teaching to transgress education as the practice of freedom

Ultimately, what is missing from these modern calls for disruption in education is an acknowledgement of the humanity of students and the societal perils many of them have to negotiate. This was well before any app, coding system, or pedagogical trend had come along and claimed to carve out a pathway to societal utopia. Baldwin, on the other hand, was demanding the disruption of this “ideal citizenry” through transgressive education. The difference, of course, is that Baldwin was not worried about preparing students for “the jobs of the future.” Too many modern educational calls for disruption tout themselves as progressive and revolutionary, and yet ultimately do not see students so much as they see future employees. James Baldwin, “ A Talk to Teachers,” 1963ĭespite the edgy tone that accompanies ubiquitous calls for “disruption,” I have yet to hear any EdTech expert or 21st century education guru refer to disruption in the transgressive sense that Baldwin was evoking 54 years ago.

The obligation of anyone who thinks of himself as responsible is to examine society and try to change and fight it – at no matter what risk. If a society succeeds in this, that society is about to perish. “The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions… What societies really, ideally, want is a citizenry which will simply obey the rules of society.

Teaching to transgress education as the practice of freedom