Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 1

TableofContents

Introduction/Rationale

SummativeAssessment-TheLearningAutobiography

LearningAutobiographyRubric

UnitStructurePossibilities

LearningAutobiographyWritingPrompts

FeedbackExamplesInResponsetoStudentRoughDrafts

LessonPlans
Writingandsmallgroupwork
OnEducation
Eleven
TheyTellMeIamLost
SeminarDiscussions
ReservationoftheMind
PedagogyoftheOppressed,chapter2

ListofTextsandReferences

AutobiographyofaLearnerbyGuant

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 2

IntroductionandRationale

Yearsago,ItaughtintheRooseveltHighSchoolOpenProgram,amagnetthatdrewstudents-
mostlyfromthesouthsideofMinneapolis-toourschoolinsearchofclassesandteachersusing
morestudentcenteredandopenpedagogies.Itaughtaninterdisciplinarycourseforour
incoming9thgradersaswayofsupportingtheirtransitionintohighschool.Thecoursesought
tohelp9thgradersbuildcommunitywithintheprogramandbecomeacclimatedtoadifferent
paradigmforlearningthantheirpreviousschoolsmighthaveoffered.Thefirstmajor
assignmentIaskedstudentstocompletewasalearningautobiography.Wespentthefirst
monthofschool,generatingreflectivewritinginresponsetoaseriesoftextsandinsupportof
thelearningautobiographyassignment.Thenstudentswoulddraft,revise,peeredit,andsubmit
anautobiographicalpaperthatcenteredaroundsomethingthathadtodowiththeirown
learning.Ithenaskedthestudentstoattendparent-teacherconferenceswiththeirparent/
guardianandwewouldtalkthroughtheirlearningautobiography.Thetaskservedasa
formativeassessment,givingmeasenseofmystudents'writingabilitiesandtheirstaminato
workthroughanextendedassignment.Evenmore,itservedtogivethemaplatformfrom
whichtheycouldreflecton,discuss,andrethinktheirunderstandingofschoolandlearning.
Leadinguptotheactualtask,mystudentsreadmultiplepoemsandstoriesconnecting
toschoolasaplaceoflearningandasaplaceofoppression.Itmayseemoddtospendtheinitial
sixweeksofasocialstudiesclassdiscussingandthinkingaboutpoetryandshortstories,but
theformatenabledmystudentstoexaminetheirownidentities,experiences,andbeliefsina
waythattraditionalhighschoolsocialstudiescurriculumrarelydoes.Kumashiro(2002)writes
thatpoetrymakesexplicit,throughitsunconventionality,manywaysinwhichthestoryis
constructed(p.21).Freeverse/narrativepoetry(andselectedshortstories)releasesstudents
fromconventionanddestabilizestheirfearofwriting.Theformenablesstudentstofind
essenceinastory,toconnectandself-reflectinwaysotherformsofwritingdonot.Asweread,
Ididn'taskmystudentsto'analyze'textinanyliterarysense.Instead,studentstalkedbackto
thewordstheyread.Theyidentifiedlinesorsectionsthatresonatedwiththem,thatmirrored
theirownexperienceswithteachersandschools,orthatchallengedthemtothinkaboutwhy
schoolsexistedthewaytheydid.StudentsmightselectalinefromLi-youngLee'sPersimmons
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 3

andbegintheirownpoemthere.WhenwereadO'Brien'sshortstoryTheThingsTheyCarried
abouttheburdens--physical,emotionalandpsychological,collectiveandindividualcarriedby
aAmericanarmyplatoonthroughthejunglesofVietnam,mystudentscollaborativelycrafted
theirowncatalogof'thingstheycarried'toschooldaily,rangingfromtheconcrete(backpacks
andwallets,weaponsandmakeup)totheabstract(griefforalostlovedone,butterfliesof
infatuation,orcouragetofaceabullyingpeer).Sometimesweillustratedlinesfrompoemsor
wewrote(butneversent)letterstoauthorsandpreviousteachers(bothinschoolandout)
whodeniedopportunitiesorenabledpossibilities.
Fundamentaltothecreationofthecourseitselfwasanattempttoaddressthe
oppressionexperiencedbymystudents.Myselectionoftextsreinforceabeliefthatschoolisa
placewheretheOtheristreatedinharmfulways(Kumashiro,2002,p.33).isneros'sshort
stories,ElevenandNorma,Inada'sRayford'sSong,Northrup'sDitched,andSlavin'sTwoPlus
Twoeachnarratethesilencingofstudentsatthehandofracist,sexist,ignorantandcontrolling
adults-teachersandadministrators.Alexie'sIndianEducationcataloguesvignettesofbeing
Otheredthroughcuttinghumor,onestingingsnapshotofeachgrade,k-12.Manyofthesepieces
conveythebitternessandpain,thehiddeninjuries(Kumashiro,2002,34)thataccompanya
student'sexperiencewithlowexpectations,stereotypethreat,andracistassumptions.
Bysharingthesetextswithmyfourteenyear-oldstudents,Iintendedto'trouble'
narrativesthatpromisededucationasaway'upandout'ofpovertyandoppression,thatsaid
schoolsguaranteedlearning,orthatassuredteacherswererighteous,trustworthyadultswho
believedintheirstudents.ManyofthetextsIgavemyninthgraderspresentedaverydifferent
narrativethantheoneIunderstoodasastudent.Insomeofthetextsweread,theauthors
warned:Beware.Schoolcancrushyou.Teacherswillshameandsilence,exileandignore.
Opportunityisfleetingandconditional;equityisalmostnonexistent.Bymytenthyearofpublic
schoolteaching,Ihadwitnessedthisalternatenarrative,thatofSchoolasOppressor.Ihad
observedandconfrontedthemarginalization,denigration,andsilencingofstudentsfirsthand.
Myclassroomneededtoencourageconversationbetweenstudentsastheymovedthrough
theirreactionsandresistancestowhatweread.
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 4

Thus,athirdreadingofthisassignmentsuggeststhattheprocessofwritingtheir
learningautobiographyassignmentspropelledmystudentsandmeintoa'pedagogyofcrisis'
(Kumashiro,2002,62-63).Kumashiro(2002)writes,Iftheunlearninginvolvedinlearning
leadsthestudentintoastateof'crisis'orparalysis(suchasfeelingemotionallyupset),the
studentwillfirstneedtoworkthroughthecrisisbeforebeingabletoact(p.48).Moving
throughpoemsandstoriesaboutschoolandlearningasa9thgradesocialstudiesclass,we
neededspacetobeuncomfortable,todiscusswhatwebelievedschoolandteachersshouldbe,
andhowourexperiencesmeasuredupagainstthatnarrative.Thisworktooktime.Itrequired
thatIrethinkmylessonplans,thephysicalarrangementofmyroomandmyroleasteacher.My
classroomneededtoencourageconversationbetweenstudentsastheymovedthroughtheir
reactionsandresistancestowhatweread.
Studentsrespondedtothediscursivepartofthelearningautobiographiesdifferently;
thedegreeofself-reflectionandwillingnesstotrusttheprocess,meandeachothervariedby
individualstudent,bytheday,andoftendependingonthetext.Thereweremultiple'right'
waysformystudentstoreadeachtext,towritetheirreflections,andtocrafttheirlearning
autobiographies.Studentscouldseethemselvesinmultipletexts,citemultipleidentities
throughthevariousvoicesfromthetextsandtheirpeers'writing,andsupplementthese
narrativeswiththeirownstoriesandexperiences.Andyet,Iexperiencedresistancefromsome
students.Sometimesitmanifestedaswithdrawalfromdiscussion.Othertimestheresistance
wastotheparadigmshiftitself.AstudentmightturninwhattheybelievedIwantedtosee;
ortheywouldwritethebareminimumjusttogetitdone.Andacoupleofstudentssimply
hatedmeforit.Theysickedtheirparentsonme,challengingmypracticeinfrontofmy
principal.Ortheysimplyshutdown.Atthetime,Irationalizeditasdistrustinme,astheir
teacher,andmyabilitytoensuretheiremotionalandpsychologicalsafetyinaroomoftheir
peers.Lookingback,Istillgavethefinallearningautobiographyagrade.Istillprivileged'good
writing',asoutlinedontherubricthataccompaniedtheassignment.IwishIhadn't,butIstill
workedandabidedbytheoverarchingacademicnormsthatexistinmainstreamhighschools.

