Theories...

To me, coming upon the book “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” By Paulo Freire early on during my development as an educator meant understanding the importance that critical questioning and constant reflection, as well as involvement and commitment with individuals and their communities have in the classroom and in student’s performance. The idea that education can be liberating is powerful, to me representing a real chance to help many who otherwise are set to fail by a system that doesn’t represent or meet any of their challenges.

Freire presents an understanding of national education from the perspective that matters the most, the one that is affected the most by its promotion of inequalities and injustice. National education, in Brazil or anywhere else in the world, has traditionally failed to promote social equality. Freire goes further, proposing a revolution in the field that starts serving the purpose of liberating those who have been traditionally socially and economically oppressed. In his words, the transformation wouldn’t be easy, “It would be a contradiction in terms if the oppressors not only defended but actually implemented a liberating” (Ch.1) but still absolutely necessary for the advancement of education and of humanity as a whole.

Freire defines the dominant current form of education saying In sum: banking theory and practice, as immobilizing and fixating forces, fail to acknowledge men and women as historical beings; problem-posing theory and practice take the people's historicity as their starting point. Connected with life the learner feels that the process in which he or she is involved is a meaningful one, in which all ideas and points of view are considered and respected. Learning doesn’t simply take place from the top down, we are all learners in the classroom, each with particular points of view that can enrich the creation of knowledge.

Another theory that has impacted me greatly is that of social and emotional learning. From Rotter’s “Social Learning and Clinical Psychology” (1954) to Bandura’s “Social Learning Theory” (1977) this work explains learning emphasizing in the social context. Learning occurs in front of society, with others influencing us and being part of who we become. Social life reigns in human development according to this theory, where everything we do is in a search for acceptance and belonging. Much more complicated than simple stimuli-response the individual is an active participant, shaping his environment while being in turn shaped by it.

Although it has been criticized by some as being a mere neo-behaviorist approach, the complexities of human development are undeniably affected by our surroundings, being of biological or of social origins. We are social beings, distinguished from other living things precisely because of the complexities of our social lives. Social influences are an intrinsic part of who we are, for a social and emotional aspect of learning must be take into consideration for true understanding of education and to try to find solutions to improve its quality and effectiveness.

It is of particular interest to me as a researcher to improve and advance living conditions for all members of society, convinced that if people of all social and economical classes can continuously improve the way they live we would all benefit. If schools work to promote life long learning experiences that are meaningful and that have an impact in the immediate future of student’s lives, their continuation as academic institutions may continue. Schools must understand that the rapid and constant changes in the way humans communicate, how they access information, how they can transform that information in more than one way and how they can share new ideas are not to be taken lightly. Students are participating actively in many activities that schools continue to neglect while not offering alternatives that have a comparable level of engagement. The students feel alienated, receiving as a model of life a set of behaviors that do not correspond to what they see outside of school. Life is becoming an increasingly interactive experience with all sorts of mobile devices. The classroom offers a model designed over one century ago where the center of attention is rarely the student, or the strategies to meet their needs, or even the inquisitiveness to question the established understandings and wonder how to make things better.

Educational theories are important; they set the ground for who we are in front of students. But education is holistic and individual. There cannot be one correct way to understand how to best serve the needs of any particular students, or a group of them for that matter. Every learner has a particular learning style. It becomes more important in our times to learn where to find the resources we need and how to decompose and perform critical analysis of the information and resources at hand. There is more value in this than in other traditionally over emphasized areas in our classrooms.

Finally, the most important aspect of all these theories are that when put in practice they must be equally accessible to all learners. If we push for the use of technology in a project based learning environment then every learner should have the same amount of exposure to prove its effectiveness. If future citizenry will rely heavily in access and presence in the virtual world then all students in school now should be receiving similar exposure to develop the necessary skills that will allow a better enjoyment of the human experience as adults. This is why I believe that a bilingual multimedia program would have an enormous impact in inner city schools. Students would have a chance to participate in something meaningful, which would elevate their participation in classroom activities to a product that not only makes them feel proud but also improves immediately their experience in school and the understanding of their environment. Looking at students holistically each school must become a particular learning community, focused on the strengths of its members, both the staff and the learners, to provide the best possible settings with the best strategies. Many learning environments would together be part of the learning community, with learners and educators acting together to solve the immediate issues that affect them. Of course, to accomplish all this education must be inclusive, accepting and promoting the constant reflection and exchange of ideas amongst all its members. The benefit of accomplishing such conditions go beyond the learning community, improving the quality of life of the entire community as its members come out ready to transform their lives and help others overcome their obstacles by putting into practice what started as young learners.