Shor: Education is Politics

Quotes:

1."“If the student’s task is to memorized rules and existing knowledge, without questioning the subject matter or the learning process, their potential for critical thought and action will be restricted.”(page 12)

I feel that getting by in school by memorizing and having existing knowledge will not help as you continue education in college. Questioning things in school is a very important thing because I used to just get by in middle school, but one of my closest teachers told me that I need to start to participate more and not to be afraid to ask questions. Asking questions is helpful because it helps you understand things more and in a way you get your own opinions out there and you have an equal say just like everyone else in the class. Thinking back on previous education before college, I think I should have questioned some of the things that my teachers said because I always took it in what the teacher said instead of questioning their knowledge. As I continue my education I have questioned more of the teachers/professors knowledge because this helps me in understanding what is going on inside of the classroom.

2."“Students in empowering classes should be expected to develop skills and knowledge as well as high expectations for themselves, their education, and their futures.”(page 16)

This quote stood out to me because this is talking about people who are in possibly honors classes and I feel that people who are in empowering classes, believe that they will have better expectations than someone who is not in empowering classes. I feel that people who are in empowering classes are expected to have a successful future ahead of them which sometimes can be misleading. In a way this reminded me of the Delpit reading but with the same concept. In the reading Delpit talked about the cultural of power and how the whites control society. I feel that it relates to the quote because it’s basically talking about one group of people and saying that they will do better than another group of people. I feel that this was saying people with a higher education should have high expectations for themselves and their futures which is not always true because someone with a lower education can do just as good with someone who has a higher education.

3.“Participation was an educational and political means for students to gain knowledge and to develop citizens. Only by active leaning could students develop scientific method and democratic habits rather than becoming passive pupils waiting to be told what things mean and what to do.” (page 18)

I feel that this quote is important because participation is a big part of schooling. I feel that participation is a big part of learning and you can ask questions if you run into a problem you do not understand. Active learning is a good thing because you develop skills that you will need in the future and you will understand things that happen in and outside the classroom. From my own experiences, participating in a classroom really benefits you because when you get out in the “real world”, there are not always going to be people to tell you or spoon feed you what is going on when your are the one who should understand. Becoming a passive pupils are people who are always waiting to be told what things mean and what to do. I feel that is being lazy and it really is not getting anything accomplished. Growing up I always tried to be and active learner because it helps when you are active in what is going on instead of having the teacher tell you what is going on, and it does not help you later on life. Later on in the future it will be harder for you to learn if all you were used was your teacher telling you what to do because you never really understood what was really going on.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share

Overall I thought this was a good article, but there were a couple of parts in the reading where I got mad at some of the things that were stated. Personally I feel that you cannot say how someone can be successful based on the education they get. I feel that I got a good education and I was not in any of the higher classes that were offered at my school. Sometimes people just judge on what certain people have and I feel that in the readings that we have had whether it was Johnson, Delpit, or even S.C.W.A.M.P, there is always a group of people that are superior to others which is false. I felt that this was an interesting reading because it has reinforced things that I have been improving on in my education.
Growing up I have always been reinforced to always ask questions and that is one of the best advices that I have ever received. Sometimes when you state your opinion, it can turn things around and sometimes your own opinion can say a lot. I feel that people just get by in their education but look they have trouble later on because they never really understood what was really going on. Think about it, how is that people who have a higher education are always the ones that can succeed, but people who do not have the privilege to do that cannot be just as successful.