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 5

Ireinstitutedthelearningautobiographyassignmentastheinitialassessmentforthe
yearwhenteachingtheTheoryofKnowledgeCourse,acentralcomponentoftheInternational
BaccalaureateProgramashighschoolstudentsworktowardstheI.B.Diploma.Mycolleague,
AhmedAmin,tookontheLearningAutobiographyassignmentwhenhetaughttheT.O.K.course
aswell.HetooktheLearningAutobiographyandheighteneditwithaninfusionofcritical
pedagogythroughthewordsofFoucaultandotherwriters.Hisstudentsproducedpoemsand
videos,tappingmeansofthanthewrittenwordforstudentstotelltheirstories.
Fromanacademicstandpoint,theLearningAutobiographyhasenabledeachofus,as
teachers,togaindeeperunderstandingofourstudentsaswritersandreaders,subsequently
makingitmorepossibleforeachofustobettertailorfutureassignmentsandcurriculumto
theirneeds.TheLearningAutobiographyhasoffereduseachinsightsintohowofhowour
studentssawthemselvesinrelationtoschool,whattheybelievedandtrusted,howthey'd
beenharmedandbetrayed.OurstudentsLearningAutobiographiesofferedeachofusaccessto
ourstudentsperspectivescontext,sothatwhenastudenteruptedinangeroveraninjusticein
ourclassrooms,webetterunderstoodpartofhis/herbackstoryandcouldbetterworkwith
themtohelpthemthroughit.TheLearningAutobiographyalsoservesasananti-oppressive
tool.Itallowsstudentstotroubletheinstitutiontheyknowbest,toexaminetheirexperiences
withschoolandteachers,tochallengethenormativenarratives,andofferalternativeones.The
LearningAutobiographyassignmentwillstillevolveinnewteachershands.Itcan--andshould
--beadjustedtosupportthedevelopmentalneedsofthestudentsandthecourseinwhichitis
taught.Yetwehavefoundthatitoffersapowerfulwayforteacherstobringqueer,
anti-oppressive,andculturallyrelevantpedagogycometolifeintheclassroom.

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 6

Unitstructure

OneMonthUnit
Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday:

OnEducationby RayfordsSong/ Discussionofwhat ReservationofMy ReservationofMy
Anonymous IndianEducation countsas Mind Mind-Seminar
- Poem knowledgeinschool discussion#1
- Writing Reflection
- Students
Share

IntroduceLearning
Autobiography
Day1

Freire,Chapter2 Finishreading/ SeminarDiscussion ShowSirKen Coates:Between

Partner/whole deconstructing #2onFreire RobinsonTEDTalk, theWorldandMe
groupreadand text.Seminar ChangingEducation Excerpt.
analysis Discussion Paradigms
Preparation Reflection

Ifstudents TheThingsThey Whatdostudents Seminardiscussion WritingTime

designedtheirown CarriedbyTim bringwithto #3
schools(Video) O'Brien(Chapter1) school?

Studentsgeneratea
list-Concreteto
Abstract.Shouldbe
postedallaround
theroom.

WritingTime RevisionWork/ Revisionwork/ RevisionWork/ Learning

WritersWorkshop WritersWorkshop WritersWorkshop Autobiographies
Share
out

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 7

6weekUnit
Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday Thursday: Friday:

OnEducationby ElevenbySandra TheThingsThey TheThingsThey TheThingsThey
Anonymous Cisneros Carried Carried(Chapter1) Carried
- Poem Seminardiscussion
- Writing Workinginpairs, Studentsmake #1
- Students makelistofobjects collectivelistof
Share carriedbysoldiers whatstudents
carrytoschool,
IntroduceLearning paralleltoOBrien
Autobiography Chapter
Day1

TheyTellMeIam ReservationofMy ReservationofMy Freire,Chapter2 Finishreading/

Lost Mind Mind-Seminar Partner/whole deconstructing
WritingActivity discussion#2 groupreadand text.Seminar
analysis Discussion
Preparation

ShowSirKen SeminarDiscussion Excerptsfrom Excerptsfrom SeminarDiscussion

RobinsonTEDTalk, #4onFreire& Villaseor,Burro Coates,Between #5Excerptsfrom
ChangingEducation Robinson Genius TheWorldandMe Villaseor,Coates
Paradigms

Ifstudents
designedtheirown
schools(Video)

RayfordsSong, NormabySandra SchoolMemories WritingTime Seminar#6

YubaCitySchool, Cisneros
TwoPlusTwoOr WritingActivity Relivingaschool SchoolMemories
WhyIndiansFlunk IndianEducation memorythrough
byShermanAlexie story
PoetryWriting
Activity

WhiteArchitectsof WhiteArchitectsof WhiteArchitectsof SeminarDiscussion WritingTime

BlackEducation BlackEducation BlackEducation #7-White
Chapter2 Chapter2 Chapter2 ArchitectsofBlack
Partner/whole Partner/whole Partner/whole EducationChapter2
group group group
Read&Analyze Read&Analyze Read&Analyze

RevisionWork/ RevisionWork/ RevisionWork/ Learning Learning

WritersWorkshop WritersWorkshop WritersWorkshop Autobiographies Autobiographies
Shareout Shareout

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 8

TheLearningAutobiography

Overthenextfewweeks,wewillexaminemultipletextsthatraiseknowledgequestionssuch
as:
Whatdoesitmeantogetaneducation?
Isschoolthesameaslearning?
Whattypesofknowledgearevaluedinschool?
Whattypesofknowledgeandlearningarevaluedinyourfamily,inyourhome,and/ortoyou?
Howdoschoolsmeasureknowledge?Howshouldthey?
Whatkindsofknowledgedostudentsgainfromschoolaboutthemselves?Abouttheworld?
Aboutpower?Aboutprivilege?Aboutsuccess?Aboutwhatitistobefemaleormale,aperson
ofcolor?Aboutrelationships?Aboutcitizenship?
Whatkindsofknowledgeshouldschoolsprovidetheirstudents?

Yourassignmentistowriteanautobiographyofyourownlearning.The
definitionofanautobiographyisanaccountofapersonslife,written/toldby
thatperson.Inthiscase,youarewritingthestoryofyourlearning.

Howyouframethisautobiographyisuptoyou.Youcanrefertosomeofthetextsweexamine
foramodel,ifthathelps.

Insomeway,yourpapermustaddressaknowledgeissueabouteducation,school,and/or
learning.Thisquestioncanbeindirectlyaddressed(throughasceneorstory)ordirectly
addressed(throughpowerfulorpersuasivewritingorapositionyoutake).Youcanuseoneof
thequestionslistedaboveorsettleononeofyourown.

RequiredFormat:
Yourlearningautobiographymustbeintheformofanarrativepaper.
Infinaldraftform:Doublespaced,typed,12pointfont(TimesNewRoman,Helvetica,GillSans)
1inchmargins
5-7pps.(10pagesmax)

Note:Iamhappytoreaddraftsofyourpaperandprovideyoufeedback,buttheymustcomeinbefore2/14inorder
formetoreturnthemtoyouinapromptmanner(andsothatyoucanfinishthemontime!)

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 9

LearningAutobiographyRubric
DoesNotMeet Meets Exceeds Aboveand
Expectations Expectations Expectations Beyond

Knowledge Doesnotaddressa Addressesa Addressesacomplex Addressesacomplex

knowledgeissue. knowledgeissuethat knowledgeissuethat knowledgeissuethat
Issueabout
connectstosome connectstosome connectstosome
education, Knowledgeissuedoes aspectofeducation, aspectofeducation, aspectofeducation,
school,or notconnecttosome school,orlearning. school,orlearning. school,orlearning.
learning aspectofeducation,
school,orlearning. Authorsexamination
ofknowledgeissueis
sophisticatedand
analytical.

Reflective Authordoesnot Authorusespaperto Authorcritically Authorcritically

reflectonown reflectonown reflectsonown reflectsonown
Writing
experienceswith experienceswith experienceswith experienceswith
education,learning, education,learning, education,learning, education,learning,
school,orknowledge. school,and school,and school,andknowledge.
knowledge. knowledge.
Authorsreflective
writingisinsightful,
moving,andpowerful.

