There are three issues with Duncan-Andrade & Morrell's "Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in an Urban Secondary English Classroom." 1) their "Secondary English Classroom" is an AP class of seniors, 2) the circumstances of that particular school make it unique from an educational perspective, and 3) they co-taught. Their experience is difficult to replicate because of those three reasons.
With #1, it is ambiguous if this AP class of seniors truly counts as a secondary class in the age where many students do running start or other similar programs. It does because the students were together in a high school culture, yet this class could have easily doubled as an English 101 class. Further, the unit in poetry and hip-hop took seven weeks and consisted of a lot of individual student time spent on the project. Students were expected to teach to the class and hold dialogues (as with other units). A lot of this requires immense classroom management and probably couldn't be done with a freshman English class. Also; #3.
With #2, the authors describe how the library contained one computer with virtually no internet access, few books, classrooms without windows, no heat in winter, etc. This led them to teach their curriculum in a manner different than many teachers would today. In addition, one of the wealthiest and elite schools in the country was very close in proximity to their school and allowed for a very easy contrast for students regarding social justice. How easy would that be if it was an elite school they taught at--would students make comparisons with a poorer school as easily? Would they interview candidates for mayor about issues of wealth and why the other school is so poor from the opposite end? It adds an interesting dynamic.
With #3, co-teaching with two master teachers creates the potential for and adds the element of better classroom management and assessment, two issues that could have very well contributed to the students' positive performance in the class.
No comments:
Post a Comment