Charis & I

https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2018/07/09/the-disposability-of-the-precarious-worker/

Paulo Freire’s revolutionary text ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’ highlighted the necessity of dialogue in emancipating the oppressed from the structures imposed by the oppressors. Dialogue is the key to freedom, not just from macro-oppression (racism, sexism, poverty, etc.) not just from the systemic oppression that we see across states and nations, but from internalised, individual psychological oppression (mental health issues, guilt, shame, etc) 

Friere discusses the ‘banking method’ of education. Where the teacher/student binary is defined by those ‘with’ knowledge and those ‘without.’ The problem with this binary is that it assumes that those ‘without’ knowledge actually have no knowledge. This is incorrect, as those who do not fit in; those who are othered, who have opposing ideas, who are without the language to fight their corner, already have knowledge. The problem is that the teacher within the ‘banking method’ have to assume that the knowledge that they have is greater, or better, than the students. Therefore, it is the teachers job to shape the students into being better people, by making them adaptable to society and the knowledge that they impart. 

The solution to this problem is to throw away the assumption that some people ‘have’ and some people ‘have not’, and recognise that everyone is human. We all carry our own stories which have been written since the moment we were born. Our value is not tied to the things we have amassed but to our basic nature as humans. We are all valuable and should be valued. To value these stories, we must listen and we must share. 

The first 9 months of my MFA has been made more difficult because of my imposter syndrome. If I had figured out earlier on that I deserve to be there, that I am good at things that others are not good at, and that’s my strength, then I could have achieved so much more. It’s not a teachers job to figure out the barriers in your brain to learning... but it should be. 

Walking Tweed this morning, I’m looking at the azure sky blasting through the trees branches and leaves behind the Linkie. Farm fields to my right, buzzing woodland to my left... smoosh.

I tread in a big soft dog shit in the middle of the path. Fuck.

Why would someone leave their dogs shit right where people walk. Fair enough if yer Dug shat in the grass, but the path, which has been worn down into the ground by human interaction? No. The path is evidence of other people’s activity. You KNOW people walk there because there wouldn’t be a path of they didn’t.