Mechanics Singlespaced Doublespaced Doublespaced Doublespaced,typed,

Iftyped,12pointfont 12pointfont(Times
Iftyped,otherthan12 used(TimesNew Iftyped,12pointfont NewRoman,Helvetica,
pointfontused Roman,Helvetica,Gill (TimesNewRoman, GillSans)
Sans) Helvetica,GillSans)
Oversizedmargins used 1inchmargins
1inchmargins
Doesnotfallwithin 1inchmargins 5-7pps.(10pagesmax)
lengthparameters 5-7pps.(10pages
max) 5-7pps.(10pages Writteninnarrative
Grammar,punctuation, max) prose.
spelling,andwriting Writteninnarrative
errorsinterferewith prose. Writteninnarrative Hardlyanygrammar,
readabilityofthe prose. punctuation,spelling,
paper. Somegrammar, andwritingerrors.
punctuation,spelling, Fewgrammar,
andwritingerrors. punctuation,spelling,
andwritingerrors.

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 10

WritingPrompts

1. Writeaboutamemoryyouhaveoflearningthatoccurredinschool.Whathappened?
Where?Whatarethesensorydetailsyourememberfromthatexperience?Whowasthere?
Whyisitsignificanttoyou?Whatdidyoulearnaboutyourself?Orabouttheworld?

2. Writeaboutamemoryyouhaveoflearningthatoccurredoutsideofschool.What
happened?Where?Whatarethesensorydetailsyourememberfromthatexperience?Who
wasthere?Whyisitsosignificanttoyou?Whatdidyoulearnaboutyourself?Oraboutthe
world?

3. Describeamemorableteacher(withinyourschoolexperienceoroutsideofthat
experience).Whywasthisteachersomemorable?Howdidthisteacherexpandyour
knowledgeand/orunderstandingoftheworld?

4. Focusyourwritingonapieceofknowledgethatyouholddearlyorthatiscriticalto
yourunderstandingoftheworld.Howdidyoucometothatknowledge?Whyisitso
important?

5. Focusyourwritingonapieceofknowledgethatispainfultoyou.Howdidyoucometo
thatknowledge?Whydoesithurt?

6. Writeaboutthemostimportantknowledgeyouhavegainedthroughschool.Howdid
youcometounderstandthisknowledge?Whathappenedthatbroughtyoutothat
understanding?Whatwastheroleofschoolinthecreationordisseminationofthat
knowledge?

7. Focusyourwritingonapieceofknowledgethatcameatacost.Whathappened?What
wasthecost?Writethisasthoughitishappeninginthemoment,sothatthereaderseesyou
cometothisknowledgeasithappens.

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 11

FeedbackExamples
LearningAutobiography
RoughDRAFT

FeedbackExample#1
This is a terrific first draft. The beginning is particularly strong. I think youve hit a homerun
by focusing on ESL. You have very strong opinions based on personal experience, and you do
a terrific job of combining story and reflection and analysis. I think youre close to final draft
status here.

Here are a few of my suggestions:

1) I love the combination of narrative/ story and poetry (written in italics). The poetry pieces
feel like your internal thoughts. I also think you do a terrific job of directing some of those
thoughts to an unnamed you which seems like it might encompass white people, teachers,
the school system. I like that you leave that you open ended. By making that choice, the
reader interprets who that you is which is really smart.
I think you could even push the poetry sections further. At the bottom of page 2, I suggested
where line breaks might go. If you made that choice, that section would read as follows:

I didnt cross the border yesterday

Talk to me
In Spanish
And youll see
I cant even make use of the right words
Ask me to write it
And Ill stare at you
Wondering
What the hell youre thinking
Listen to it
Listen to me
Speak
Pay close detail
To how heavy
My accent is
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 12

By doing this, youre also providing a structural parallel to Eminems lyrics later in the paper.
See what you think.

2) Eminem. Love that youve included this. Not because Im a huge fan if his, but because it
offers you that much more to play with around notions of language, flow, words, rhyme, etc.
The last line you include from Eminems piece reads he opens his mouth, but the words wont
come. That line has all kinds of interpretation possibilities (as does the title of the song Lose
yourself). Its interesting to think of that line in different contexts such as .. someone who
is learning a second language, in the context of someone who is being silenced, in the context
of someone who is not allowed to speak the ways and the words and the languages s/he wants
to speak. I think you could circle back to these lines again making sense of them through the
broader theme of ESL and racism (and voice and language). You might even weave them into
an earlier moment. Really strong possibilities here.

3) The ending / last page of your essay isnt there yet. I think thats where the paper needs the
most work. But boy, I think youre going to pull off an excellent paper.

I am very much looking forward to the final draft.

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 13

FeedbackExample#2

Wow Wow Wow! There is SO much I like about the rough draft of your learning
autobiography. I love that youve taken this big risk and chosen to write it in third person
point of view! Very creative and bold. I also like that you havent named the boy or him,
the main character of the story. That anonymity of the boy in the story makes it feel as though
the boy could be anyone, and many of us. Theres also a real poetry to the way youre writing
it. The sentences are clean and simple, but they carry a ton of power. Wowowowowow!

So here are some suggestions:

1) I think your first line of the whole paper should be It was his first day of school in
America. I dont think you should have the intro at all. Let the narrative tell itself. You
dont need to preface it with an intro. Youve taken a bold approach to the whole paper that
means its okay to not follow a traditional paper structure (intro, thesis, etc.).

2) I want more detail in parts of this! So for example, when he first comes to school and
he sees the classes separated in age groups, can you give us a couple sentences that shows us
how school was different back home? You might start both sentence with something like
He remembers, back home, school or Back home, classes were. Teachers were.
Students were. It will help the reader to see how those experience provided him with such
a stark difference.

3) I LIKE that you dont tell us how the boy in the story identifies racially. You leave that to
the reader to figure out. But still, you might give little hints through sentences that show him
to us. For example, when the boy has to decide where to sit (with the white students in the
front or with the black students in the back) he might look at his (skin color) arm or see
himself in the reflection of a window. Show us that hes trying to make a choice about where
he belongs and that choice is difficult because of how the classroom/ teacher has
communicated his/ her expectations to the students.

4) The one paragraph that doesnt fit is the paragraph about banking education. It feels too
abstract. I think you can still talk about this but can you show it through experiences the boy
has. For example, how do the boys classes (the way desks are arranged, the way the teacher
talks to the students, the way the students have to show what they have learned) demonstrate
banking education? What if you were to use some of the words that Freire uses to describe
banking education? How do teachers deposit information into the students (for example)?
This is the one paragraph that I would recommend that you rewrite so that it carries the same
voice and structure as the rest of the paper.

I think you have an excellent start! I cant wait to read the final draft!
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 14

Lesson,OnEducation
Age:MS,HS
Time:45-60minutes
Resources:Copyofthepoem,OnEducationbyAnonymous,inPiercedbyaRayofSun:Poems
aboutthetimeswefeelalone;paper,writingutensils

Sequence:
1. Havethestudentsseatedinacircle.Beginbygivingeachstudentacopyofthepoem,
OnEducation.
2. Readthepoem(below)outloud.Ifyouhavestudentswhoarestrongreaders,youcould
haveoneofthemreaditoutloud.Butespeciallyifitisplacedattheopeningoftheunit,I
wouldrecommendtheteacherreadingit.
3. Provideeachstudentwithahighlighter.Haveeachstudenthighlightthelinethatthey
believetobethemostimportantlineinthepoem.Therearenowronganswershere.If
yourstudentsarenervousaboutchoosingonlyoneline,allowthemtochoosetwo.The
intentionisforthemtodosomesimpleanalysiswheretheytrytodistilthemeaningof
thepoemtoasingleline.Selectingasinglelinerequiresinterpretation,analysis,and
evaluation.
4. Onceeverystudenthasselectedaline,havethemwriteasentenceortwoontheback
ofthepoemastowhytheyselectedthatline.Again-thisdoesntneedtobemuch.Itis
moreaboutgettingkidstothinkthroughtheiranalysis.
5. Steps3and4shouldtakeabout5minutes.
6. Onceeveryoneisready,goaroundthecircle,onestudentatatime,andhavethemread
ONLYthelineofthepoemthattheyhavehighlighted.Beforetheystart,remindthem
thattheyaretospeakclearlyandslowly.Remindthemthatitisokayifmorethanone
personselectsthesameline.Andremindthemnottoexplainwhytheyvechosenthat
particularline.Simplyhavethemreaditoutloud.Theendresultofthisstepisthatyour
studentswilldistilltheessence/heartofthepoemthroughthoselines.Theywillread
themostpowerfullinestheyveselected,oneaftertheother.Itsquiteapowerfulstep
inthisprocess.Again,thisshouldtakeyouabout5minutes.
7. Onceyourstudentshaveoneafteranotherreadtheirmostimportantlines,beginthe
discussionofthepoem.Giveyourstudents20-30minutesforthisdiscussion.
a. Whatisgoingoninthispoem?
b. Whatareyourreactionstoit?
c. Whydidyouchoosethelineyouchoose?Whyisitsoimportanttoyou?Whyisit
soimportanttothepoemitself?
d. Whatdoesthispoemsayaboutschool?Aboutindividuality?Aboutconformity?
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 15

