Part 1: Philsophical Foundations of Teaching and Learning

Bourn - "Pedagogy of Hope: Global Learning and the Future of Education"

Bourn's (2021) article introduced me to a concept I had never considered before: the impact of hope on teaching, learning, innovation, and creativity. He states that "educationists have to bring hope into their teaching”, though it must be grounded in realism (p. 68). This actually expanded my view of our role.

Today, education is characterized by a neoliberal approach that focuses on quantifiable data rather than connecting learning to real-life problems (Bourn, 2021, p. 67). Bourn provides Black Lives Matter, climate change, and COVID-19 as examples that need realistic hope. This builds up what Ojala refers to as the ability to engage in anticipatory thinking, the ability to think in a future-oriented manner (Bourn, 2021, p. 69).

To be innovative and creative, Bourn discusses how Giroux, in his approach, has created an educated hope that corresponds to the pedagogical and the political, emphasizing that different settings raise different questions, problems, and possibilities (p. 68). It means, in any learning, imparting a sense of seeing possibilities for the future (p. 68). This relates to my glossary definition of innovation, but the addition is that thinking of better futures is innovative.

Freire wrote on teaching and said that one of the purposes of the progressive teacher is to open the doors of hope, regardless of the barriers (Bourn, 2021, p. 69). Hicks proposes practical hope, which consists of making spaces where young people can express themselves, genuinely listening, and understanding what must be done (Bourn, 2021, p. 71). This aligns with my glossary definition of teaching as empowering learners.

To learn, Bourn presents that it demands skills to be placed in a system of values based on social justice and to transcend emotional reactions to understand the forces that influence processes of social change (p. 71). This widened my glossary meaning of social justice as the core of learning.

My question: how do I model hope oriented teaching without it "becoming merely a political slogan that is easy to marketize" (Bourn, 2021, p. 72)?

Christou & Bullock - "The Case for Philosophical Mindedness"

The article by Christou and Bullock (2012) has opened my eyes to the way philosophy ought to be the foundation of all in education. They claim that we should all be philosophically minded, meaning we should be those who love wisdom and are willing to help ideas come to birth (p. 14). The thing that caught my eye is that they refer to educators as comprising students, teachers, parents, and administrators (p.14)broadening the definition of a teacher.

The article has challenged my thinking on innovation and creativity. In the face of conflicting thoughts, it is more convenient to abandon new suppositions to strengthen our prior beliefs and avoid cognitive dissonance (Christou and Bullock, 2012, p. 18). Innovation does not mean only the creation of novel ideas, but also the ability to challenge the familiar. They employ the midwife analogy for creativity: "those who associate with me...make wonderful progress...they have found in themselves many fair things and have brought them forth" (p. 18). This relates to my glossary definition of creativity, but it also includes the idea that, in some cases, we help people discover what exists within them.

To teach, they caution that to presume our own knowledge claims, curricula, policies, or practices are correct, but to prod others systematically' is to cloak hypocrisy in the veil of philosophical mindedness" (p. 19). This is related to my glossary meaning of teaching as a process that helps people learn we cannot ask others questions without first questioning our assumptions. The threat is turning into an individual as a technical practitioner (Christou and Bullock, 2012, p. 21).

What they were talking about learning has broadened my understanding of the glossary definitions. The reflective experience that Dewey describes includes perplexity, confusion, and doubt, as well as conjectural anticipation (p. 21). Learning implies knowing that knowledge is not definite and that ambiguity is acceptable (Christou and Bullock, 2012, p.). 20) building habits of mind and not memorizing information.

My question: They acknowledge "the dismal failures of reform in education are well documented" (p. 22). What becomes of philosophically mindedness in the face of testing pressure and curriculum mandates?

 

Bourn, D. (2021). Pedagogy of hope: global learning and the future of education. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 13(2), 65–78. https://doi.org/10.14324/IJDEGL.13.2.01

Christou, T. M., & Bullock, S. M. (2012). The case for philosophical mindedness. Paideusis, 20(1), 14-23.