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Critical Pedagogy for Teaching About the Occupy Movements

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Critical Pedagogy for Teaching About the Occupy Movements Occupy the Curriculum: Critical Pedagogy for Teaching About the Occupy Movements Jason R. Harshman 5.29.2012 P&L 834: An Interpretative History of African American Education 1950 to 1990 Dr. Gordon Final Project—Unit Plan Occupy the Curriculum: Critical Pedagogy for Teaching About the Occupy Movements Content and Rationale The Occupy Wall Streeet (OWS) movement and the numerous occupy demonstrations organized throughout the country were arguably the most talked about events that occurred in the United States in 2011. Centered on the economic inequalities that had grown out of global capitalism and unregulated banking practices that left many people unemployed and economically desperate, the OWS movement took on many forms in many places. A movement that claimed to represent the 99% of Americans who do not and have not benefitted from financial policies that favor the elite 1%, however, must be problematized. As news coverage of the OWS movements continued day after day, it became obvious to some that the perspectives and goals of the movement did not equitably address or include the priorities and perspective of people of color in the United States. As people occupied areas of major cities across the country, black protestors found that arguments posed by the racial majority, while in some cases pertinent to all present, did not address priorities for change such as political and civil rights issues that continue for at least 13% of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). To bring awareness to the improper homogenization of the 99%, Occupy the Hood (OTH) began as an effort to ensure black voices and issues were not lost within the Occupy Wall Street movement. Significance of Content 2 There is a long history of resistance when it comes to educating students of color in the United States (Anderson, 1988; DuBois, 1994; Woodson, 1933). To advance the movement for equity and change, this unit uses critical race theory (Bell, 1993; Delgado & Stefancic, 2001; Ladson Billings & Tate, 1995) and critical pedagogy (Freire, 1973; Giroux, 2011; hooks, 1994) to complicate and inform education about the Occupy the Hood and Occupy Wall Street movements. Building on the legacy of the Freedom Schools created during Freedom Summer 1964, this unit applies the curriculum used to educate students who attended the Freedom Schools in the southern United States to contemporary movements for social justice and change (Radical Teacher, 1990). Furthermore, an argument is posed and supported that the Occupy the Hood movement, based on the goals and objectives laid out by the multiple OTH groups that formed over the past two years, aligns closely with contemporary and historical decolonization movements in Cairo, Tunis, Soweto, Oakland, Mexico City, and Detroit (Mills, 1999; Wynter, 2003; http://www.officialoccupythehood.org/). This unit adds to the fields of critical pedagogy and citizenship education because it draws on historical and contemporary examples of critical pedagogy grounded in the experiences of communities of color and addresses how students develop a critical, engaged sense of citizenship. The mode of presentation and resources provided—including media clips and documents across multiple genres— align with Core Curriculum standards related to media and textual literacies, can be compared by students and teachers to local experiences, and help students see how the problems of social injustice are shared and movements for change are interconnected with peoples in other parts of the world. 3 Unit Objectives and Outcomes The objectives of this unit are: (1) Examine contemporary events such as the Occupy the Hood and Occupy Wall Street movements through a critical race theory lens in order to complicate the way in which the narrative of the OWS was presented through domestic media outlets; (2) Build upon examples of critical pedagogy and the curriculum used by the Freedom Schools in 1964 to examine current issues regarding political and economic power, civil rights, and citizenship education; (3) Put the OTH movement in a global context to illustrate the extent to which students, teachers, and citizens are part of a larger decolonization movement for social justice; (4) Engage students in discussion regarding media literacy and the application of the theories and ideas discussed during the presentation to their own experiences and communities; (5) Extend the conversation beyond the unit by using an on-line blog forum for students to share ideas, reflections, and engage in discussion about these and other related topics. The unit examines a contemporary movement and many related issues while also relating the topics to classroom applications relevant to multiple grade levels. Critical citizenship education and how to transfer the theories and strategies from the teacher education classroom to K-12 classrooms appeals to a wide audience are addressed within the objectives and rationale for each lesson. Students will learn that