e. Doyouthinkthereistruthtothispoem?Doesschoolmakeusallconform?Have
youhadsimilarexperiencesinschool?
8. Onceyourstudentshavethoroughlydiscussedthepoem,connectedittotheirownlives
andschoolstheyhaveattended,andtoldtheirownstories,itistimeforthemtowrite!
Haveyourstudentschoosealinefromthepoem(itdoesnothavetobethesameline
theyselectedearlier)andhavethemstarttheirownpoemorwritingfromthatline.
Theformatoftheirwritingmatterslittleatthispoint.Yousimplywantthemtostart
writingaboutschoolandtheirownschoolexperiencesandanalyses.Soiftheywriteina
poemstructure-thatsgreat!Iftheywanttosimplywriteinaparagraphstructure,
thatworkstoo.Itsallaboutgettingwordsonthepageandbreakingtheiceoftheir
ownwritinghesitationsand/orfears.
9. Dependingonhowmuchtimeyouhaveleftintheclassperiodand/orhowyour
studentsfarewithhomework,youcangivethisasanin-classorhomeworkassignment.
Regardless,haveadraftofthiswritingduethefollowingdayandopentheclasswith
3-4kidsreadingtheirwork.Whenstudentsreadtheirdrafts,remindtheirpeersthere
shouldbeNOcriticalfeedback.Justrespectfullisteningandpositives.Werejustgetting
started!!
OnEducation

Healwayswantedtoexplainthings, Shetoldhimtowearatie
Butnoonecared. Likealltheotherboys.
Sohedrew. Hesaidhedidntlikethem.
Sometimeshewoulddraw, Shesaiditdidntmatter!
Anditwasntanything. Afterthat,theydrew.
Hewantedtocarveitinstone Hedrewallyellow.
Orwriteitinthesky, Itwasthewayhefeltaboutmorning,
Anditwouldbeonlyhimandtheskyand Anditwasbeautiful.
Thethingsinsidehimthatneededsaying. Theteachercameandsmiledathim.
Itwasafterthathedrewthepicture. Whatsthis?shesaid.Whydontyou
Itwasabeautifulpicture. DrawsomethinglikeKensdrawing?
Hekeptitunderhispillow Isntthatbeautiful?
Andwouldletnooneseeit. Afterthat,hismotherboughthimatie,
Hewouldlookatiteverynight Andhealwaysdrewairplanesandrocketships
Andthinkaboutit. Likeeveryoneelse.
Andhethrewtheoldpictureaway.
Whenhestartedschool, Andwhenhelayalonelookingatthesky,
Hebroughtitwithhim,nottoshowanyone, Itwasbigandblueandallofeverything,
Justtohavealonglikeafriend. Buthewasntanymore.
Itwasfunnyaboutschool. Hewassquareinsideandbrown,
Hesatatasquare,browndesk, Andhishandswerestiff.
Likealltheothersquare,browndesks. Hewaslikeeveryoneelse.
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography
Hethoughtitshouldbered.
Andhisroomwasasquare,brownroom,
Likealltheotherrooms.
Itwastightandcloseandstiff.
Hehatedtoholdthepencilandchalk,
Hisarmsstiff,hisfeetflatonthefloor,
Stiff,
Theteacherwatchingandwatching.
Theteachercameandspoketohim.
16
Thethingsinsidethatneededsaying
Didntneeditanymore.
Ithadstoppedpushing.
Itwascrushed.
Stiff.
Likeeverythingelse.

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 17

Lesson:ElevenbySandraCisneros
Age:MS,HS
Time:45-60minutes

Resources:Copiesoftheshortstory,ElevenbySandraCisneros(fromWomanHolleringCreek)

PossibleObjective(s):
StudentswillreadElevenanduseitasinspirationforwritingtheirownschoolstory.
Studentswilltellafriendaboutaschoolstoryandthenwriteitasthoughtheyare
experiencingitinthemoment.
Studentswillidentifysensorylanguageinthestory,Eleven.(Learningfocuscouldalsobe
onmetaphorandsimile).
Studentswilladdsensorylanguagetotheirownschoolstory.

Sequence:
1. Eachstudentshouldhavetheirowncopyoftheshortstory,ElevenbySandraCisneros
(includedbelow).
2. Asaclass,thestoryshouldbereadoutloud.Thereareacoupleofoptionsfordoingthis:
a. Youmighthighlightaparagraphoneachhandoutsothatstudentsare
responsibleforreadingasinglehighlightedparagraph.Ifyouusedthestory
below,youwouldhave20readers.
b. Anotheroptionistoarrangeyourclassroominacircleandbeginreadingthe
storyoutloud,askingthateachstudentreadaslittleasasentenceandasmuch
asaparagraph.Asyoumovealongthecircle,eachstudentisheard-andreads-
buthasthechoiceindetermininghowmuchofthestorytoread.
3. Dependingonyourfocus,youmight
a. Havestudentsidentifyliterarydevicessuchas
i. Sensorylanguage
ii. Metaphorsandsimiles
b. Talkaboutwhythestoryiswritteninpresenttense
c. Askstudentstothinkabouttimeswhentheyfeelyoungerthantheirage.What
causesthosefeelingsinthosemoments?
4. Theheartoftheworkistohavestudentsgetastorywrittendown.Again,findingways
toprimestudentsthinkingiskey.
a. Startbyhavingbrainstormamomentinschoolwhentheyfeltyoungerthan
theiractualage.Wherewerethey?Whathappened?Timetheirwritingandtell
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 18

themtowriteasmuchandasfastaspossiblewithoutstoppingandwithout
editing.Iftheygetstuck,encouragethemtowritethesamewordagainand
againuntiltheygetunstuck.
b. Oncetheyhavearoughfirstdraftofamoment,havethemturntoafriendand
share/readthismomentwiththeirfriend.Guidethelistenerswiththefollowing
cues:
i. Listenonlywhenthereaderisreading/talking.
ii. Whentheyaredone,Identifysomethingaboutthestorythatyoureally
liked.
iii. Asktwoquestionsaboutthestory.Whatdoyouwanttoknowmore
about?
c. Thenhavethestudentsswitchroles.
5. Oncethestudentshaveheardeachotherswork,givetheentireclassanother15-20
minutesofsilentwritingtime.Giveyourstudentsthefollowingideasforrevisingtheir
brainstormedschoolmoment:
i. Re-writeyourschoolmomentinpresenttense.Allverbsmustbewritten
asthoughthemomentishappeningNOW!
ii. Addatleastsensorydetailstoyourstory.Trytoincludeatleasttwo
detailsthatspeaktoeachofthe5senses:sight,sound,touch,taste,and
smell.
iii. Rewriteyourschoolmomentstoincludeatleastfivemetaphorsor
similes.ThinkabouthowCisnerosusessimilesandmetaphors(likean
onion;liketheringsofatree;thesweater-sleevesallstretched-likea
jumprope;likeawaterfall;likearunawayballoon).
6. Havestudentscontinuetorevisetheirschoolmoment,especiallyifitfeelstothemlike
itsayssomethingimportanttothemandabouttheirschoolexperiences.Offerstudents
theopportunitytosharetheirstorieswiththeclassoverthenextdayortwo.

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 19

ElevenbySandraCisneros
WomanHolleringCreek

Whattheydon'tunderstandaboutbirthdaysandwhattheynevertellyouisthatwhenyou're
eleven,you'realsoten,andnine,andeight,andseven,andsix,andfive,andfour,andthree,and
two,andone.Andwhenyouwakeuponyoureleventhbirthdayyouexpecttofeeleleven,but
youdon't.Youopenyoureyesandeverything'sjustlikeyesterday,onlyit'stoday.Andyoudon't
feelelevenatall.Youfeellikeyou'restillten.Andyouare--underneaththeyearthatmakesyou
eleven.

Likesomedaysyoumightsaysomethingstupid,andthat'sthepartofyouthat'sstillten.Or
maybesomedaysyoumightneedtositonyourmama'slapbecauseyou'rescared,andthat's
thepartofyouthat'sfive.Andmaybeonedaywhenyou'reallgrownupmaybeyouwillneedto
crylikeifyou'rethree,andthat'sokay.That'swhatItellMamawhenshe'ssadandneedstocry.
Maybeshe'sfeelingthree.

