Hey Everyone,
Reading through this piece I noticed a lot of similarities in thought between Peter McLaren and Paolo Freire. They are both looking for the freedom from oppression within the educational setting, or at least trying to examine the implications and circumstances that preclude the oppression.
He says that people can both be the oppressed and the oppressor without even knowing it. I found that interesting because we are constantly barraged with circumstances in which we (as teachers) seem to have little control over, but in reality we are the ones who can set the stage for the student learning.
We then come to EWU and are seated in our desks and "filled up" most of the time with knowledge from our professors. It is very rare that a professor actually attempts to engage us as students to try and create understanding of material. As McLaren writes, "the dominant culture tries to 'fix' the meanings of signs, symbols and representations to create a 'common' worldview". We are just as much a part of the dominant culture in our classrooms as politicians are to the populace.
The hegemonic structures are in place and not questioned because those in with authority keep things from those who concede the power. While there is some logic to this argument, the debate is whether or not it is right. McLaren and Freire both seem to think it is right to let the populace know how the sausage is made. I believe that it may be counter-productive to have so many captains trying to steer a ship. There is a hierarchical form to our lives because we need to trust the people around us to do what is best for the entire population.
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