How Does Building Community Serve Learners and Learning?

Hamline University
Amy Hewett-Olatunde
May 2012
EdD Written Exam #1













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It is January 29
th
, the first day of the spring semester, and the chairs start
filling up as the bell rings. It is the last period of the day and to be honest, it is the
period I have been waiting for all day. These students arent new to me, but they are
new to Level 5 Humanities. All 25 of these students are anticipating their last
semester of high school. The premise of this semester centers around the ideas of
social justice and advocacy, and the catalyst is community building. What I am
ultimately hoping for is for each students spirit to surface and for them to discover
ways of connecting with each other that will extend beyond the classroom (hooks,
1994).
By building community, each member will have the opportunity to be
engaged in an intimate and nurturing environment while developing their
intellectual and emotional growth.
Self-Actualization
How is an intimate and nurturing environment obtained? How can a teacher
help students develop intellectually and emotionally? The teacher must look inward
to first gain perspective on what the objective is for the semester. A teacher is
charged with educating students, covering the standards, and raising test scores, but there
should also be an investment in personal and emotional growth for every member of the
class. How is an educator able to connect the body and mind in order to actualize self?
To practice self-actualization deconstructs a culture of domination (hooks, 1994). One
obstacle blocking a lot of educators from interrogating their own pedagogical practices is
that fear that this is my identity and I cant question that identity (hooks, 1994, p. 134).
It is often seen that the person who has the most power in the classroom has the distinct
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privilege of denying their body; mind is all that matters. Acknowledging that we are
bodies in the classroom has been important for me, especially in my efforts to disrupt the
notion of educator as an omnipotent, all-knowing mind (hooks, 1994, p. 138). I think
this may be uncomfortable not only for many teachers, but for students alike. This self-
actualization puts the teacher in an altered position with themselves, their students, and
education as a whole. We are all subjects in history. We must return ourselves to a state
of embodiment in order to deconstruct the way power has been traditionally orchestrated
in the classroom, denying subjectivity to some groups and according it to others (hooks,
1994, p. 139). Self-actualization transfers to the type of classroom we create for our
students.
A Democratic Classroom vs. A Banking System
Self-actualization contributes to a democratic classroom as opposed to a safe
classroom: a safe or neutral setting may create silence or lack of student engagement
(hooks, 1994). It may be safe for educators because few conflicts arise and a milieu of
teacher-directed instruction is established. Who speaks? Who listens? And why?
(hooks, 1994, p. 40). Do all students feel the responsibility to contribute to the common
good of the class instead of what Freire calls the banking system of education
(Bartholomae & Petrosky, 2008) where students are passive consumers?
The banking system of education contrasts that of a democratic classroom where
students commit to a climate of openness and intellectual rigor. The common good
binds the class together. In a safe classroom, a lack of community not only pits the
teacher against the students, but it creates a disjointed group of individuals working
toward their own personal gains. hooks (1994) gives the example of journal writing,
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irrespective of class size, and this is a practice I use in all of my classes, including my
humanities class (p. 40). This dialogue I have with the students and the students have
with each other creates an intimacy that could not be gained through daily conversation.
This is one type of transformative pedagogy, which shifts the classroom from a teacher-
directed classroom to a student-centered classroom allowing for conflict, thoughtful
discussions, and the room for one to question his/her own beliefs (hooks, 1994). Just as it
is difficult for teachers to shift their paradigms about this type of classroom dynamic, it is
difficult for students also. Once this becomes the norm, inhibitions lessen and community
is built.
The first week of my humanities class, we practiced an activity in self-
actualization called The Encounter. The instructions were as follows: as you walk to
the park, you are not to talk to anyone, and as you enter the park you are not to talk to
anyone. Be aware of things around you. You will not encounter something, but
something will encounter you. What encounters you will most likely not be human. It
could be the leaves on a tree, or it could be the crack in the sidewalk. Something will
catch your eye. Once this encounter occurs, you may write or draw about it. This could
be connected to a memory, a person, or an event. About ten minutes before class ends, we
will head back to school. You are allowed to connect with one person, who is not your
friend, and share your encounter.
It is what comes next that starts to shape the students experience in this class.
More often than not, they are all encountered. I told them about my encounter, which
caught me quite off guard. As I told them about this object and its connection to my
childhood, I became very emotional. Exposing myself to the class was not what I had
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expected to do, but I allowed myself to follow my heart. As I told of my encounter and
subsequently my experience, I could feel the room open up. Upon concluding, I told them
they needed to share their encounter with a partner. The connections they made with their
first partner of the semester altered their perspectives of each other. They became
vulnerable to one another, and before this community could be built walls needed to be
broken down. They could not revert to being passive consumers in this class (hooks,
1994). This activity was very important for the group of students I teach, because most of
them grew up in societies where their opinion, their voice did not matter. In order to build
a community, the focus needed to shift from me to them. It became a student-centered
classroom.
Problem-Posing to Advance Humanity
In a student-centered classroom, questioning ones beliefs becomes one of the
catalysts for change. Students are encouraged to pose problems in order to shift their
current reality, even though they are often not aware they are doing this. Everyones
actions are created by the perceptions of their own reality (Micheletti, 2010, p. 2).
When both the teacher and students contemplate their own realities, they have the ability
to start imagining new ones. As a whole, they are able to revolutionize the present reality
and advance humanity(Micheletti, 2010, p. 1). Authentic problem-posing leads to
thought and action, whereby producing human progression. Freire states by placing
oneself in the timeline of humanity to learn from the past, examining ones life in relation
to the present while questioning everything, and moving onward to shape the future while
never ceasing to idly negate those lessons (Micheletti, 2010, p. 1) gives birth to a
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classroom built on community. A part of questioning ones beliefs means becoming a
critical thinker.
Critical Thinking and Its Connection to Transformative Pedagogy
It is with difficult conversations that transformation and community are
generated. hooks (1994) recalls a student telling her, We take your class. We learn
to look at the world from a critical standpoint, one that considers race, sex, and
class. And we cant enjoy life anymore. (p. 42). When people are forced to look at
their own ideologies and possibly realize they are wrong, there is a degree of pain.
(hooks, 1994). This happens both for the instructor and the learner, and if it does, it
is a turning point. When critical thinking and transformative pedagogy come
together, community is built within a classroom. Connecting back to my humanities
class, I see this piece as crucial to moving forward as a collective. To engender a
classroom where diversity, community building and each individuals voice are
respected, we must learn to become critical thinkers (Block, 2009). We must be
introspective in order to co-create our future reality, a reality where each members
voice is heard irrespective of past trepidations (Block, 2009). This humanities class
is a mixed lot of students; there are eleven different cultures, four religions,
seventeen languages spoken, twelve men and thirteen women, two homosexual
students, one hearing-impaired student, twenty students from illiterate
backgrounds, artists and musicians abound all ranging from16- 21 years old, and
each with a unique and dynamic personality. If this isnt a hotbed for community
building, what is? I consider this a class worth investing in.

