Twitter Book Club: Bell Hooks (1994) Teaching to Transgress - Ch 10

Chapter 10: Building a Teaching Community: A Dialogue

"it is crucial that critical thinkers who want to change our teaching practices talk to one another, collaborate in... http://tl.gd/9ivopfless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"To engage in dialogue is one of the simplest ways we can begin as teachers, scholars, and critical thinkers to cro... http://tl.gd/9ivq4rless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"If we really want to create a cultural climate where biases can be challenged and changed, all border crossings mu... http://tl.gd/9ivrtuless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"I feel that one of the things blocking a lot of professors from interrogating their own pedagogical practices is t... http://tl.gd/9j00q6less than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"The person who is the most powerful has the privilege of denying their body. I remember as an undergraduate I had ... http://tl.gd/9j05puless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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I remember as an undergraduate I had a math professor who wore the same suit to work everyday. By the style of it, he purchased it in the '70s. In 1996, after years of daily wear, the knees of his slacks, the elbows of his jacket, and a few other places in the garment had become so worn that you could see through the fabric. The suit was light blue in the places that saw little movement and completely white-see through in the others.

"I think part of why everyone in the culture, and students in general, have a tendency to see professors as people ... http://tl.gd/9jis4dless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"I remember in my early teaching days that I first tried to move out beyond the desk, I felt really nervous. I reme... http://tl.gd/9jiua3less than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"I remember in my early teaching days that I first tried to move out beyond the desk, I felt really nervous. I remember thinking, 'This really is about power. I really do feel more 'in control' when I'm behind the podium or behind the desk than when I'm walking towards my students, standing close to them, maybe even touching them.' Acknowledging that we are bodies in the classroom has been important for me, especially in my efforts to disrupt the notion of professor as omnipotent, all-knowing mind." Hooks

I had a very similar experience early on in my own teaching. I decided the best way for me to reach my students was to join them in their desks and work along side them. Today, as a technology integration specialist and teaching coach I often try to encourage teachers to get rid of their teaching platform, to get rid of their desk, get the podium out of the room. Usually this is met with resistance. Oddly, I've also had administrators tell me that to do so would reduce my own authority in the classroom. When I've tried to argue that to do so allows me to build an authentic authority these same people tended to dismiss me. Others have understood it and applauded it. To me this just proves that there is such a wide array of perceptions in our field as to what constitutes good teaching and what a good classroom environment looks like that there is nearly no possible way to know for sure if your superiors will think you are doing a good job. And, if they do think you are doing a good job there is even less way to know know if they are right.

"I know so many professors who are progressive in their politics, who have been willing to change their curriculum,... http://tl.gd/9jj76oless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"Certainly teachers who are trying to institutionalize progressive pedagogical practices risk being subjected to di... http://tl.gd/9jj8qiless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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As stated earlier, I certainly have experienced this.

"The urge to experiment with pedagogical practices may not be welcomed by students who often expect us to teach in ... http://tl.gd/9jjcpiless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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I've also experienced this. This is also why many progressive schools will tell you that there is an unlearning period that all new students go through as they learn to unlearn bad institutionalized schooling habits.

RT @anderscj: The urge to experiment with pedagogical practices may not be welcomed by students who often expect us ... http://tl.gd/9jjcpiless than a minute ago via TweetDeckShawn Urban
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"Many feminist professors, for example, begin their careers working to institutionalize more radical pedagogical pr... http://tl.gd/9jjfevless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"It's so difficult to change existing structures because the habit of repression is the norm. Education as the prac... http://tl.gd/9jjkekless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"All too often we have been trained as professors to assume students are not capable of acting responsibly, that if... http://tl.gd/9jjq9cless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"If we are all emotionally shut down, how can there be any excitement about ideas? When we bring our passion to the... http://tl.gd/9jjtlqless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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"If professors are wounded, damaged individuals, people who are not self-actualized, then they will seek asylum in ... http://tl.gd/9jk83jless than a minute ago via Twittelatoranderscj
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I fear the current political climate surrounding school funding and education reform will broadly have this consequence. It is obvious that this is happening to many already, especially in cities on the front lines of these battles.