Annotated question #2 for Module 3... What is required of me to be a leader? ... Enjoy!
I've been pondering all of the things we have learned, the stories that have been told, and where we are as leaders. Where do we see ourselves on the scale of effectiveness?
This last week a lot of my thoughts have centered around religion and Jesus Christ as I prepared and taught a lesson on obedience. There was a talk called "The Perfect Executive" by LDS Presidnet Spencer W. Kimball. He said:
"Jesus was a patient, pleading, loving leader who didn't grow impatient with those he lead.
"And when Peter drew his sword and smote the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear, Jesus said, "Put of thy sword inthe the sheath" (John 18:11). Without anger or being perturbed, the incident passed.
"You will recall his saying several times, "Come follow me." HIs was a program of "Do what I do", rather than "Do what I say." HIs innate brilliance would have permitted him to put on a dazzling display, but that would have left his followers far behind. He walked and worked with those he was to serve. His was not a long-distance leadership. He was not afraid of close friends or that proximity to him would disappoint his followers. The leaven of true leadership cannot lift others until we are with and serve those to be led.
"Jesus kept himself virtuous and thus, when his closeness to the people permitted them to touch the hem of his garment, virtue could flow from him. The woman in the large press of people touched his garment: "For she said, if I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole... And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?" (Mark 5: 8, 30).
"We are not perfect as Jesus was, but unless those about us can see us striving and improving, they will not be able to look to us for example and they will see us as less than fully serious about the things to be done."
This takes me back to my earlier thought about Mother Teresa, to Norma Rae, to Sir Thomas, and to many of the accounts we have read in our texts. They were leaders from the field; they were not afraid of proximity to those around them; in a sense, virtue flowed from them and radiated to those around them.
Do we worry sometimes about putting on a "dazzeling display" to impress those around us, thus losing our followers along the way? Do we push people away because we are afraid they will become competition? Are we striving to improve each day, thus inspiring those around us to do the same?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Where Have All The Leaders Gone?
Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book, 'Where Have All The Leaders Gone?'.
Lee Iacocca writes:
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.'
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned, 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis ! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first.)
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001 , we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand.
We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.
We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.
We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble.
Our borders are like sieves.
The middle class is being squeezed every which way.
These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on CNN will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I believe in America . In my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a "Call to Action" for people who, like me, believe in America '. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let' s shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had&nb! sp; 'enough.'
Lee Iacocca writes:
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.'
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned, 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis ! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first.)
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001 , we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand.
We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.
We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.
We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble.
Our borders are like sieves.
The middle class is being squeezed every which way.
These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on CNN will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I believe in America . In my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a "Call to Action" for people who, like me, believe in America '. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let' s shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had&nb! sp; 'enough.'
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Self-introspection: A look at a personal dysfunctional experience
Brandy A. Lee
ORGL 500 Organizational Leadership & Development
Dr. “Buck” Rogers
June 6, 2009
I have spent some time contemplating about what I would write regarding Organizational Health and Dysfunction. One day I even posted on my facebook that I needed to write this paper and promptly received to “comments” with suggestions and some reminders about what I had done in the past as a manager. Honestly I was a little embarrassed about what I had done and it was something I had completely forgotten about. So, while I was going to write about how dysfunctional the organizations were, I have instead taken a look inside of me as a manager and leader. It has been quite insightful for me and I believe more people need to step back and take a personal evaluation.
In my working life I have almost always held some kind of managerial position or a leadership role. I have also experienced what Yukl calls a “widespread fascination with leadership… because it is such a mysterious process, as well as one that touches everyone’s life” (1). Frankly I have always looked at leadership in the terms of power, authority, management, administration, control, and supervision (2). Because of this view, many times I have exercised what Yukl calls an “unethical use of power” (4).
One of the responses to my status update on facebook said:
Brady A: “Your experience about dysfunction can be about your involvement with me in student government.... remeber that time you let me have it?”
Brandy A. Lee: “Brady, did I really let you have it once? I'm so sorry :/ Forgive me?
It is interesting that a lot of opinion leaders in Organizational Leadership say that dysfunction in leaders normally comes from personal issues. I believe this to be true to a degree. In college were are seeking to establish our place (to a degree in this world) and become ... oppressors of the liberation we seek.”
