I am struggling to write my thesis. Here is how I started Chapter 3, at 9:32pm in my work cubicle on a friday night. fuck.I don’t want to write this because it is intuitive, when I program, I go by my gut feeling. I look at what resources I have, who is interested, and I forecast the experience in my head, I imagine it, I picture what they would be doing, the questions they would ask, and I try, I try not to be jaded and assume they won’t care, or will be completely uninterested. And if that happens, I go with it, and I ask them what it is they want to do. I am nothing, nothing but someone who makes charts and templates and arranges a time for them to eat and pee. That is it, that is a curriculum plan, the content takes shape on its own, with the kids of course, and their thoughts, that is my method, I let them lead. So I guess that is participatory action research and here I am back to square one. I want to go home.
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ReplyDeletejoy, you are so right. this is the core of education and every good teacher knows it. academics fill paper with words so they can make money, publishers sell it, and students pay for it to support universities. the educational system as we know it built on supporting capitalism and churning out good workers. true learning happens under trees, at the bus stop, and with every dumpling we eat.
ReplyDeleteYOU are right. do not listen to the herero-normative-white-male-privileged-imperialists! education is an act of revolution! make this thesis your own. trust me, i filled over 70 pages with words and they are sitting on a library shelf collecting dust. the time i spent courageously doing the work of teaching - connecting, empowering - young people is worth more than anything i will ever write.
irina, thank you. I needed this!!!
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