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Who is Willing to Invest?

As the U.S. educational system evolves, are teachers compelled to evolve
also? Holistic education and transformative pedagogy are more demanding than
conventional pedagogy, because they emphasize well-being (hooks, 1994).
Teachers must be actively committed to a process of self-actualization that
promotes their own well-being if they are to teach in a manner that empowers
students.(hooks, 1994, p. 15). I doubt that the majority of teachers in the United
States work on or toward their own well-being. As more demands are placed on
teachers with increasing class sizes, evolving initiatives at the state and national
level, the rigor of standardized tests, and covering too many standards, can self-
actualization actually occur? Is it an epiphany, a moment of silence before the
students flood your classroom, the bathroom break at the end of the day, or the
conscious development of yourself as a teacher and learner to get to this moment of
transcendence?
Martin Luther King Jr. stated, The ultimate measure of a man is not where he
stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of
challenge and controversy (Ayers, 1993, p. 27). The current educational system as I
see it is in disrepair. Can a nation transform the way it views education? There may
be new names placed on theories and an innovative package for a practice, but
things havent changed much in my lifetime. Working in a 99% free and reduced
lunch school with a one hundred percent refugee population, we arent privy to the
luxuries many other schools are. An urban district with lower test scores, a high
English Language Learner population, and poverty running rampant inevitably puts
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us steps behind other schools in the district. But, there are some of us who refuse to
give up. There are some of us who truly believe tomorrows leaders are in our
classrooms today. A student who goes home to no food and a broken home finds
freedom and sanctuary between the four walls of their classrooms with a
teacher/parent who sees the potential in them. It is at these times of indecision and
controversy that both the teachers and students rise to the occasion. So although the
current educational system continues to make cuts, programs are slashed, and
classrooms become larger, there are many of us who will not surrender to these
indiscretions. These children and young adults are our leaders tomorrow and we
must empower them for the future with the education we give them today.
To educate another person as the practice of freedom is teaching so anyone can
learn (hooks, 1994). This comes easiest to us who believe that our work is not only to
share information, but to share in the emotional and intellectual growth of our students.
We respect and care for the souls of our students and provide the essential conditions
where learning deepens and becomes more intimate (hooks, 1994). Transformative
pedagogy stresses wellbeing and community building. Teachers must be committed to a
process of self-actualization that promotes their own well-being if they are to teach in a
manner that empowers students (hooks, 1994, p. 165). Teachers should employ the
understanding that all children in the world are our children, all children have the right to
learn, all children have the capacity for greatness, and all children deserve love and
nurturing.
If educators put forth the effort to build community and foster the growth of their
students, monumental changes in our education system and our nation will follow (Block,
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2009). It is a daunting responsibility, but a responsibility that has rewards far beyond
what is seen on test scores or in graduation numbers; it reaches out into other
communities to transform many peoples viewpoints.
Optimism for the Future
As humidity begins to loom, tassels will soon be turned. In two weeks, the
hallways will be emptier, the spirit distilled, and our community will be segmented
into individual pieces. What I do know is that many years into the future, every
member of my Level 5 Humanities class will still feel the impact of the four months
we shared together as some of the most transformative of their lives, including
myself.
The snapshot of this class looks nothing like it did before: friendships were
created, barriers were broken, tears were shed, and deep bonds were formed. This
was the result of transformative pedagogy rooted in a respect for multiculturalism, a
concept tied to community building. My hope for this community is to create new
communities that feed off of one another. This type of education serves not only the
learners and those providing the learning, it serves everyone who comes in contact
with these students. It is a time like this that I have optimism for a beautifully
transformed future where we recognize the common thread of humanity that binds
us together. By building community, each member has been engaged in an intimate
and nurturing environment while developing their intellectual and emotional
growth. Mission accomplished.




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References

Ayers, A. (1993). Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr.: An a-z guide to the idea and
ideals of the civil rights leader. New York: Plume.
Bartholomae, D. & Petrosky, A. (2008). The banking concept of education: Ways of
reading. (8
th
ed.) Boston: Bedford- St. Martins.
Block, P. (2009). Community: The structure of belonging. San Francisco, CA:
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom.
New York: Routledge.
Micheletti, A. (2010). Re-Envisioning Paulo Freire's "banking concept of education".
Student Pulse: Online Academic Student Journal 2(2), 1-2.