Brady A: “I deserved it. It was when I didn't go the the Ogden City Council declaring something officially weber state (official homecoming week or something).... anyways I was the external relations director and I was supposed to be the liason with local gov and I opted to do homework instead of attend. Well you ever so kindly informed me of my job duties ... and if I couldn't hack it I shouldn't have applied for the position. It was one of those times I wanted so badly to fight back but I had nothing....you were right and I was wrong! No need to forgive - I was in the wrong and you corrected me. For real, the world needs people who aren't afraid to stand up! Job well done!”
Stacy Olsen Parker: “Brandy is amazing...she let me have it once too, but I won't ever accept an apology from her. She was right--I was wrong and it really taught me something. Glad I'm not the only one she made an impression on! :D”
At the first response I was mortified! I let someone have it? This was three years ago when I worked with him. There is so much I have learned about leadership and management since, and I realized I had become the oppressor Frier talked about. During my time of seeking liberation through a college education and involvement, I was oppressing those around me. Was I right most often? Yes. Was it the best way to go about being a leader? No.
In the Mentor Gallery Raymond Reyes talks about how leadership is “learning how to love… and once you learn how to love, and it’s a process… that we are then called into service and do something with that love.” Looking back on myself as a leader I had not yet learned how to love, and I am still working on it. So often leaders are looking to be validated for what they are doing and I was one of them. I was right, but I did not approach the challenge with compassion but went guns blazing into the people who stood in the way of my perceived success.
Another Mentor Gallery guest stated:
“A lot of people are more selfish than others. So, it’s up to the leaders of the organization to promote collective interest. You rarely have to promote self-interest. People have a natural resonance with their self-interest. So, leadership has to remind and model what collective interest is, and how collective interest and self-interest are not in competition but can be collaborative in terms of a rising tide lifts all boats.”
I was the selfish leader who hadn’t learned how to promote collective interests. Yukl states, “Leaders inspire followers to willingly sacrifice their selfish interests for a higher cause” (5). When I read this quote, I understood what I hadn’t before realized. Leaders inspire people to give up themselves for the good of those around them. Effective leaders are born when they learn to love and then step into service.
Yukl classifies the Four Primary Processes in Managing as: (1) developing and maintaining relationships, (2) obtaining and providing information, (3) making decisions, and (4) influencing people. “These processes are interwoven among a manager’s activities, and any specific activity may involve more than one process” (45). These four items all need a certain degree of love, service, and sacrifice. They also require time management, delegation, and planning. The following figure shows how all these activities overlap and create a necessity for self-management:
Figure 1-1 Four Primary Processes in Managing
Perhaps self-management and delegation is where my greatest dysfunction as a leader/manager was, and perhaps still is. Delegation is perhaps one of my biggest weaknesses. I recognized that I fail to delegate because I know that if I do it, it will be done the way I want and in my timeframe. If I handed a task over to someone else, there was a potential for perceived leadership failure on my part if it was not completed. The selfish, needy person inside of me was wanton for recognition.
I failed to recognize the benefits of being a true leader and of delegation. Yukl states, “One potential advantage of delegation, like other forms of participation and power sharing, is the improvement of decision quality… Another potential advantage of delegation is greater subordinate commitment to implement decisions effectively” (105). Buy-in on a project and decisions becomes key to effective team work.
In a study done by Yukl & Fu (1999) 97% of managers said delegation was important because it helped develop subordinate skill and confidence. Another 89% said it helped to increase subordinate commitment to a task. If the show is about “me” then others will wonder why they are even involved. However, if the how is about “us” we can all rejoice together at the end of a project well done and the tide of success lifts all the boats in the harbor.
Reyes stated, “It is in this thing we call life that we reveal our dysfunction.” What I have written is only a brief insight on what I feel to be my own personal dysfunctions. I have worked in many organizations that have struggles and I believe that each of them bring out something new for us to work on as leaders and managers. Yukl states, “Acts of leadership often have multiple motives, and it is seldom possible to determine the extent to which they are selfless rather than selfish. The outcomes of leader actions usually include a mix of costs and benefits, some of which are unintended, making if difficult to infer purpose” (5).
