Media for a Humanizing Pedagogy

Screen grab from the video "A Pragmatist Perspective on Building Intercultural Communicative Competence" by Moeller and Osborn

I appreciated the point made in the video by Moeller and Osborn that in language classrooms, there must be a fundamental shift in the concept of acquisition: from "information (cultural facts)" to "knowledge (including the human bias)." A big part of conceptually moving from objective to subjective is that the student's perspective matters as much as the materials provided by the teacher. I would venture further in light of the Salazar article we read for today, that the teacher's political philosophy -- the teacher's perspective -- is vital and is transformative in creating teacher-student and student-teacher spaces that are liberatory. According to Freire, our work, in the classroom and in life, is to become more fully human. If we take the time to co-create this kind of space with students, they are much more likely to fully engage in their own process for becoming. 

Here I will include Salazar's list of principles & practices of humanizing pedagogy (p. 138). It was extremely helpful to me to read her literature review of the work scholars have done to incorporate a pragmatic approach to his theories. I might just make a post of this to hang in my classroom next year!

1. The reality of the learner is crucial. 

2. Critical consciousness is imperative for students and educators. 

3. Students’ sociocultural resources are valued and extended. 

4. Content is meaningful and relevant to students’ lives. 

5. Students’ prior knowledge is linked to new learning. 

6. Trusting and caring relationships advance the pursuit of humanization. 

7. Mainstream knowledge and discourse styles matter. 

8. Students will achieve through their academic, intellectual, social abilities. 

9. Student empowerment requires the use of learning strategies. 

10. Challenging inequity in the educational system can promote transformation.

(Salazar 2013)

Below is the list I have begun of sources to bring into my classroom, including materials for myself and my colleagues, and materials for my students.

Rethinking Schools blog: Teach About Mike Brown but Don't Stop There

Public Radio International: Bilingual Education in Haiti

Southern Poverty Law Center: Teaching Tolerance

Everyday Feminism: Creating a LBGTQ Inclusive Classroom

BBC Podcasts & downloads : The Conversation

Edutopia Topics: Diversity

TED Talks : "The Danger of a Single Story" Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie