Quote:
Originally Posted by CHOMAT  Not at all, I wonder how to cope with it in terms of teaching, writing and thinking ? The first thing , I guess, is to take a look back on our own praxis and be aware of what it implies and entails. To be aware of our being stuck in coded structures ,which are prior to us, makes us less snared.
And then ? |
I am not sure I'm right about what I think, but allow me to chime in in your conversation. We are all individuals in a society and culture and thus we are, ever since birth, being indoctrinated into accepting its values. School in particular - and education in general - plays an important role in this 'doxa', as the
formal, official kind of indoctrination, but there is an
informal doxa as well. These two, formal and informal 'doxas', collide. For example, teachers may teach established 'truths' that come into conflict with the reality students experience outside of school (I'm thinking of minorities, drug abuse and so on). That can make students start questioning the authority of schools. Way too often teachers claim that
'this is fact', and feed it to their students, instead of working their way to a constructive discussion with them toward a commonly accepted truth.
When I did my pedagogical year, we, teachers-to-be, had regular debates on
'what is knowledge'? Most of us answered in common accord: knowledge is facts endorsed by scientific, reliable evidence. Books are full to the brim with facts. Students must learn facts from books, period. However, reality has shown me that teaching is about
discourse in interaction with the students, about tracking down knowledge or constructing it brick by brick, by adopting a critical attitude toward the world and what it has to offer. It is the minorities, or the periferal cultures, that rock the central values of culture and society, isn't it? If this
isn't the case, I wouldn't talk about democracy, rather democrazy...
So, are we the doxies of the doxa? I believe it depends on our views on established truths and on teaching in general.
I'm not sure I'm answering your question, though...
PS "we don't need no
false control"
(I love Pink Floyd's
Another brick in the wall and the meaning of the movie...)