My intention was never to rake a person over the coals and have it be the experience they remember me for four years later. But as Yukle stated, there are costs and benefits. This self-evaluation has helped me identify places where I need further improvements so as to be a more effective leader in the things I am doing now, and in my future opportunities that will shortly be before me. It has also helped me identify ways I can better work with other leaders around me.
REFERENCES
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc.
Online conversation. (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2009, from facebook: http://www.facebook.com.
Yukl, G. (2001). Leadership in organizations. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall.
ORGL 500 Organizational Leadership & Development
Dr. “Buck” Rogers
June 6, 2009
I have spent some time contemplating about what I would write regarding Organizational Health and Dysfunction. One day I even posted on my facebook that I needed to write this paper and promptly received to “comments” with suggestions and some reminders about what I had done in the past as a manager. Honestly I was a little embarrassed about what I had done and it was something I had completely forgotten about. So, while I was going to write about how dysfunctional the organizations were, I have instead taken a look inside of me as a manager and leader. It has been quite insightful for me and I believe more people need to step back and take a personal evaluation.
In my working life I have almost always held some kind of managerial position or a leadership role. I have also experienced what Yukl calls a “widespread fascination with leadership… because it is such a mysterious process, as well as one that touches everyone’s life” (1). Frankly I have always looked at leadership in the terms of power, authority, management, administration, control, and supervision (2). Because of this view, many times I have exercised what Yukl calls an “unethical use of power” (4).
One of the responses to my status update on facebook said:
Brady A: “Your experience about dysfunction can be about your involvement with me in student government.... remeber that time you let me have it?”
Brandy A. Lee: “Brady, did I really let you have it once? I'm so sorry :/ Forgive me?
It is interesting that a lot of opinion leaders in Organizational Leadership say that dysfunction in leaders normally comes from personal issues. I believe this to be true to a degree. In college were are seeking to establish our place (to a degree in this world) and become ... oppressors of the liberation we seek.”
Brady A: “I deserved it. It was when I didn't go the the Ogden City Council declaring something officially weber state (official homecoming week or something).... anyways I was the external relations director and I was supposed to be the liason with local gov and I opted to do homework instead of attend. Well you ever so kindly informed me of my job duties ... and if I couldn't hack it I shouldn't have applied for the position. It was one of those times I wanted so badly to fight back but I had nothing....you were right and I was wrong! No need to forgive - I was in the wrong and you corrected me. For real, the world needs people who aren't afraid to stand up! Job well done!”
Stacy Olsen Parker: “Brandy is amazing...she let me have it once too, but I won't ever accept an apology from her. She was right--I was wrong and it really taught me something. Glad I'm not the only one she made an impression on! :D”
At the first response I was mortified! I let someone have it? This was three years ago when I worked with him. There is so much I have learned about leadership and management since, and I realized I had become the oppressor Frier talked about. During my time of seeking liberation through a college education and involvement, I was oppressing those around me. Was I right most often? Yes. Was it the best way to go about being a leader? No.
In the Mentor Gallery Raymond Reyes talks about how leadership is “learning how to love… and once you learn how to love, and it’s a process… that we are then called into service and do something with that love.” Looking back on myself as a leader I had not yet learned how to love, and I am still working on it. So often leaders are looking to be validated for what they are doing and I was one of them. I was right, but I did not approach the challenge with compassion but went guns blazing into the people who stood in the way of my perceived success.
Another Mentor Gallery guest stated:
“A lot of people are more selfish than others. So, it’s up to the leaders of the organization to promote collective interest. You rarely have to promote self-interest. People have a natural resonance with their self-interest. So, leadership has to remind and model what collective interest is, and how collective interest and self-interest are not in competition but can be collaborative in terms of a rising tide lifts all boats.”
I was the selfish leader who hadn’t learned how to promote collective interests. Yukl states, “Leaders inspire followers to willingly sacrifice their selfish interests for a higher cause” (5). When I read this quote, I understood what I hadn’t before realized. Leaders inspire people to give up themselves for the good of those around them. Effective leaders are born when they learn to love and then step into service.
