Critical/Cultural Perspectives in Education
My learning in Critical/Cultural Perspectives in Education felt in some ways like opening Pandora’s box – if we can reimagine the box as a chaotic good instead of chaotic evil. The chaos came from opening myself up to critiquing in a curious way.
Pandora's Other Box: Critique
I illustrated my “Pandora’s Other Box” with bubbles because some of the ideas still feel fragile to me (although not in danger of popping) and I love the imagery of bubbles rising. Good ideas should rise and be seen/heard. The box could also be labeled “Critique.” The bubbles come from several arenas of this course. For example, “race” and “feminism” are two of the types of critiques we examined this semester. Other bubbles, such as “together” and “listen” came from my need to practice being a good collaborator.
The bubbles are: Who?; Together; Ask; Responsibility; Race; Inclusion; Care; Feminism; Accessibility; Reflect; Tell; Listen; and Equity. These represent the main themes and practices I reflect on the most from this course. Part of being a good advocate is noticing and asking, collaborating, and telling/sharing. One of the bubbles I could have put in a hundred times and not felt guilty is "responsibility." As future leaders, educators, or really any person who wants to have a guiding hand in a child's life or community, responsibility is so important. We have a responsibility to critique every-day practices, not just new ones. It's our responsibility to make the world a better place for everyone else!
Something I always want to do is rethink my biases. This course helped me formalize some of the techniques (critiques) I can use to examine not only my own biases, but also others'. These are techniques I will carry forward in my work as a librarian, not only through my ongoing advocacy project (diversity audit), but also through future projects and programs that are yet unknown to me!
I'll be keeping Pandora's other box close to me going forward as a reminder of my own biases and what I can do to make things better.
