During this session on ‘Love, Care & Belonging’, we discussed the various texts we had selected to read. We were randomly put into small groups and had some interesting conversations related to these texts. It really struck me, during these small group conversations, where we were given quite a bit of time for conversation, that this is something that is sorely lacking from my pedagogy. We have general lectures for everyone, then divide into random groups of minimum 15 students, which is far too many for more personalised conversations. I will definitely organise my sessions differently going forward, making sure to give my students time to really communicate with one another. Small groups would facilitate more personal conversations as well as enable students to get to know one another better.
The two texts I selected to read were: bell hook’s introduction to the book ‘All About Love’ followed by Allan Patience’s text ‘The Art of Loving in The Classroom: A Defence of Affective Pedagogy’. In the introduction to ‘All About Love’ bell hooks refers to graffiti on a construction site, which reads: “The search for love continues even in the face of great odds”. This led to a rumination on the condition of love in our contemporary society, how it has been relegated and is approached with cynicism. According to hooks we need to embrace love’s transformative powers as this is crucial for our survival. Patience’s text compares the effect of two very different forms of education on society, which he labels as ‘Utilitarian Pedagogy’ and ‘Affective Pedagogy’. The former, which is aligned with a neoliberal capitalist economy, being the more dominant mode currently. He compares and contrasts these two methods of educating. Affective pedagogy stresses the importance of what he calls ‘teacher-student relatings’, a form of ‘dramatic friendship’ associated with the notion of ‘Agape’, selfless love, where the teacher inspires the student, and vice versa. This is in direct contrast to the one sided nature of the relationship between teacher and student in the ‘Utilitarian pedagogy model. The ‘Affective Pedagogical’ model is what Paulo Freire[1] and bell hooks[2] promote in their writings about education. Both stress the teacher-student relationship as one that is mutually empowering. hooks, however, suggests that pleasure in the classroom is also an important aspect of engaged pedagogy. Patience argues that these two very different pedagogical approaches produce very different types of citizens – ‘affective pedagogy’ encouraging students to grow personally, socially and culturally, as independent thinking and questioning beings, while the utilitarian pedagogical approach gives rise to easily disciplined people, making those in power even better off. Freire and hooks both recognise the transformative nature of engaged pedagogy, which is, by its nature, affective pedagogy.
According to Patience, the increasing importance of online resources, the use of multi-media and PowerPoint, along with large classes, gives rise to a reduced ‘affective pedagogy’. PowerPoint has replaced the blackboard but is far more rigid, with lecturers often reading directly from their presentation. In discussions on the effective use of PowerPoint[3] presentations, it is suggested that lecturers should not simply read bullet point lists out to students as they could as easily read this themselves. I have noticed that when a lecturer reads what is written in a presentation I find it difficult to concentrate as I am reading it at the same time as listening to what they are saying. This makes it more difficult to understand the content. In my lectures I will pay more attention to how I use PowerPoint and will follow the advice to keep slides to a minimum only including a slide if it adds something to the lecture.
While I certainly see the value of the internet, particularly during these times, I am also aware of the dangers of relying too much on these methods. I am finding it very difficult at the moment to establish ‘dramatic friendships’ with my students. The large size of classrooms pre-lockdown similarly did not encourage ‘teacher-student relatings’. I may be finding large classes very difficult due to the fact that where I taught previously (in South Africa), my classes generally ran between 12 – 15 students, and in such small classes it is really easy to establish ‘dramatic friendships’. These ‘dramatic friendships’ were what made teaching so rewarding. What may be a solution to this, which I have learnt from being a PGCert student, is to facilitate small group tutorials so that staff and students can get to know one another better and thus create the possibility of a ‘dramatic friendship’.
It is vitally important that students feel ‘valued, respected, supported, included, and that they matter’[4] to both staff and one another, particularly so for minority and marginalised student groups. The feeling of not belonging is cited as one of the key factors in determining student progression and attainment. This necessitates compassionate pedagogy, defined as that which ‘encourages educators to foster belonging by creating conditions that acknowledge structural oppression and reduce their impact on our students’[5]. This requires decolonising the curriculum, examining the privilege, power and entitlement that accompanies whiteness and diversifying staff so that all students find role models they can identify with. As John Holmwood states: ‘The call to decolonise the university is a call to extend and enact social justice in education.’[6]. Both Freire and hooks stress the political nature of education and the recognition of the individual agency of each and every student. In the first tutorial our tutor asked us to consider how who we are determines how we teach. This, alongside Bourdieu’s notion of ‘taste’ has made me far more aware of how I am limited by my own ‘being in the world’. I can only see from where I stand. As Bourdieu points out, ‘taste classifies, and it classifies the classifier’. an educator, in order to practice a more critical pedagogy, it is vitally important that I constantly question my viewpoint on the world. Each person sees the world according to their own cultural, social, and historical place in it. As I have continued with the PGCert I realise how my pedagogical method really does replicate the power structures that have ‘constructed’ me. In addition, how I assess my students work is determined by my own cultural capital and ‘taste’. As we all know, creative work is difficult to assess objectively. Therefore I need to be more aware of what exactly I base me assessment on. In order to be more inclusive, I need to ask myself if I truly understand where a student is coming from and how this informs their work. Cross-cultural sharing and understanding necessitates strong ‘teacher student relatings’ and ‘dramatic friendship’.
Yes, more love in the classroom is needed but the educational institution needs to facilitate this through adequate staff-student ratios. Western society should not denigrate the notion of love in the classroom.
REFERENCES:
Beetham, H. and Sharpe, R. 2013. Rethinking pedagogy for a digital age: designing and delivering e-learning. Taylor & Francis
Biggs, J and Tang, C. 2011. Teaching for Quality Learning at University: what the student does. McGraw-Hill.
Freire, P. 2018 (1st ed 1993). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Bloomsbury Academic.
Fry, H., Ketteridge, S. and Marshall, S. (Eds.) 2015. A Handbook for
Teaching & Learning in Higher Education: Enhancing academic practice. 4thedition. Routledge, Oxford.
hooks, b. 1994 . Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. Taylor and Francis. Routledge.
UAL Fostering Belonging and Compassionate Pedagogy, online at https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/223417/AEM3_FBCP.pdf. Last accessed: 24/08/2021
[1] Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 1993
[2] Teaching to Transgress:Education as the Practice of Freedom, 1994
[3] Fry, Ketteridge and Marshall, 2011:69
[4] UAL Fostering Belonging and Compassionate Pedagogy
[5] UAL Fostering Belonging and Compassionate Pedagogy, see also
[6] 2018:13