As a reformed catholic school student I’ve made it a regular practice of mine to A) always speak my mind and B) Ask many questions - even if they sound ridiculous. This has been a somewhat awkward practice as it is still a relatively new one for me. From kindergarten to 9th grade I was under a constant reminder of the rule: “Do not interfere with the teacher’s lesson.” This rule included a very real undertone of “Do not question the teacher’s lesson. Do not question the teacher. Do not question.”. My parents were from a similar mentality: “To question is to disrespect an elder’s intelligence and authority.” I became well accustomed to not questioning. My critical thinking skills were atrophied and my point of view, I felt was not valid.
What most struck me from Stuart Hall’s transcript of his lecture Represetntion & The Media, was when he makes the following statement: “You can engage in a way which begins to open the stereotypes up in such a way that they become uninhabitable for very long.” (p21) Hall’s lecture took place in 2005. This conversation, methodology, and process of un-doing have been spoken about for a while. It’s only in my adult life has this concept seems more practical and attainable.
By maintaining a consistent exercise of questioning, thinking of new ways to engage k-12 students sustaining dialog regarding media literacy and critical analysis, and routinely making time within each class for students’ questions will my own practice strengthen. I cannot teach something with which I’m still unfamiliar.