Writing as a Pre-Reading Strategy: Thinking like an Education Philosopher

-Dehumanization and schooling is the theme of the first writing project in two of my English Composition courses this semester. 

We will read chapter two from Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, where he outlines the “banking concept” and “problem-posing” modes of education. Instead of diving directly into his prose, I wanted to see how students were already engaged with Freire’s ideas, even without having read his text. 

To do this, we examined several editorial cartoons that depict the banking mode of education and a couple others that point to the possibility of another mode of education.

After discussing what we observed and interpreted, students had the opportunity to talk in pairs about what they experienced in school. How representative were the cartoons of their own experience or observation? 

Students followed up with a written challenge, completing three stems that I provided. The stems meant to help students clarify and express the kind of education they experienced, and the type they deserve, and the kind of education they believe they need to make a difference in our world. 

To keep the assignment low-stakes, I asked them to spend only two minutes per stem, inviting them to take breaks between each one. The time constraint, I hope, did two things: the short time limit seems doable, and using a timer perhaps gives them a little extra jolt to get something on paper.

This Padlet features a few of the writers’ responses. As you can see, the time limit didn’t seem to curtail these writers. Indeed, they wrote kernel essays, ideas that could stand alone as well as serve as seeds for a more fleshed out composition. And despite sharing the same structure, their individual voices rang true.

And for those of you who are familiar with Freire, I bet you can detect where these thinkers are already engaging with his theories - even before they tackle his text. Writers mined personal experience and analyzed a few editorial cartoons and already thinking like an educational philosopher.  Imagine how much richer their ideas will be as we dive into the theory! 

Our next step? Getting writers to add clarity to their stories  - details, examples, explanation, quotes. This addition will hopefully help writers “thicken” and elaborate on their ideas, making their essays particular - and “juicier” for their reading audience.