Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in an Urban Secondary English Classroom

The biggest question I ask myself before I create a lesson plan is, “Will this motivate my students to act?” I love that this reading, “Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in an Urban Secondary English Classroom” gave me some insight on how to put a little more meaning into my lessons.

I will be a student teacher in January and I have been thinking about lessons I can create that will make a big difference in my students’ lives. We will be covering the Holocaust unit and I feel that I can take advantage of this and do something huge! I am placed at a school that is full of students from struggling families. It is enlightening to hear that others schools like the one can make a difference. Any student can fight for what they believe in.  As teachers, we can help students to find what they want to fight for.

There were many things in this article that I valued, but I will just talk about one of them. The power of a movie, it can either be a productive teaching tool or a waste of time. It all depends on how the teacher utilizes it. I like how the reading put it, “It is important to state up front that we watched film, not merely as entertainment, but as an intellectual activity.” Film can be more intriguing to students because they get a visual. I feel that for students (some who really do not like to read) would rather see a visual in action rather than just reading about it. Film can have a stronger hold on emotion. In order for movies to be a productive teaching tool, teachers need to find ways to assess students on the information covered in the movie. The text gave some examples, taking notes, watching segments and discussing it as a class, and including comparisons to other materials covered or current events. When watching a movie, the class is hearing and seeing everything at the same time, “The class members, as a community of practice, participate together in joint activity of making sense of this text.” (I learned that film can be a type of text!). Working together creates a safe space for students to express opinions and engage in discussion for future lessons.

The most important piece of knowledge I gained was to always make connections between the curriculum and the world our students live in. Film is an efficient way of doing this. The more connections that are made, the more ambitious our children will be and their desires to act will grow.  WOOT for engaging pedagogy and curriculum!