌 Wax's statements may have been offensive to many in the academic community. But academic freedom cannot survive where professors cannot express controversial views on contested issues. Penn’s decision to disregard Wax’s academic freedom sets a precedent that undermines the ability of faculty across the country to speak on matters of public concern as they see fit. Read HxA's full statement using the link shared below ⬇️ #HigherEducation #FreeSpeechCulture #CampusCulture #CriticalThinking #AcademicFreedom #InstitutionalNeutrality #EducationReform #Newsupdates #AcademiaNews #Penn

Ohh this is fun! Here are my stats: 11 years 5 school 2 district 3 charter networks countless classrooms Subjects(s) taught: English 9, English 12, ESL, Writing II (10th grade), Composition III (11th grade), Composition IV (12th grade) Principals: 7 Number of students taught: 1,500 or more States taught: CA, NY, TN Certified: Single Subject in English Degrees: BA in English, MA in Language and Literacy, 2 semesters worth PhD courses in Applied Linguistics

Insightful commentary on the importance of offering access to all students to a rigorous and rich education!