Yukl classifies the Four Primary Processes in Managing as: (1) developing and maintaining relationships, (2) obtaining and providing information, (3) making decisions, and (4) influencing people. “These processes are interwoven among a manager’s activities, and any specific activity may involve more than one process” (45). These four items all need a certain degree of love, service, and sacrifice. They also require time management, delegation, and planning. The following figure shows how all these activities overlap and create a necessity for self-management:
Figure 1-1 Four Primary Processes in Managing
Perhaps self-management and delegation is where my greatest dysfunction as a leader/manager was, and perhaps still is. Delegation is perhaps one of my biggest weaknesses. I recognized that I fail to delegate because I know that if I do it, it will be done the way I want and in my timeframe. If I handed a task over to someone else, there was a potential for perceived leadership failure on my part if it was not completed. The selfish, needy person inside of me was wanton for recognition.
I failed to recognize the benefits of being a true leader and of delegation. Yukl states, “One potential advantage of delegation, like other forms of participation and power sharing, is the improvement of decision quality… Another potential advantage of delegation is greater subordinate commitment to implement decisions effectively” (105). Buy-in on a project and decisions becomes key to effective team work.
In a study done by Yukl & Fu (1999) 97% of managers said delegation was important because it helped develop subordinate skill and confidence. Another 89% said it helped to increase subordinate commitment to a task. If the show is about “me” then others will wonder why they are even involved. However, if the how is about “us” we can all rejoice together at the end of a project well done and the tide of success lifts all the boats in the harbor.
Reyes stated, “It is in this thing we call life that we reveal our dysfunction.” What I have written is only a brief insight on what I feel to be my own personal dysfunctions. I have worked in many organizations that have struggles and I believe that each of them bring out something new for us to work on as leaders and managers. Yukl states, “Acts of leadership often have multiple motives, and it is seldom possible to determine the extent to which they are selfless rather than selfish. The outcomes of leader actions usually include a mix of costs and benefits, some of which are unintended, making if difficult to infer purpose” (5).
My intention was never to rake a person over the coals and have it be the experience they remember me for four years later. But as Yukle stated, there are costs and benefits. This self-evaluation has helped me identify places where I need further improvements so as to be a more effective leader in the things I am doing now, and in my future opportunities that will shortly be before me. It has also helped me identify ways I can better work with other leaders around me.
REFERENCES
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc.
Online conversation. (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2009, from facebook: http://www.facebook.com.
Yukl, G. (2001). Leadership in organizations. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
ORGL 500
These are some annotated questions from Module 1. I would be interested to know what your thoughts are...
In response to your question, I didn't find anyone who really inspired me until I was in college. It was my second semester and I had a photography teacher who had such passion and she encouraged all of us to find that same passion through art. Because of what I found out about myself in her class, I changed my whole plans for college. I went from Pre-Vet to Art/Comm.
Thinking back to my high school days I recall a lot of "banking." But given my path at the time, it was seemingly necessary. The medical field has a lot of memorization involved. The one art teacher I had in high school told me I would never go anywhere with art. But as I evolved, art was an area where I could create and draw my own lines. I was the master of my creation, not being mastered by someone else's creation.
In a sense I was seeking this liberation Freire talks about. "Little by little... they (students) tend to try out rebelious forms of action. In working towards liberation, one must neither lose sight of this passivity or nor overlook the moment of awakening" (64). We must believe in ourselves, in our students, so as not to overlook to moment of awakening and lose something great that otherwise could have been ours and theirs.
Reading Pedagogy of the Oppressed, I constantly caught myself imagining Freire's concepts and examples in the context of adult education, rather than, say, elementary school or middle school. Maybe it was because I was aware that Freire was jailed by the junta in Brazil for teaching adults (his early students were sugarcane workers). Still, the educational theories that he advances seem more applicable to the political organizing that would occur in an adult education setting than to a typical elementary school class where students might be learning basics such as the alphabet or their multiplication tables.
Are the revolutionary theories advanced by Freire in Pegagogy of the Oppressed relevant to elementary school education or only to older students and adults?
My response:
I know I am jumping in a little late due to some health problems... But I have been thinking about what you wrote. Just today I read an article in the New York Times talking about these very concepts (http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/06/01/us/0602EDUC_index.html?WT.mc_id=fb_nyt223&WT.mc_ev=click).
I taught high school Spanish for the last 8 weeks of school and I saw a lot of oppressed vs. oppressor come through my doors in the faces of my students. To many of my Latin students I was just some gringa in there to teach Spanish. My last assignment was to watch the movie Rudy and they had to write a short essay on dreams.
