Tag: Teaching

Oh hey, I wrote a book!

For this week’s post, I am going to share a bit about my first book, out just this year from Myers Press. I’m really excited to have this first publication out! The book is Transformative Critical-Learning: Theory and Practice for Engaging Community College and University Learners in Building an Activist Mindset.

The audience for this book is higher education faculty in any field of study who are interested in engaging with critical service-learning in their classrooms. Other people who might be interested are K-12 teachers, higher education administrators, and community members interested in partnering with colleges and universities on projects. Although the book includes some theoretical background, it’s largely practical; my co-author, Heather Coffey, and I share stories from our own experiences as service-learning faculty. We also have sample assignments, journal prompts, and suggestions for planning courses focused on critical service-learning.

the writer smirking with her book
Me chilling with my book, as one does.

To give you a bit more information on the book and help you decide if you are interested in learning more, service-learning is really just any community engagement activities that are a part of a course. For example, teacher education includes lots of service-learning when our students mentor students, tutor in afterschool programs, and complete practicums. Other fields, like social work and nursing often include service-learning components as well.

Critical service-learning adds another component; critical projects are not just focused on the experience of students or offering charity to community organizations or individuals. Instead, critical service-learning focuses on developing authentic relationships with community partners with the goal of social change. Our book offers ways to think about including critical service-learning projects in college courses and the particular opportunities and challenges offered by this work. We include lots of practical examples and prompts as well!

So now, Heather and I have moved on to a new book project with our co-author Meghan Barnes. We are continuing to explore what social justice teaching looks like, this time with a focus on English/Language Arts classes in secondary education and teacher education. I’ll post more information about that project soon. Now that I have one academic book project under my belt, this new one definitely seems less daunting.

Also, Heather and I are happy to attend discussions with faculty and participate in faculty development activities! Let me know if you are interested. I’m happy to answer any questions about the book!

Posted on by Lucy Arnold 0

Toward a curriculum of consent

The legendary Dr. Heather Coffey pointed out to a group of NWP teachers that there is something problematic about “allowing” our students to do something (when we design our objectives or class procedures). I want to allow students to express their thoughts. This definitely establishes the teacher as the institutional authority who allows or disallows behaviors.

I would contend that, instead of using a different word, we really need to think about what we are allowing and not allowing in our classrooms. We can say that we are “encouraging,” but if we are grading and assessing certain kinds of work and behaviors, then we are actually still allowing.

We can teach content that is appropriate to our curriculum. We can teach diverse authors that represent people of all races, ethnicities, genders. We can teach social justice.

If our teaching itself does not inhabit representation and social justice, then our content is meaningless. If our teaching continues to be authoritarian, directive, and competitive, those values are being inculcated more effectively than the surface values of diversity or inclusion.

Bear with me for a quick detour. The thing that has frustrated me the most as the parent of a middle school boy is the abstinence-only sex education he has received. That the school refuses to teach basic birth control and disease prevention is one thing. That the concept of consent is not taught is a significant problem. The more I considered this problem, the more I came to realize that there is no consent throughout K-12 curriculum. In fact, K-12 schooling is founded on utter lack of consent of children; K-12 education is compulsive.

What would a curriculum look like if it were founded on principles of consent? What would our classroom contracts and permission forms look like if students could actually say no? silence_does_not_equal_consent

Posted on by Lucy Arnold 1