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Where do you find your genius?

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I’m starting as the first described of the first session of the new module,  I d had more interest in my creative autobiography and the blank handbook - London Met Uni have requested I blog about it - for me, it’s not interesting until you build them

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Be creative and alive, not apathetic and a cynic 

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Be creative and alive, not apathetic and a cynic 

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I’m starting as the first described of the first session of the new module,  I d had more interest in my creative autobiography and the blank handbook - London Met Uni have requested I blog about it - for me, it’s not interesting until you build them

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Building on confidence levels to post that elusive video...

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I hope Faye arrives soon!  It is a shame that we are the only two posting.  I found Tuesday's class revealing.  The individualism that I think is discussed widely was evident.  A resistance to the notion of class was prevalent, and I was uncertain why.  I think we recognized that there was  vast social inequality, perhaps I also noted a sense that 'it's your fault if your poor' in one conversation.  This is also common more widely in society, is that a new truth?  It seems that is partly the result of a system that says failure is your own fault, but measures success only in terms of wealth.  Wealth, regardless of how it is achieved, is considered success.  Can we have a working society if the individual looks only to their own success? Can we build a fair education system if we ignore the inequalities across systems based on class? 

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I hope Faye arrives soon!  It is a shame that we are the only two posting.  I found Tuesday's class revealing.  The individualism that I think is discussed widely was evident.  A resistance to the notion of class was prevalent, and I was uncertain why.  I think we recognized that there was  vast social inequality, perhaps I also noted a sense that 'it's your fault if your poor' in one conversation.  This is also common more widely in society, is that a new truth?  It seems that is partly the result of a system that says failure is your own fault, but measures success only in terms of wealth.  Wealth, regardless of how it is achieved, is considered success.  Can we have a working society if the individual looks only to their own success? Can we build a fair education system if we ignore the inequalities across systems based on class? 

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Does class have a specific ethnic background?  Freire says that we must avoid sectarianism, the splitting off of one ethnic group from another, or one gender or sexuality from others.  In that way, the poor and/or dispossessed become divided and incapable of fighting for a fairer society.
I also get that people like to be associated with power, it takes courage to line up alongside the poor.  Is that one of the reasons people side to the right?
Is the concept of class a political issue?  If so, it is confusing as even Theresa May, who I would consider to the political right in the UK, suggests we need to create a classless society - which suggests we have a class bound society at present.
My choice of a food bank collection point was able to allow my ideas around this to invest in the class - but I was left feeling we thought that 'others' where the problem, not us, others were affected, not us.  If that is common, if others are the ones that need fairness but not us, it is difficult to see where change will come from.  I heard harrowing tales of poor children victimized, bullied, excluded and identified and segregated out from the 'herd'.  Surely, we must recognize class if we can be in any way capable of making education fairer?

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This week was split between those of us travelling to Huddersfield University to see Professor Budd Hall, and those of us working at home.  The focus for us all was critical pedagogy, and I had a great view of two different types of learning.  I loved some of the work that came back through the forum, the reflection and creation that people did alone, based on their readings and practices.  The deeper the reflection, the better the output I thought.  The first thing I read was a poem, it was sublime, a real reflection of Freirean codification, an echo of the best kind of Budd Hall's poem that acted as a catalyst for this session.  So far, I am the only person commenting on other's posts, I hope that changes.  What I think is so visible is the talent that comes through when people look at their own experiences and use reading to amplify that.
The photo I posted is us meeting Professor Hall after his talk.  He was immense, we were immense.  The trip was amazing, better than I had anticipated.  There is something more about listening to someone, in person, who knows the theorist as a person.  We felt more about Freire, not just understanding him as a critical pedagogue, but as a human, as a person.  And we were doing something new, that felt exciting - the trip over, the change in environment, the opportunity to talk with each other.  There was so much to this that was, well....perfect!  I am interested in that balance between the cognitive and the affective domain.  That is, between what we understand as knowing/ learning and then how we feel about that knowing/ understanding.  Both activities - either at home or in the trip - gave opportunity for the two to co-exist.  I thought the trip had the edge because it was communal, it made a significant difference to us all.  I have loads and loads of footage, we will make a film, share the talk and let others in to the day itself.  Looking forward to the rest of the module, especially the Liverpool and museum trips.  What is it about 'being outside the familiar' that makes things feel so much better?

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This was an interesting session, albeit one that was disappointing with only 50% attendance.  Partly that is embedded in how I have been led to see things, in terms of numbers and registers.  The truth is, we had a great session because we had opportunity to discus the issues in depth.  
The focus was on McIntosh's nvisible knapsack, it was typical in that  our group could automatically see the differences based on ethnicity.  So why is it invisible?  Why is it so hard to see the water, as the sociologist said on one of the videos?  
I was affected by people talking about the abuse they suffer in public, about how normalized that has become.  But then it is that we must consider when we define who it is we will be educating/ engaging with/ discussing with/ co-creating.  How do we maintain open spaces that allow each of us to have our world views included? 
Ultimately, 'othering' becomes a significant part of the way we create our worlds.  We define ourselves by the way we see our immediate conditions.  If they become shaped by media that creates monsters, terrorists, enemies - how can we begin education that is supposedly neutral, treating us all equally?  
I hope to see some of this evolve in our presentations, it requires honesty and commitment, will not being here mean only half can contribute - there I go again, shaped by my own (or my organizational self) responsibilities.  The sense of othering I think echoes back how we have teacher-student binaries, the ways education shapes a world that we seem not to like or agree with, but continually 
perpetuate.  

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This was an interesting session, albeit one that was disappointing with only 50% attendance.  Partly that is embedded in how I have been led to see things, in terms of numbers and registers.  The truth is, we had a great session because we had opportunity to discus the issues in depth.  
The focus was on McIntosh's nvisible knapsack, it was typical in that  our group could automatically see the differences based on ethnicity.  So why is it invisible?  Why is it so hard to see the water, as the sociologist said on one of the videos?  
I was affected by people talking about the abuse they suffer in public, about how normalized that has become.  But then it is that we must consider when we define who it is we will be educating/ engaging with/ discussing with/ co-creating.  How do we maintain open spaces that allow each of us to have our world views included? 
Ultimately, 'othering' becomes a significant part of the way we create our worlds.  We define ourselves by the way we see our immediate conditions.  If they become shaped by media that creates monsters, terrorists, enemies - how can we begin education that is supposedly neutral, treating us all equally?  
I hope to see some of this evolve in our presentations, it requires honesty and commitment, will not being here mean only half can contribute - there I go again, shaped by my own (or my organizational self) responsibilities.  The sense of othering I think echoes back how we have teacher-student binaries, the ways education shapes a world that we seem not to like or agree with, but continually 
perpetuate.  

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Reflection from today's session on White Privilege

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Reflection from today's session on White Privilege

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Had a brilliant day today 'drifting' around Liverpool. We had the opportunity to learn new things outside of the classroom. David's talk taught us about the rise of Liverpool's economy and how life was before then. I personally enjoyed the John Lennon exhibition and the pancakes we had afterwards!!
Thanks for arranging a brilliant day Peter!