pedagogy social good

Pedagogy as an undisputed social tool?

Some (provocative & not entirely meant)

thoughts…

Script link: http://www.slideshare.net/sonjaloren/pedagogy-social-good-15591645

LSE Media&Comms seminar

• Abstract: “Few would deny that education is both an individual and a social good. However, the

nature and the implications of its undoubted benefits are hotly contested." (G.Lloyd in: New

Keywords, 2005). It seems that no thesis on pedagogy/ education, no modern theory dictionary entry

on the topic can fail to state from the outset that education is great. This is dogma. Education is an

important, noble and most basic human endeavour with the potential to cure all societal

ills, eradicate social inequality - and 'undoubtedly' beneficial. I would like to question the dogma, not

simply because of a personal tendency towards contrariness, but because of a faith in the

Heideggerian assertion that 'questioning is the piety of thinking', where 'thinking' is not that which

characterises pedagogy, but is done in philosophy. I will touch on this to some extent, but will above

all want to question the value of the word pedagogy, by way of critically assessing its use within the

field of Learning Technology.”

• Script link: http://www.slideshare.net/sonjaloren/pedagogy-social-good-

15591645

Some “thoughts” on pedagogy

• How ‘we’ use it

– Pretentiousness

• Theory & Practice

• Education as social good = philanthropic fad?

• What’s it got to do with Heidegger?

1. Get others to do it for you

“If you have 3 minutes, would you do me a favour, and write down the

first thing that comes into your head when asked: “what is

pedagogy, how do you use the term in your research/ work/ life”.

Just vomit it into the email and press send. Anything, just a few

sentences, a small paragraph. Anything from the profound to the

profane… gobbledegook as welcome as a well-thought out definition.

More welcome, since a well-thought out definition, unless your brain

is a dictionary, isn’t really stormy.”

Answer 1

“It’s interfering with children.”

“ ”

Answer 2

“Here’s my pedagogical puke: I always think of this

book as it’s one I really enjoy looking at and am still

intrigued by: Paul Klee’s Pedagogical sketchbook –

illustrated step by step it takes you through the

meaning of the markings in his work in a very

scientific way, its bizarre! I always struggle with

how to pronounce it!”

Teaching…

“Paul Klee the painter could not help becoming a

teacher in the original meaning of the term. The word

‘to teach’ derives from the Gothic ‘taiku-sign (our word

token). It is the mission of the teacher to observe what

goes unnoticed by the multitude. He is an interpreter of

signs. When Walter Gropius developed the curriculum of

his German Bauhaus, he gave back to the word teacher

its basic significance.”

Without pompousness

“Each of the four divisions of the Sketchbook

has one key-sentence, strewn almost casually -

without the pompousness of a theorem -

among specific observations.”

Answer 3

“It means education but in my latest book one

author says the term actually applies to children's

learning and adult learning is andragogy or

something like that! I sometimes think its a word

that we use in learning technology when we

want to impress someone! I don't like it very

much in all honesty!”

Answer 4“I try to avoid using the word because I'm still not

sure if it's pedagoggy or pedagodjy. I've yet to

compose a sentence that could not easily be recast

to use "teaching" instead. And I am slightly fearful

using it will draw a baying mob of semi-literate Sun

readers to string me up outside a Portsmouth

boozer.”

Answer 5“I use pedagogy to mean "teaching, and facilitating learning".

And I probably extend that definition in use to mean

"teaching, and facilitating learning, effectively". I suppose

it really means "the study of teaching and learning" but I

seldom use it in that context. However I dislike the use of it

as a countable noun - I would never talk about "pedagogies"

when I mean ‘approaches’.”

EM Forster

“As long as learning is connected with earning, as

long as certain jobs can only be reached through

exams, so long must we take the examination

system seriously. If another ladder to employment

was contrived, much so-called education would

disappear, and no one be a penny the stupider.”

Aspects of the Novel, 1927

Agatha Christie

“Of course there’s a fashion in these things, just like there is in

clothes. (My dear, have you seen what Christian Dior is trying

to make us wear in the way of skirts?) Where was I? Oh

yes, Fashion. Well, there’s fashion in philanthropy too. It used

to be education in Gulbrandsen’s day. But that’s out of date

now. The State has stepped in. Everyone expects education

as a matter of right – and doesn’t think much of it when they

get it. Juvenile Delinquency – that’s what is the rage

nowadays…”They do it with mirrors, 1952

What’s it to do with Heidegger?

Heidegger

“Whoever does not have the courage and perseverance of

thought required to become involved in Nietzsche’s own

writings, need not read anything about him either.”(Nietzsche I, 1936)

“Aristotle was born, worked, and died. Now let’s turn to

his work.”

(according to Arendt or Gadamer, can’t quite remember where now)

Seneca

Latrunculis ludimus. In supervacuis subtilitasteritur: non faciunt bonos ista sed doctos. Apertior res

est sapere, immo simplicior: paucis <satis> est ad mentem bonam uti litteris, sed nos ut cetera in

supervacuum diffundimus, ita philosophiam ipsam. Quemadmodum omnium rerum, sic litterarum

quoque intemperantia laboramus: non vitae sed scholae discimus

“We play games. We blunt our thinking with superfluous problems, & such idle analyses don’t help us to live well, but at the most they make us sound scholarly. Real wisdom is much more accessible than academic wisdom, it would be so much better if our education taught us common sense! But we waste everything, and we waste our highest good, namely philosophy, with superfluous questions. We are hopelessly addicted to everything, and that includes an insatiable hunger for scholarliness: we don’t learn for life, we learn for the sake of the School.”