Reflection for Aspiring Catholic Leader

“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.”  

(Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed) 

 

The Catholic classroom is more than just a space for the acquisition of academic knowledge and rigor.  It must be a learning environment that values the human dignity and unique identity of every student while nurturing the ability to identify and scrutinize structures of inequality and the commitment to take action against these systems.  This level of empowerment can be a powerful path to academic motivation and achievement for marginalized students.  Without critical consciousness, schools tread dangerously close to transforming into institutions that reflect society instead of improving it.  By integrating a critical consciousness embedded in gospel values dedicated to bringing about the Kingdom of God, educators can facilitate an environment that allows students to understand that “if we learn with each other, we should also learn about each other so we can bring each other up.” By Christopher Emdin in For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood… and the Rest of Y’all too:  Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education.   

 

Inequality and inequity are sustained when the people oppressed by these injustices are unable to decipher and interpret the societal barriers and obstacles that exist to inhibit their progress.  When students gain the knowledge that is required to understand the systems that sustain abuses of power and privilege, particularly for those who have been historically marginalized, they begin to acquire the foundation necessary for critical analysis.   They begin to acquire the language necessary to communicate and explain what they notice.  This lucidity and language is a great asset for the disenfranchised who desire to make injustices of this world visible.  Catholic Social Teaching affirms this reality and provides for all learners a practical and meaningful approach to the implementation of a just world. 

 

In addition to being able to recognize inequity and describe it, students need to be able to create brave spaces where they can develop a sense of agency.   Where they can truly participate in the capacity and power and the capability to analyze, navigate, and interrogate oppressive conditions in our society without fear of judgement or reprisal.  Teachers elevate the identities and life experiences of students that help them to have the ability to communicate what is individually relevant.  Teachers and students must also know that they do not have to embark on this journey alone.  They can enlist the help of allies and accomplices and community partners through the creation of both in-person and online social networks dedicated to the Catholic social teaching of solidarity.   

 

Ultimately, students should be encouraged to take critical action against oppressive conditions.  When students understand the myriad of forces threatening their identities and communities, they are more likely to engage in initiatives that defy those forces.  We must position students to challenge inequity in thoughtful and strategic ways.  In doing so we provide them with opportunities to affect change within and outside the school community.   The strategy of “Teaching and learning AS social justice” would best facilitate the transformational process of students becoming agents of change.  It requires that the teacher and the student adopt very specific roles. Students are encouraged to be active learners and allies who engage in critical literacy and numeracy as tools for individual and collective agency.  Teachers are required to foster tools for action in order to address injustices locally and globally. 

 

At its core the Catholic teaching provides clear instruction and a theological understanding regarding the framework and language required for the analysis of inequity and provides the rich foundation necessary for transformational action to take place through the Catholic Social Teachings.  As educators, we cannot assert to be invested in the closing of academic/opportunity gaps without earnestly considering the question of how to provide marginalized students with the language and skills they require to understand the systemic, interpersonal and intrapersonal conditions opposing them.  By nurturing a critical conscience rooted in the gospel values, a Catholic education should enable Catholic school communities to serve amidst diversity by shunning exclusivism and fundamentalism on one end of the spectrum and relativism and individualism on the other.  By embracing solidarity, the common good and human dignity schools can authentically integrate students’ diverse identities and lived experiences into their ongoing work and contribute to critical consciousness development.