My Philosophy of Teaching and Learning

Knowledge is the very first idea that relates to teaching and learning, or better said, how
we make sense of the information that surrounds us - how can I use it? what for? how do
we know what we know? where does it come from? (Beyer & Apple, 1998) can I blindly
trust the information school delivers? After all, from what I have experienced as an
educator and a student, education has been reduced to the act of consuming and
accumulating knowledge with the exceptions of schooling programs that give emphasis on
implementing a democratic environment. Despite my feeling uncomfortable, I used to take
my 'epistemological beliefs' for granted and as a matter of fact, a reality instead of social
constructed assumption (Sleeter, 2005). This is a result of the covert concepts we are
indoctrinated into the structural domination of society (Cammarota & Fine, 2008). It is
easy to afford prestige to my bodies of knowledge, in which keep me in my comfort zone,
than to provoke, firstly within myself, a necessary discomfort in order to perceive that the
truth emerges from different contexts. Like me (while exercising my teaching), students
sense hierarchies and community allegiance, but lack the ability to critically inquire them,
and so vocalize the underprivileged position they occupy. The dissatisfaction needs to be
turned into a living curriculum in which all members of a community radically participate
of its construction.
Smith & Max-Neef (2011) discuss on the distinction between knowing and understanding,
and how we (humanity) decide on following the knowledge that is distributed in a
fragmented manner, disconnected to reality and even taken as absolute truth. According to
Smith & Max-Neef, throughout history, knowledge has been defined as the detachment of
reality, more contemplative than practical. Understanding, on the other hand, has to do
with integrations, that is, one is only capable to understand a phenomenon when she or he
experiments it in its totality. In Sleeter (2005), Bartolome & Tureba (2000) call for the
development of 'ideological clarity', that is the understanding through critical inquiry on
the way society not only creates the hierarchical structures, but also how one explains the
construction of these structures, and how one contributes to perpetuate inequalities (p.29).
Thus, I perceive understanding as lived experiences and a process of seeking for awareness.
It is based on this premise of integrating knowledge and understanding that I ground my
philosophy of teaching and learning. In addition, I add these both categories to a third
fundamental one, which is action.
Thus, reflecting on how these ideas would work in practice, Giroux (2011) illustrates how
he creates spaces for students to experiment reality through the interrogation of the
materials that serve them as sources of knowledge, opposing the culture of silence and
conformity. It is a beginning for nurturing students' agency. Therefore, my pedagogy
attempts to encourage students to formulate and test hypotheses, look for solutions and
build curriculum collaboratively. I am already expecting resistance to this approach, for it
is a way to disrupt the old and a bridge to the unknown new. Despite the bitter
experiences on collaborative work during this semester, I still have faith in people,

including myself, and the possibility of transforming ourselves even when this
transformation is not linear and asynchronous.
Another instance that I attempt to integrate in my practice is to discuss the concept of
authority and the preservation of my students integrity as well as mine as part of the
group. As an educator, I need to be constantly vigilant concerning this relationship. I do
not want to be authoritarian, but with the authority to remind students of the boundaries
necessary to live peacefully in a democratic community - because it is in this space that
students must have the chance without being censured to discuss not only about public
issues but also about their social responsibilities (Freire, 1998). Transparency is the best
way to go, even if it is painful at the moment. But how can one evolve if the teacher and
students are not open on their commitment with the work initially proposed?
Students will realize that discussions can generate conflicts due to differences in thinking or
acting, but they will also realize that without conflicts we are passively submitting to reality
as it is given. A pedagogy that encourages conscientization demands self-confidence and
the conviction that we are part of society and responsible for it.
Another aspect that should be part of the teaching-learning process lies also in the posture
of the teacher - "the consistency between words and actions" (Freire, 1998, p. 176).
Teachers are examples for their students not only due to their expertise in the subject
matter but also in making their words valid through their actions, as based on values of
honesty and truth. In so doing, teachers need to seek their own truth and honestly face of
their ideals, emotions, opinions, and actions. Furthermore, Freire also warns that it does
not matter if teachers are progressive in speech if they do not live by their own words.
Believing in education as a practice that can constantly change the practitioner and the
students, teachers should be able to encourage their students to think with them, as
questions and answers are collective productions. Teachers cannot impose their opinions,
even though it cannot be omitted as well, otherwise they will be contradicting the quality I
just pointed out. Thus, teachers need to have the ability to engage students in dialogical
sessions in which students can reflect on themselves and as historical beings in a given
society but not a static one, for as active thinkers they are responsible for transforming
reality while remaining faithful to a humanizing perspective (Freire, 1998; Freire &
Macedo, 1987). Therefore, good rapport between teachers-students, students-teachers and
students-students is essential.
The art of listening is another important disposition for a teacher. Listening to their
students and respect who they are, where they come from, and the knowledge they bring
with them to the classroom (Gonzalez, Moll & Amanti, 2005). This means that teachers
need to create a participatory classroom in which realities are de-constructed collectively in
order for responses emerge towards transformation. As active subjects, students learn to
observe and reflect on their own participation in class, with their peers and teachers. This
practice leads to a lively environment that gives students the desire to go to school because
there they are valued with reachable goals traced and about to be implemented.

A good practice demands from the teacher dedication and as Freire (2005) argues,
"intellectual rigor and the stimulation of epistemological curiosity" (p.6). These two
concepts are interconnected since the former deals with the reflexivity students and
teachers must put into the act of studying. It is not by touching the object of studies
superficially that students will reach the essence of the conditions they are immersed in. It
is sometimes necessary to change paradigms in order to try new pedagogical tools and
adapt teaching methods. Moreover, new perspectives about the content being taught should
also be considered, for the world is in movement and knowledge is not static. It is a truism
that not all schools adopt the latest innovations, but teachers cannot stop learning about the
world and should think of ways to navigate in a precarious system by not omitting the socalled changes to students.
A curriculum that is build with the students should be part of a democratic school. Clear
aims will cover the necessary topics, content, instructional practice, and materials
available. Yet, being rigidly attached to that curriculum, without constantly discusses it,
can also deviate students from the creative momentum of the classroom. Dewey (1910)
discusses how challenging it is for the teacher to be good human readers/ observers and
listeners. It is necessary to adjust to the mutable participants' needs and observe
participants' ways of perceiving the phenomena. Dewey adds the importance of the teacher
to contextualize these needs and reflect on possible directions they may take. The
conditions are present in everything, including the socio-cultural contact which impacts the
cognitive skills. These conditions certainly influence teacher and students' behavior,
thoughts, desires and needs, what should make all of us,the participants, alert.

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