fee 138 In ting Youth into Civic Action ‘Thomas, Ga and Laie, Pticia. (1985). Gender diferences among backs in educa ional and eareer or 283-298. nation, in Education and Urban Society, 21, (3 [Urdan, Timothy end Machr, Martin L. (1995), Beyond a two-gal theory of motivation ‘and achievement: a ease for social goa, sol element | goals, in Review of Educational Research Usd. Tan a Mey, Clan Wood a Cao wat (1995) Spec ees in Ref (Middie Level Schools, in Journal of Early Adolescence, 15, (1), 9-37. a Von Slot, Bc nd Gn 8.6994 Cen Edo a he es tent Nature of Classroom Teaching Dilemmas, in Theor In Soc touteol soon Tei Demnas.in Marsan eh nS Wot Eine (Apel, 1986 Tet Inst of Scan on Minny Ase Aspirations, Annual Meeting of American | a eee fener 3 Eaton Research sation, San shod Mat 198, Pie Heap on Set Keye Aan ale Achievement, in Schools in the Middle, 3, (4), 29-30. oe aon, Cr Kaa, atom Dace lh Sal Sts Cs ~ Geos Kn The Sol Sto a/R 1958, 175 18 Becoming a Critical Teacher Raymond A. Horn, Jr. ‘This is a story about my struggle to become a critical pedagogue in a public high school. Critical pedagogues are rare on the university level, ‘and even rarer on the kindergarten through twelfth grade level of public schools. My story is about being and becoming—a continuous reflection ‘on what I am in relation to what [ wish to become. [ must immediately ‘disclose the fact that this is @ painful process for many reasons that will soon becnme apparent: but mostly because of the continuous realization ‘of how we are complicit in perpetuating the oppressive structures of our sociely-or more pointedly how we participate in the truncation of our children’s development because of their race, gender, class, ethnicity, or tbody type. The realization of the deleterious elfects of our actions on the development of our children is especially painful since we are part of @ cating profession which above all else ideaistically promotes the positive development of children ‘The telling of my story must be framed in the context of certain as- sumptions: that there are oppressive structures in our society; that educa- tors consciously and unconsciously perpetuate thems; that this oppression has deleterious effects on the development of our children; that these cfects can be ameliorated and in some cases negated through a critically contextualized pedagogy; and, that the critical isn't always critical Essentially, my story is about moving from theory to practice in expos- ing high school students to a myriad of points of view—including many that have been disenfranchised. The purpose of this broadening is not to promote my point of view, but to promote the students’ ability to marshal tevidence—to be critical of seemingly simplistic solutions or conclusions: ‘Of course, an integral part of this process isthe elcting ofthe student's prior assumptions about the issues at hand, and providing a safe space e140 Becoming a Critical Teacher forthe terogstion of th w se assumptions. In these sale spaces sides eral dag ehh asamp oxo te once qurcsof th pots. nao, the chistes repr eae oe ‘and eliminate oppressive assumptions about a ler, and class. story that I she is ond we that abl el show thory appears) My Background Asa carer high shoo teacher or alos thre decades, | immersed in dent thes: pe at pn dstoons, nied ton thing ened ato, ose mehr coat ewig, ais eve ning sae, aie ching te ies worst, bjt es ttle gop ‘nd ay orth ive on ted the iin of eto Mi) sin tse ites nhc dp ho cri lm cots tio a oes oN os lenis tht stealer yas hve sod ta ngs are aly dil dane, As ny fore en chien bce my sents eral Kenia ded inthe realty of tansgencrtona tracy, paket cay, and cher negative characters of eppreson, The ccteen iotiated me o seek answers to the question why edatna cheney invariably fails to better the lives of the major stakehold ions systems—students and teachers. iene ‘The masters program, which wes character nog an untae sy pred no sous omens ag my dectrl progam became expoed to quai dude ered ea ge ses i te pono condo nh nto oe rience from my public school teaching became a i nnd che The on ste hana ly coe cae then nt sae a ether hoa newer book asa own ino tat ‘orb cretion econ lage xo! Sent ing ot ts Hel poe sent and low seo chon ar valuable learning experiences and gro. tines for ihe dentin hess orarztion, Thome enpororee ches rrr alors nth he long ora sens a oe tte otis come vin van devel ough dle coe on; 8 caring atid was a skint pr ol he vatones omens Raymond A. Horn, Jr 141 participated in helping everyone ese in acquiring the requisite skills for Success; issues of race, gender, ethnicity, and class were part of the dia logic conversation and, as the organization needed to evolve, everyone participated in the accommodation of change. This single intellectual and ‘emotional experience with successful change verified the message found in ctitical thinking. However, it soon became apparent that there was @ distinction between the “at best” benign form of critical thinking, and the “radical politcal” version. Critical Pedagogy: My Definition How ential pedagogy is define has implications and consequences for teachers and thelr sidents. Certain theoretical postions (i.e, curtent definitions of critical thinking used in the schools; border pedagogy; criti- al coneciousness ral ieracy, and, the political context of critical pedagogy) must be considered or the consequences of what appears to Pera ental pedagogy will in actualy promote non-ctcal thinking and actly Fr instance, how critical thinking is currently defined in school, rintains oppressive structures by not licting and chal- 7 pvioFwumplions, and reinforces the disenfranchisementofview- use of nario and formal i its thot ee not part othe maine, aaa cal Thinking constructs sustain these dlletious consoqunces However, to become a border-crosser, to employ cfitical consciousness toch pro and dlogue an tobe cally erate moves the teacher tour the Wal of being rtcal nthe clsroom, What Is Not Critical Thinking, “To expedite this definition, | would argue that there are degrees of critical thinking. The firs is certainly not critical, but unfortunately the most per vasive in our schools. This form of critical consists ofthe critical thinking workshops and gurus who dispense graphic organizers that teach stu dents how to structure data, compare data, synthesize data, and evaluate