Becausethewayyougrowoldiskindoflikeanonionorliketheringsinsideatreetrunkorlike
mylittlewoodendollsthatfitoneinsidetheother,eachyearinsidethenextone.That'show
beingelevenyearsoldis.

Youdon'tfeeleleven.Notrightaway.Ittakesafewdays,weekseven,sometimesevenmonths
beforeyousayElevenwhentheyaskyou.Andyoudon'tfeelsmarteleven,notuntilyou're
almosttwelve.That'sthewayitis.

OnlytodayIwishIdidn'thaveonlyelevenyearsrattlinginsidemelikepenniesinatinBand-Aid
box.TodayIwishIwasonehundredandtwoinsteadofelevenbecauseifIwasonehundredand
twoI'dhaveknownwhattosaywhenMrs.Priceputtheredsweateronmydesk.Iwould've
knownhowtotellheritwasn'tmineinsteadofjustsittingtherewiththatlookonmyface
andnothingcomingoutofmymouth.

"Whoseisthis?"Mrs.Pricesays,andsheholdstheredsweaterupintheairforalltheclassto
see."Whose?It'sbeensittinginthecoatroomforamonth."

"Notmine,"sayseverybody."Notme."

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 20

"Ithastobelongtosomebody,"Mrs.Pricekeepssaying,butnobodycanremember.It'sanugly
sweaterwithredplasticbuttonsandacollarandsleevesallstretchedoutlikeyoucoulduseit
forajumprope.It'smaybeathousandyearsoldandevenifitbelongedtomeIwouldn'tsayso.

MaybebecauseI'mskinny,maybebecauseshedoesn'tlikeme,thatstupidSylviaSaldivarsays,"I
thinkitbelongstoRachel."Anuglysweaterlikethat,allraggedyandold,butMrs.Pricebelieves
her.Mrs.Pricetakesthesweaterandputsitrightonmydesk,butwhenIopenmymouth
nothingcomesout.

"That'snot,Idon't,yourenot...Notmine,"Ifinallysayinalittlevoicethatwasmaybemewhen
Iwasfour.

"Ofcourseit'syours,"Mrs.Pricesays."Irememberyouwearingitonce."Becauseshe'solderand
theteacher,she'srightandI'mnot.

Notmine,notmine,notmine,butMrs.Priceisalreadyturningtopagethirty-two,andmath
problemnumberfour.Idon'tknowwhybutallofasuddenI'mfeelingsickinside,likethepartof
methat'sthreewantstocomeoutofmyeyes,onlyIsqueezethemshuttightandbitedown
onmyteethrealhardandtrytoremembertodayIameleven,eleven.Mamaismakingacakefor
metonight,andwhenPapacomeshomeeverybodywillsingHappybirthday,happybirthdayto
you.

ButwhenthesickfeelinggoesawayandIopenmyeyes,theredsweater'sstillsittingthere
likeabigredmountain.Imovetheredsweatertothecornerofmydeskwithmyruler.Imove
mypencilandbooksanderaserasfarfromitaspossible.Ievenmovemychairalittletothe
right.Notmine,notmine,notmine.

InmyheadI'mthinkinghowlongtilllunchtime,howlongtillIcantaketheredsweaterand
throwitovertheschoolyardfence,orevenleaveithangingonaparkingmeter,orbunchitup
intoalittleballandtossitinthealley.ExceptwhenmathperiodendsMrs.Pricesaysloudandin
frontofeverybody,"NowRachel,that'senough,"becausesheseesI'veshovedtheredsweater
tothetippy-tipcornerofmydeskandit'shangingallovertheedgelikeawaterfall,butIdon't'
care.

"Rachel,"Mrs.Pricesays.Shesaysitlikeshe'sgettingmad."Youputthatsweateronrightnow
andnomorenonsense."

"Butit'snot--"

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 21

"Now!"Mrs.Pricesays.ThisiswhenIwishIwasn'televen,becausealltheyearsinsideofmeten,
nine,eight,seven,six,five,four,three,twoandonethebackofmyeyeswhenIputonearm
throughonesleeveofthesweaterthatsmellslikecottagecheese,andthentheotherarm
throughtheotherandstandtherewithmyarmsapartldoes,allitchyandfullofgermsthat
aren'tevenmine.

That'swheneverythingI'vebeenholdinginsincethismorning,sincewhenMrs.Priceputthe
sweateronmydesk,finallyletsgo,andallofasuddenI'mcryinginfrontofeverybody.IwishI
wasinvisiblebutI'mnot.Imelevenandit'smybirthdaytodayandI'mcryinglikeofeverybody.I
putmyheaddownonthedeskandburymyfaceinmystupidclown-sweaterarms.Myfaceall
hotandspitcomingoutofmymouthbecauseIcan'tstopthelittleanimalnoisesfromcoming
outofme,untiltherearen'tanymoretearsleftinshakinglikewhenyouhavethehiccups,and
mywholeheadhurtslikewhenyoudrinkmilktoofast.

Buttheworstpartisrightbeforethebellringsforlunch.ThatstupidPhyllisLopez,whoiseven
dumberthanSylviarememberstheredsweaterishers!Itakeitoffrightawayandgiveitto
her,onlyMrs.Pricepretendslikeeverything'sokay.

TodayI'meleven.There'scakeMama'smakingfortonight,andwhenPapacomeshomefrom
workwe'lleatandeverybodywillsingonlyit'stoolate.

I'meleventoday.I'meleven,ten,nine,eight,seven,six,five,four,three,two,andone,butIwishI
wasonehundredandtwo.IwishIwasanythingbuteleven,becauseIwanttodaytobefar
awayalready,farawaylikearunawayballoon,likeatinyOinthesky,sotiny-tinyyouhaveto
closeyoureyestoseeit.

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 22

Lesson:TheyTellMeIamLostbyMauriceKenny
Age:MS,HS
Time:30-50minutes

Resources:Poem,TheyTellMeIamLost

PossibleObjectives:
Studentswillidentifyandcreatetheirownmetaphors
Studentswillwriteapoem,relatingthemselvestotheworldthroughmetaphor

Sequence:
Thisisagreatactivity,especiallyifyouhavereluctantwriters.MauriceKennyspoemprovides
studentswithaskeletontorevealaspectsofwhotheyarethroughmetaphor,andwithoutfail,
theresultismeaningfulandpowerfulforthem.

1. StudentsshouldbeginbyreadingKennyspoemoutloudasaclass.Thepoemisonethat
shouldbereadaloudforitsrepetitionandbeauty.
2. Askstudentstoselectalinethatismostpowerfultothem.

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 23

MauriceKenny

MauriceKennylivesinBrooklyninthewinter,butheadsnorthtohisIroquoishomeinthe
summerforwildstrawberries.Hesays:Thetwo-leggedhumanbeingsarewonttoforgetthe
totalityoftheCreatorsgift,andintheiregotismseemtoalmostdeploretherighttosurvival
ofothercreations.Formeitistheutmostimportancetotouchearth,theearthwherethe
berriesgrow,bleedintothesoilrenewinglife.