there are many voices within movements for change and while on the surface many movements appear progressive and inclusive, when one moves deeper into the crowd, so to speak, you will find voices who are not being heard but who have concerns about the direction of the movement. As all educators are involved in working to develop informed citizens, this unit addresses issues that help build a more informed citizenry while also building a dialogue that can continue after the unit concludes. Unit Procedures 4 This unit of study includes primary sources, testimonials, video clips, and other perspectives and resources regarding the Occupy the Hood and Occupy Wall Street movements, as well as other historical and contemporary national and international events. The lessons, perspectives, and materials provided are intended to be used in relation to educating students on becoming critically minded global citizens and agents of change. The lessons included allow for student-centered inquiry, discussions, and a sharing of ideas on how students at multiple levels can relate the information learned in class to their experiences and projects of their own design to effect change in their community and the world. Lesson One: Freedom Schooling in the U.S (Two days) Rationale: The creation of Freedom Schools in the Southern United States in 1964 was not the start of formal resistance against discriminatory public policies aimed at 5 disenfranchising and under-educating black students. Since the bringing of slaves from Africa to the Caribbean and North America, the powerful have denied a quality education to black students. This lesson provides an historical overview of resistance efforts taken by African Americans prior to and including the establishment of the Freedom Schools to provide students with a better sense of efforts over time in order to complicate the myth propagated in social studies classrooms that the Civil Rights movement began after WWII. Essential Question: How have African American citizens resisted inequities in education and society over time? Objectives: (1) Students will understand the long history of resistance to unequal schooling from the perspective of African Americans in the United States. (2) Students will work with primary and secondary sources to analyze perspectives using a change over time lens. (3) Students will draw parallels between historical and contemporary events while also taking a critical position as to why these similarities remain. Procedures: 1. Introduce unit through a history based on African American resistance to unequal education. Draw from James Anderson’s (1988) The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935 and W.E.B. DuBois’ (1907), “Sociology and Industry in Southern Education.” • “Throughout the entire South, an effort is being made to by the colored people to educate themselves. In the absence of other teaching, they are determined to be self-taught; and everywhere some elementary text-book, or the fragment of one, may be seen in the hands of negroes” (Anderson, 1988, p. 6). • “In 1866, allegedly to reduce the financial costs to the bureau, its officials temporarily closed all black schools under their authorization, and the general tax for freedman’s education was suspended by military order. The effect of this change was catastrophic…Black leaders petitioned Yankee military officers to levy an added tax upon their community to replenish the bureau’s school fund” (Anderson, 1988, p. 9). • “Blacks in Wood County, Texas, turned to similar tactics when informed by the public school authorities there was “no money for building purposes.” “Not to be outdone, the negroes of the community met, elected one of their number as their leader and decided to plant a community crop of cotton, the proceeds to go into the building” (Anderson, 1988, p. 171). • DuBois expresses a frustration that economic prosperity has not resulted in social and political progress. He writes “But while we are thus certain of industrial thought and education and advance, we are by no means sure of adequate thought and education and advance being made in matters of social organizations and social ideas” (DuBois, 1907, p. 171). This aligns with the 6 problems he addressed in other writings regarding the level of content possessed by many blacks with property ownership as a sign of wealth rather than intellectual wealth and thus political capital. 2. Address Brown v. Board of Education (1954) by having students complete a short web-quest, including video clips from the PBS special Beyond Brown Nelson, S. & Smith, M. (Producers). (2004). Beyond Brown: Pursuing the Promise [DVD]. United States: Firelight Media. http://www.pbs.org/beyondbrown/history/index.html. Closure: Remind students about the project that was introduced previous to the start of the unit.1 Students are required to construct an e-portfolio related to an issue you are concerned with and want to bring attention to. It can be any issue, provided it meets the following criteria: (1) it is an issue people in your community are affected by; and (2) it is an issue people in another part of the world are affected by.
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