"The oppressed, having internalized the image of the oppressor and adopted his guidelines, are fearful of freedom." (Freire, pg. 47)
What do the words oppression and freedom mean to you? How have you experienced these words in your life?
Consider reading this article about decolonization in education. It applies some theory from critical pedagogy, and it calls into question the validity of "diversity" in education. Does this change the way we approach the work of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee? Does it change our overall approach to our work at the school?
Please post your comments below!
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteI had all the intention to make it to the book club meeting today. Unfortunately I am heading home sick. I wanted to send the following quotes and thoughts along to the group though:
“It is only the oppressed who, by freeing themselves, can free their oppressors. The latter, as an oppressive class, can free neither others nor themselves. It is therefore essential that the oppressed wage the struggle to resolve the contradiction in which they are caught; and the contradiction will be resolved by the appearance of the new man: neither oppressor nor oppressed, but man in the process of liberation.” Page 56
“Those who authentically commit themselves to the people must re-examine themselves constantly” Page 60
I thought those were really good quotes that talked about the implication for allies. I particularly like the call to re-examine ourselves. Something I have been thinking about lately that is related to our work and that I would like to challenge us on is how mindful are we about the narratives that we sometimes inadvertently promote about our students?
As for the question that we posed at the beginning of the book club…what is our own positionality when reading this? As I read this, I reflected on the different time/spaces I occupy and see how different aspects of my identify and all of the historical implications/weight that they carry make it so that I am myself the potential "oppressor/ally" in some spaces (where my cisgender privilege for example might come in to play), in others as the "oppressed" (as an immigrant woman of color), and in other contexts it might be both.
Again, I am sorry I won’t be able to make it, but hopefully this will get more blog comments going too!
Ana
Ana, I'm so thrilled you started this. Yes, I agree with you wholly, especially when you challenge us to the question of the narratives we promote about our students. I wish I could explain in more detail, but I am away right now at a conference and have about a minute longer.
ReplyDeleteAlso, a woman of color of immigrant parents, I have oppressed myself with my thinking in many ways until recently... I believe the power of that self-inflicted oppression can be cyclical in many generations unfortunately and it isn't until acceptance and moving forward where we are freed.
Sorry I'm missing the first book club meeting as well.
Thanks for your comments, Ana and Tara! You are both bringing really valuable perspectives. I think the question of what role we play in the oppressor/oppressed dialectic is really important. We shared your comments at the book club meeting. Look for a blog post update coming soon.
ReplyDelete