TheytellmeIamlost
ForLanceHenson

myfeetareelms,rootsintheearth
myheartisthehawk
mythoughtthearrowthatrides
thewindacrossthevalley
myspiriteatswitheaglesonthemountaincrag
andclasheswiththethunder
thegrassisthebreathofmyflesh
andthedeeristheboneofmychild
mytoesdanceonthedrum
inthelightoftheeyesoftheoldturtle

mychantisthewind
mychantisthemuskrat
mychantistheseed
mychantisthetadpole
mychantisthegrandfather

andhismanygrandchildren
siredinthefrostofMarch
andthesummernoonofbrownAugust
mychantisthefieldthatturnswiththesun
andfeedsthemice
andthebearredberriesandhoney
mychantistheriver
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 24

thatquenchesthethirstofthesun
mychantisthewomanwhoboreme
andmybloodandmyfleshoftomorrow
mychantistheherbthatheals
andthemoonthatmovesthetide
andthewindthatcleanstheearthoftheoldbonessinginginthemorningdust
mychantistherabbit,skunk,heron
mychantistheredwillow,theclay
andthegreatpinethatbulgesthewoods
andtheaxethatfellsthebirch
andthehandthatbreaksthecornfromthestalk
andwatersthesquashandcatchesthestars
mychantisablessingtothetrout,beaver
andablessingtotheyoungpheasantthatwarmsmywinter
mychantisthewolfinthedark
mychantisthecrowflyingagainstthesun
mychantisthesun
sleepingonthebackofthegrassinmarriage
mychantisthesun
whilethereissunIcannotbelost
mychantisthequakingoftheearth
angryandbold

althoughIhideinthethickforest
orthedeeppooloftheslowriver
thoughIhideinashack,aprison
thoughIhideinaword,alaw
thoughIhideinaglassofbeer
orhighonsteelgirdersoverthecity
orintheslumsofthatcity
thoughIhideinamallardfeather
orthepetalsofthemilkwort
orastorytoldbymyfather
thoughthereareeyesthatdonotseeme
andearsthatdonothearmydrum
orhandsthatdonotfeelmywind
andtongueswhichdonottastemyblood

Iamtheshadowonthefield
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 25

therainontherock
thesnowonthelimb
thefootprintonthewater
thevetchonthegrave
Iamthesweatontheboy
thesmileonthewoman
thepaintontheman

Iamthesingerofsongs
andthehunteroffox
Iamtheglareonthesun
thefrostonthefruit
thenotchonthecedar
Iamthefootonthegoldensnake
Iamthefootonthesilversnake
Iamthetongueofthewind
andthenourishmentofgrubs
Iamtheclawandthehoofandtheshell
Iamthestalkandthebloomandthepollen
Iamtheboulderontherimofthehill
Iamthesunandthemoon
thelightandthedark
Iamtheshadowonthefield

Iamthestring,thebowandthearrow

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 26

Directions:
WriteyourownversionofTheyTellMeIam______

FollowMauriceKennyspatterntowriteyourpoem.

Myfeet.
Myheart.
Mythought.
Myspirit.
Mytoes.

Mychantis
Mychantis
Mychantis
Mychantis
Mychantis

AlthoughIhide.

ThoughIhide

Thoughthereare

Iam
Iam
Iam
Iam
Iam
Iam

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 27

Rayfords Song
By Lawson Fusao Inada
From Legends from Camp

Rayford's song was Rayford's song,

but it was not his alone, to own.

He had it, though, and kept it to himself

as we rowed-rowed-rowed the boat
through English country gardens
with all the whispering hope
we could muster, along with occasional
choruses of funiculi-funicula!

Weren't we a cheery lot--

coming 'round the mountain
with Susanna, banjos on our knees,
rompin' through the leaves
of the third-grade music textbook.

Then Rayford Butler raised his hand.

For the first time, actually,
in all the weeks he had been in class,
and for the only time before he'd leave.
Yes, quiet Rayford, silent Rayford,
little Rayford, dark Rayford--
always in the same overalls--
that Rayford, Rayford Butler, raised his hand:

"Miss Gordon, ma'am--

we always singing your songs.
Could I sing one of my own?"

Pause. We looked at one another;

we looked at Rayford Butler;
we looked up at Miss Gordon, who said:

"Well, I suppose so, Rayford--

if you insist. Go ahead.
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 28

Just one song. Make it short."

And Rayford Butler stood up very straight,

and in his high voice, sang:
"Suh-whing ah-loooow,
suh-wheeet ah-charr-eee-oohh,
ah-comin' for to carr-eee
meee ah-hooooome..."

Pause. Classroom, school, schoolyard,

neighborhood, the whole world
focusing on that one song, one voice
which had a light to it, making even
Miss Gordon's white hair shine
in the glory of it, glowing
in the radiance of the song.

Pause. Rayford Butler sat down.

And while the rest of us
may have been spellbound,
on Miss Gordon's face
was something like a smile,
or perhaps a frown:

"Very good, Rayford.

However, I must correct you:
the word is 'chariot.'
'Chariot.' There is no
such thing as a 'chario.'
Do you understand me?"

"But Miss Gordon..."

"I said 'chariot, chariot.'

Can you pronounce that for me?"

"Yes, Miss Gordon. Chariot."

"Very good, Rayford.

Now, class, before we return
to our book, would anyone else
care to a sing a song of their own?"
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 29

Our songs, our songs, were there--

on tips of tongues, but stuck
in throats--songs of love,
fun, animals, and valor, songs
of other lands, in other languages,
but they just wouldn't come out.
Where did our voices go?

Rayford's song was Rayford's song,

but it was not his alone, to own.

"Well, then, class--

let's turn our books to
'Old Black Joe.'"

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 30

Lesson:PedagogyoftheOppressed
MiddleSchool/HighSchool
Time:2(50minuteclasses)

Resource:Chapter2,PedagogyoftheOppressedbyPauloFreire(1970).Textwasadapted/
scaffoldedsoallstudentscanhaveaccess.Belowyouwillfindtheadaptedversion.

PossibleObjectives:

1.StudentswillbeabletoexplainanddescribethedifferencesbetweenProjectBased
PedagogyandBankingPedagogy
2.StudentswillbeabletoreflectonFreiresworkandapplyittotheirschoolingexperience
3.Icancheckformyunderstandingofthetextbyparticipatingingroupdiscussion

Sequence:

1. AnticipatorySet:
2. SetContext,Pre-teachVocabulary
3. Guidethestudents/Modelhowtoreadthetext
4. IndependentReading/FormativeAssessment
a. FormativeAssessment
i. Createavisualthatshowsthedifferencebetweenthetwotypesof
pedagogiestheauthordiscussesinthistext.
ii. UseaVenndiagramandcompareandcontrastthetwomethodsof
teaching
5. SeminarDiscussion
a. Seminarwillallowforstudentstodiscussandshowtheirunderstandingofthe
text,exploreanddigdeeperintothecontentofthechapter.

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 31

Pedagogy of Pedagogy of the Oppressed - Chapter 2

by Paulo Freire - 1970

"Four times four is sixteen; the capital of Para is Belem." The student records, memorizes, and repeats
these phrases without perceiving what four times four really means, or realizing the true significance of
"capital" in the affirmation "the capital of Para is Belem," that is, what Belem means for Para and what
Para means for Brazil.

Narration (with the teacher as narrator) leads the students to memorize mechanically the narrated content.
Worse yet, it turns them into "containers," into "receptacles" to be "filled" by the teacher. The more
completely he fills the receptacles, the better a teacher he is. The more meekly the receptacles permit
themselves to be filled, the better students they are.

Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is
the depositor. Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiqus and makes deposits which the
students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat. This is the "banking" concept of education, in which the
scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits.
They do, it is true, have the opportunity to become collectors of the things they store.

Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing,
hopeful inquiry men pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.

In the banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves
knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing. Projecting an absolute ignorance onto
others, a characteristic of the ideology of oppression, negates education and knowledge as processes of
inquiry. The teacher presents himself to his students as their necessary opposite; by considering their
ignorance absolute, he justifies his own existence. The students, alienated like the slave in the Hegelian
dialectic, accept their ignorance as justifying the teacher's existence - but, unlike the slave, they never
discover that they educate the teacher.

This solution is not (nor can it be) found in the banking concept. On the contrary, banking education
maintains and even stimulates the contradiction through the following attitudes and practices, which
mirror oppressive society as a whole:

(a) the teacher teaches and the students are taught;

(b) the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing;
(c) the teacher thinks and the students are taught about;
(d) the teacher talks and the students listen-meekly;
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 32

( e) the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined;

(f) the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply;
(g) the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting through the action of the teacher;
(h) the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it;
(i) the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his own professional authority, which he sets in
opposition to the freedom of the students;
(j) the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects.

It is not surprising that the banking concept of education regards men as adaptable, manageable beings.
The more students work at storing the deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical
consciousness.

Indeed, the interests of the oppressors lie in "changing the consciousness of the oppressed, not the
situation which oppresses them"; for the more the oppressed can be led to adapt to that situation, the more
easily they can be dominated. To achieve this end, the oppressors use the banking concept of education.

Authentic liberation - the process of humanization - is not another deposit to be made in men. Liberation
is a praxis: the action and reflection of men upon their world in order to transform it. Those truly
committed to the cause of liberation can accept neither the mechanistic concept of consciousness as an
empty vessel to be filled, nor the use of banking methods of domination (propaganda, slogans-deposits) in
the name of liberation.

The practice of problem-posing education entails at the outset that the teacher-student contradiction be
resolved. Dialogical relations - indispensable to the capacity of cognitive actors to cooperate in perceiving
the same cognizable object - are otherwise impossible.