Many of my students will be the first to graduate high school (even some white students) and many will be the first to go to college. Freire said something that caught my eye toward the end of Ch. 1, "It is only when the oppressed find the oppressor out and become involved in the organized struggle for their liberation that they begin to believe in themselves. This discovery cannot be purely intellectual but must involve action; nor can it be limited to mere activism, but must include serious reflection: only then will it be a praxis" (65).
As an educator I believe that the sooner students find out what their "oppressor" is, the more successful they will be later on down the road. Too often education is looked at backwards as far as problem solving. We don't believe they are mature enough for certain things, so we hold off until college (which most students never make it too...). Students now days are exposed to way more than we ever were at their age and as a result are being forced to mature, if you will, quicker. They aren't looking for someone to come up behind them and whisper truth in their ear. They want it straight up like it is with no sugar coating.
Freire states that "if men and women are searchers and their ontological vocation is humanization, sooner or later they may perceive the contradiction in which banking education seeks to maintain them, and then engage themselves in the struggle for their liberation (p.75)."
This makes me think about all of the high school students I have encountered who are completely lost after graduating from high school and then drop-out of college after one year or less. Is it because they received a banking education in high school that lacked dialogue and guidance? Did they encounter this same banking education at the college level and become even more disenchanted and were seeking liberation elsewhere? Do any of you after reading Freire credit a teacher for being a humanist revolutionary leader who helped you achieve your goals or opened your mind to new possibilities?
My response:In response to your question, I didn't find anyone who really inspired me until I was in college. It was my second semester and I had a photography teacher who had such passion and she encouraged all of us to find that same passion through art. Because of what I found out about myself in her class, I changed my whole plans for college. I went from Pre-Vet to Art/Comm.
Thinking back to my high school days I recall a lot of "banking." But given my path at the time, it was seemingly necessary. The medical field has a lot of memorization involved. The one art teacher I had in high school told me I would never go anywhere with art. But as I evolved, art was an area where I could create and draw my own lines. I was the master of my creation, not being mastered by someone else's creation.
In a sense I was seeking this liberation Freire talks about. "Little by little... they (students) tend to try out rebelious forms of action. In working towards liberation, one must neither lose sight of this passivity or nor overlook the moment of awakening" (64). We must believe in ourselves, in our students, so as not to overlook to moment of awakening and lose something great that otherwise could have been ours and theirs.
Reading Pedagogy of the Oppressed, I constantly caught myself imagining Freire's concepts and examples in the context of adult education, rather than, say, elementary school or middle school. Maybe it was because I was aware that Freire was jailed by the junta in Brazil for teaching adults (his early students were sugarcane workers). Still, the educational theories that he advances seem more applicable to the political organizing that would occur in an adult education setting than to a typical elementary school class where students might be learning basics such as the alphabet or their multiplication tables.
Are the revolutionary theories advanced by Freire in Pegagogy of the Oppressed relevant to elementary school education or only to older students and adults?
My response:
I know I am jumping in a little late due to some health problems... But I have been thinking about what you wrote. Just today I read an article in the New York Times talking about these very concepts (http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/06/01/us/0602EDUC_index.html?WT.mc_id=fb_nyt223&WT.mc_ev=click).
I taught high school Spanish for the last 8 weeks of school and I saw a lot of oppressed vs. oppressor come through my doors in the faces of my students. To many of my Latin students I was just some gringa in there to teach Spanish. My last assignment was to watch the movie Rudy and they had to write a short essay on dreams.
Many of my students will be the first to graduate high school (even some white students) and many will be the first to go to college. Freire said something that caught my eye toward the end of Ch. 1, "It is only when the oppressed find the oppressor out and become involved in the organized struggle for their liberation that they begin to believe in themselves. This discovery cannot be purely intellectual but must involve action; nor can it be limited to mere activism, but must include serious reflection: only then will it be a praxis" (65).
As an educator I believe that the sooner students find out what their "oppressor" is, the more successful they will be later on down the road. Too often education is looked at backwards as far as problem solving. We don't believe they are mature enough for certain things, so we hold off until college (which most students never make it too...). Students now days are exposed to way more than we ever were at their age and as a result are being forced to mature, if you will, quicker. They aren't looking for someone to come up behind them and whisper truth in their ear. They want it straight up like it is with no sugar coating.
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