Critical Pedagogy in an Urban High School English Classroom

           I really enjoyed reading this article. I love how all the scholars incorporated current and relevant issues. The skills that the scholars taught are critical to the success of every student’s future, but just telling them that isn’t enough to make them want to learn. The skills can seem boring or unimportant, and sometimes I wonder how I will teach my students in a way that will interest and engage them. I vividly remember poetry units where we connected song lyrics to poems. They were some of my favorite English classes. I definitely plan on doing that during a poetry unit, but I really like the way they used a more recent movie to help frame a classic text. I’ve often wondered how I could make my students actually want to read classic novels. I think this is a smart way to connect all the eras since issues today are quite similar to issues a hundred plus years ago. I like how they were able to inspire their students to think so critically in every unit by making past to present connections. The scholars truly inspired their students like I hope to one day.

            The only concern I have with this is that it’s definitely designed for high school students. The connections that have to be made are difficult to comprehend and execute properly. The scholars even admit that they have to wait until near the end of the school year before attempting to teach some of their units because otherwise the students wouldn’t handle it properly. I know I definitely couldn’t use something so controversial with my seventh graders. I almost feel like the motivation to engage their students was to use sensitive materials. I wonder if they could get the same engagement out of watching Bride and Prejudice before reading a classic novel like Pride and Prejudice. I love their approach to teaching. My philosophy very much aligns with theirs, but I’d like to know how they motivate their students to want to read other genres of classic novels.