Indeed, problem-posing education, which breaks with the vertical patterns characteristic of banking
education, can fulfill its function as the practice of freedom only if it can overcome the above
contradiction. Through dialogue, the teacher-of-the-students and the students-of-the-teacher cease to exist
and a new term emerges: teacher-student with students-teachers. The teacher is no longer merely
the-one-who-teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being
taught also teach. They become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow. In this process,
arguments based on "authority" are no longer valid; in order to function, authority must be on the side of
freedom, not against it. Here, no one teaches another, nor is anyone self-taught. Men teach each other,
mediated by the world, by the cognizable objects which in banking education are "owned" by the teacher.

The banking concept distinguishes two stages in the action of the educator. During the first, he cognizes a
cognizable object while he prepares his lessons in his study or his laboratory; during the second, he
expounds to his students about that object. The students are not called upon to know, but to memorize the
contents narrated by the teacher. Nor do the students practice any act of cognition, since the object
towards which that act should be directed is the property of the teacher rather than a medium evoking the
critical reflection of both teacher and students. Hence in the name of the "preservation of culture and
knowledge" we have a system which achieves neither true knowledge nor true culture.
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 33

The problem-posing method does not dichotomize the activity of the teacher-student: he is not "cognitive"
at one point and "narrative" at another. He is always "cognitive," whether preparing a project or engaging
in dialogue with the students. He does not regard cognizable objects as his private property, but as the
object of reflection by himself and the students. In this way, the problem-posing educator constantly
re-forms his reflections in the reflection of the students. The students - no longer docile listeners - are now
critical co-investigators in dialogue with the teacher. The teacher presents the material to the students for
their consideration, and reconsiders his earlier considerations as the students express their own. The role
of the problem-posing educator is to create, - together with the students, the conditions under which
knowledge at the level of the doxa (belief or popular opinion) is superseded by true knowledge, at the
level of the logos.

Whereas banking education anesthetizes and inhibits creative power, problem-posing education involves
a constant unveiling of reality. The former attempts to maintain the submersion of consciousness; the
latter strives for the emergence of consciousness and critical intervention in reality.

Students, as they are increasingly posed with problems relating to themselves in the world and with the
world, will feel increasingly challenged and obliged to respond to that challenge. Because they apprehend
the challenge as interrelated to other problems within a total context, not as a theoretical question, the
resulting comprehension tends to be increasingly critical and thus constantly less alienated. Their
response to the challenge evokes new challenges, followed by new understandings; and gradually the
students come to regard themselves as committed.

Education as the practice of freedom - as opposed to education as the practice of domination - denies that
man is abstract, isolated, independent, and unattached to the world; it also denies that the world exists as a
reality apart from men. Authentic reflection considers neither abstract man nor the world without men, but
men in their relations with the world. In these relations consciousness and world are simultaneous:
consciousness neither precedes the world nor follows it.

In problem-posing education, men develop their power to perceive critically the way they exist in the
world with which and in which they find themselves; they come to see the world not as a static reality, but
as a reality, in process, in transformation. Although the dialectical relations of men with the world exist
independently of how these relations are perceived ( or whether or not they are perceived at all), it is also
true that the form of action men adopt is to a large extent a function of how they perceive themselves in
the world. Hence, the teacher-student and the students-teachers reflect simultaneously on themselves and
the world without dichotomizing this reflection from action, and thus establish an authentic form of
thought and action.

Once again, the two educational concepts and practices under analysis come into conflict. Banking
education attempts, by mythicizing reality, to conceal certain facts which explain the way men exist in the
world; problem-posing education sets itself the task of demythologizing. Banking education resists
dialogue; problem-posing education regards dialogue as indispensable to the act of cognition which
unveils reality. Banking education treats students as objects of assistance; problem- posing education
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 34

makes them critical thinkers. Banking education inhibits creativity and domesticates (although it cannot
completely destroy) the intentionality of consciousness by isolating consciousness from the world,
thereby denying men their ontological and historical vocation of becoming more fully human.
Problem-posing education bases itself on creativity and stimulates true reflection and action upon reality,
thereby responding to the vocation of men as beings who are authentic only when engaged in inquiry and
creative transformation. In sum: banking theory and practice, as immobilizing and fixating forces, fail to
acknowledge men as historical beings; problem-posing theory and practice take man's historicity as their
starting point.

A deepened consciousness of their situation leads men to apprehend that situation as an historical reality
susceptible of transformation. Resignation gives way to the drive for transformation and inquiry, over
which men feel themselves to be in control. If men, as historical beings necessarily engaged with other
men in a movement of inquiry, did not control that movement, it would be (and is) a violation of men's
humanity. Any situation in which some men prevent others from engaging in the process of inquiry is
one of violence. The means used are not important; to alienate men from their own decision-making is to
change them into objects.

This movement of inquiry must be directed towards humanization-man's historical vocation. The pursuit
of full humanity, however, cannot be carried out in isolation or individualism, but only in fellowship and
solidarity; therefore it cannot unfold in the antagonistic relations between oppressors and oppressed. No
one can be authentically human while he prevents others from being so. Attempting to be more human,
individualistically, leads to having more, egotistically: a form of dehumanization. Not that it is not
fundamental to have in order to be human. Precisely because it is necessary, some men's having must not
be allowed to constitute an obstacle to others' having, must not consolidate the power of the former to
crush the latter.

Problem-posing education, as a humanist and liberating praxis, posits as fundamental that men subjected
to domination must fight for their emancipation. To that end, it enables teachers and students to become
Subjects of the educational process by overcoming authoritarianism and an alienating intellectualism; it
also enables men to overcome their false perception of reality. The world - no longer something to be
described with deceptive words - becomes the object of that transforming action by men which results in
their humanization.

Problem-posing education does not and cannot serve the interests of the oppressor. No oppressive order
could permit the oppressed to begin to question: Why? While only a revolutionary society can carry out
this education in systematic terms, the revolutionary leaders need not take full power before they can
employ the method. In the revolutionary process, the leaders cannot utilize the banking method as an
interim measure, justified on grounds of expediency, with the intention of later behaving in a genuinely
revolutionary fashion. They must be revolutionary - that is to say, dialogical - from the outset.

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 35

LessonPlan:PauloFreire,PedagogyoftheOppressed-Chapter2(Adapted)
PossibleObjectives:

1.StudentswillbeabletoexplainanddescribethedifferencesbetweenProjectBased
PedagogyandBankingPedagogy
2.StudentswillbeabletoreflectonFreiresworkandapplyittotheirschoolingexperience
3.Studentswillbeabletocheck/showtheirunderstandingofthetext

(Recommended)OrderofOperations:

1:Introduction:Introducethechapter.

II:Pre-teachVocabulary:
CriticalConsciousness
BankingEducation
ProblemPosedEducation
Oppression
Receptacles
"Conscientization"
Humanization
Dehumanization
LiberatingEducation
Dialogue
Praxis

Havestudentswritetheterms.Teachershouldprovidedefinitions.Studentsshouldworktorewrite
definitionsintheirownwordsandthencreateavisualfortheword.Afterstudentscompletethe
graphicorganizer,gooverthewordsandmakesuretheyunderstandallofit.Thesewordsarecriticalto
theunderstandingofthistext.

Word Definition Inyourownwords Visual/Oruseinasentence

III:Readingthetext:(wewilluseAVIDreadingstrategiestohelpstudentsdeconstructthetext).
1.Havestudentsnumberalltheparagraphs.Startwithnumber1andcontinuenumber
sequentiallyuntilyoureachtheend.
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 36

2.Circlekeyterms(repeated,definedbytheauthor,usedtorepresentanidea),namesofpeople,
namesofplaces,andordates
3.Underlinetheauthorsclaim.(Youmightwanttohelpstudentsfindtheauthorsclaim.That
willhelpthembettergraspthetextandfindrelevantinformation.Students,oncetheyknow
theclaim,canlookforevidencethatsupportstheauthorsclaim,whichmakesdeconstructing
thistypeoftextmucheasier.)
4.Underlinerelevantinformation(evidence,explanations,descriptions,data/statistics).

