Reading Reflection – Jan.30

What does it mean to be a “good” student according to the commonsense? 

One who learns by planned lessons? One finds comfort in commonsense ideas put forth in school, and via people in their upbringing? Or one who comes with knowledge, and willing to challenge what they know. They work toward learning from a place that challenges their beliefs, and challenges oppression. Aims to challenge the partial knowledge he/she knows. To be uncomfortable. Learning things that reveal the partial and oppressive aspects of our knowledge of and actions in the world. The type of student who challenges troubling knowledge. “Brain scientists have shown us time and time again, that when you are a little bit out of your comfort zone, you are at peak learning capability” – Klasky,​ ​B.​ ​(2014).​ ​​Get​ ​hooked​ ​on​ ​nature​​. ​Ted.​ ​Retrieved​ ​from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArhjLa4xbNk

Which students are privileged by this definition of the good student? 

Educated students would be able to see the value in challenging what they know – to not feel inadequate or shame. If the definition of a good student is one who doesn’t challenge – then the privileged would be those who benefit from the commonsense – stereotypes put forth – the wealth, power, education – even in the classroom. Privileged student – those who carry the commonsensical ideas that permeate mainstream society. Students learning things that reinforce an oppressive status quo. “The student was learning that views and practices had different implications in different situations. The student was learning to unearth the oppressive tendencies and anti-oppressive possibilities inherent in the way that we taught the disciplines. The student was learning something that brought discomfort and a desire to do more work.” (27)

What is made impossible to see/understand/believe because of these commonsense ideas?

The ‘other’ is impossible to see because of these commonsense ideas. Maybe. I’m not certain from the article. But I did come away with the following: Entering crisis is merely the stage where students confront troubling knowledge. Learning through crisis is not a process that can be standardized for all students. Learning is a disarming process that allows students to escape the uncritical, complacent repetition of their prior knowledge. The student entered the school filled with knowledge that the student already learned from the family, the community, the media, and life experiences, including prior schooling – much of this knowledge had been culled together from the cultural myths, stereotypes, and take-for-granted assumptions that permeated daily life.