IV:Actualreading:
1.Providestudentstimetoreadthistextinclass.
2.Somestudentswillbeabletoreadthistextontheirown.Forthosestudents,youmight
wanttoprovidethemthewholechapterinsteadofthisadaptedversion.However,these
excerptshavebeenchunkedforthepurposesofmakingthistexteasiertocomprehend.
a.Readwithstudents.
b.Aftereachparagraph,havestudentswriteinthemarginsasummarysentenceforeach
paragraph.
c.Youmightstartreadingitwiththemandthenprovidethemanopportunitytoreaditon
theirown.Wehighlyrecommendthatthisworkhappenintheclassroomsothatifstudents
haveanyquestions,theycanaskforhelp.
d.Usethereadingstrategiesasyoureadalongandmodelthestepsforthestudents.
e.Summarizethechapterandhavestudentsworkontheformativeassessmentwithapartner.

V:FormativeAssessment:Usingtheirreadings,studentsworkinginpartnersshoulddothefollowing:

1.Studentswillcreateavisualrepresentationofthetwotypesofteaching.Theyshouldget
chartpaperanddividethepaperinhalf.OnonesidetheyshoulddrawwhattheythinkBanking
ConceptofEducationlookslikeinaclassroom.Theyshoulddothesameontheothersidebutuse
theLiberationEducationorProblemBasedEducation.
2.AnalternativeformativeyoucoulduseisaVenndiagramtocheckforstudentunderstanding.
Thengooverthediagramwithstudentstomakesuretheyhavegraspedthecontent.Itis
simpleandeasywaytocheckforunderstandingandtoreteach.

VI:DiscussionQuestions/SeminarPreparation

Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 37

ListoftextsandReferences

OnEducation-poemfromPiercedbyaRayofSun(MS,HS)
PedagogyoftheOppressed,Ch2(MS,HS)
ShermanAlexie,IndianEducation(MS,HS)
ShermanAlexie,ReservationoftheMind(HS)
Coates,Streetsshackledmyleftlegandschoolshackledmyright(fromBetweenthe
WorldandMe)
BurroGenius-VictorVillaseor(HS)
SirKenRobinson-SchoolsandCreativity(MS,HS)
Hightechhighvideo
Chapters/excerptsfromWhiteArchitectsofBlackEducation(HS)
Poems
Alexie,S.(1994).Indianeducation.InTheLoneRangerandTontofistfightinheaven

(pp.171180).NewYork:Perennial.

Antler.(1995).Raisingmyhand.Piercedbyarayofsun:Poemsaboutthetimeswe

feelalone(pp.23).Gordon,R.(Ed.).NewYork:HarperCollins.

Ayres,R.(1999).Corporeal.InBosselaar,L.(1999).Outsiders:Poemsaboutrebels,

exiles,andrenegades(p.17).Minneapolis:MilkweedEditions.Baxter,C.(1985).

Gryphon.InThroughthesafetynet:Stories.NewYork:Vintage.

Cisneros,S.(1991).Aricesandwich.InThehouseonMangoStreet.NewYork:

Vintage.

Cisneros,S.(1992).Eleven.Womanholleringcreek:Andotherstories.NewYork:

Vintage.
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 38

Divakaruni,C.B.(1995).YubaCityschool.InGordon,R.(Ed.).Piercedbyarayofsun:

Poemsaboutthetimeswefeelalone(pp.8082).NewYork,:HarperCollins.

Haynes,D.(1998).Thedozens.InHanes,D.,&Landsman,J.(Eds.).Welcometoyour

life:WritingsfortheheartofyoungAmerica(pp.7077).Minneapolis:Milkweed

Editions.

Inada,L.F.(1992).RayfordsSong.InLegendsfromcamp.Minneapolis:CoffeeHouse

Press.

Jones,E.P.(1998).Thefirstday.InRochman,H.,&McCampbell,D.Z.(Eds.).Leaving

home:15distinguishedauthorsexplorepersonaljourneys(pp.917).Harper

Collins.

Kenny,M.(1988).TheytellmeIamlost.InNiatum,D.(Ed.).Harpersanthologyof

20thcenturyNativeAmericanpoetry,NewYork:Harper&Row.

Larkin,J.(1986).Genealogy.InAlongsound.Penobscot,ME:GranitePress.

Lyon,G.E.(1989).WhereImfrom.Retrievedfrom

http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html

Northup,J.(1995).Ditched.InGordon,R.(Ed.).Piercedbyarayofsun:Poemsabout

thetimeswefeelalone(p.27).NewYork:HarperCollins.

OBrien,T.(1990).Thethingstheycarried(pp.125).NewYork:ThePenguinGroup.

.(1995).Oneducation.InGordon,R.(Ed.).Piercedbyarayofsun:Poems

aboutthetimeswefeelalone(pp.2425).NewYork:HarperCollins.

Sanchez,S.(1984).Norma.InHomegirlsandhandgrenades.Avalon.
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 39

Slapin,B.(1992).TwoplustwoorwhyIndiansflunk.InSlapin,B.,&Seale,D.,(Eds.).

ThroughIndianeyes:TheNativeexperienceinbooksforchildren.GabriolaIsland,

BritishColumbia,Canada:NewSocietyPublishers.

Starfish(Apracticalexorcism)

ByKyleGuantTranMyhre

Iamstandinginaschoolorsubmarine.Everythingisgrayandthewalls
Canalmostkisseachother.Childrenavalanchearoundmylegs.Itistoodark
Here.Andmyjobthesedaysistoturnallthelightsonandpretendtobebrave.

Wesmelllikeunusedpaintbrushes;theairisstill,hangingjustoverthisriver
Orthissewerpipefullofhandsorshoesorteeth.Iseeateacherinawindow,
Asmileyfacepaintedontoacrash-testdummy.IforgetwhereIamgoing.

Thesechildrenwillgrowuptobescarecrows.Thesechildrenwillsnarlonce
Attheworldandtheywillbeputdown.Thesechildrenwillgrowintopoems
Writtenaboutthem,liveinthespacesbetweenthelettersandshiver

Whenthebooksopen.Andmyjobthesedaysistomeltthewinterwithaflashlight.
Iworkinafter-schoolprogrampurgatory,movingfromschooltoschoolsiphoning
Tearsandpoems.Ikeepthepoemsinashinyleatherbriefcase;

Idumpthetearsoutintheparkinglot.Andmyjobthesedaysistoidentifybodies.
MyjobthesedaysistobetheDisney-Worldfull-bodysuitSisyphus.Myjob
Thesedaysistodreamofstarfish,tensofthousandssmotheredbytheaironthebeach

Beingpulledapartalivebytheseagulls.Itossafewbackintotheoceanandpeople
TellmethatImmakingadifference.Butthereisnohonorintriage,onlynecesity.
Andthesechildren:Theyneedsomethingmorethananotherpluckywhitewoman

Toprythemopenandextracttheirgenius,oronemorestraight-ATeachfor
Americamiragetryingtosavethem,oronemorepositivemalerolemodel
Teachingthemhowtowritepoetry.Andmyjobthesedaysistobeonemore

Positivemalerolemodelteachingthemhowtowritepoetry,anditskillingme.
Beaton&Amin,LearningAutobiography 40

Ateacheroncetoldmethisisthecurseofdirectservice--wemakeadifference,
Justnotenoughofone.Wearethebricksofahauntedhouse,doinganadmirable

Jobkeepingtheceilingfromcollapsingbutnotabletoremovetheevilfromtheair.
Andmyjobthesedaysistobeahackexorcist.Myjobthesedaysistobe
Asuperheroinacoma,astrip-mallSantaClaus.Myjobthesedaysistoblindly

Feelmywaythroughthejaggedcornersoftheseschoolsandnotbleedtoomuch.
AndIsuddenlyrememberwhereImgoing:theguidancecounselor,
Whoisconcernedthatoneofmystudentsmightbeunstablebecauseshe

Wroteapoemaboutdeath,notknowingthatdeathandsufferingarepretty
Muchall15-yearoldswriteabout.Onmywaytotheoffice,animpossiblysmallboy
Fromoneofmysessionscannonballsthroughthecrowd,punchesmeintheshoulder

Andsays,Thankyou.HisnameisBrian.Hesaysthankyouandmeansit.AndIm
Stuck,somewherebetweenyourewelcomeandImsorry.Imstuckstaring
Atbanners,attitudeiseverything,nochildleftbehind,Ilovemyschool.Imstuck

Andmyjobthesedaysisnottomakeadifference,itistofight,witheverything
Ihave,foraworldinwhichIdonthaveto.Myjobthesedaysistotry
Tofindawaytobebothbrickandbuilder,toteachstarfishtofly.

LevelUp:MyAutobiographyasaLearner-Guante
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwWywJMF99w&feature=youtu.be