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Covington
2018
A teacher's journey toward allowing voice and choice in the classroom.
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Activities & Lessons
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Social Justice & Student Voice
Teachers
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2+ hours.
Human Restoration Project, Creative Commons-BY-SA. Presented by Dr. Denisha Jones as part of Conference to Restore Humanity! 2022.
July 2022
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Dr. Denisha Jones talks about how Black Lives Matter at School and the power of play both have transformational impacts on teaching to transgress and building a practice of freedom.
“We have seen what happens when schooling is used as a method of colonization. We know what conformity to the current system means for the future. Our only option is to center freedom in our schools.”
Dr. Denisha Jones talks about how Black Lives Matter at School and the power of play both have transformational impacts on teaching to transgress and building a practice of freedom.
This discussion guide is meant to guide teacher professional development, but may be modified for classroom use - especially in the humanities.
Dr. Denisha Jones: Education as the Practice of Freedom - Learning From the Movements
As a teacher, what are your reflections on Dr. Jones’ experience with education? She states, “I was unprepared for teaching to feel stifling and schools to be constraining. I realize now that it was the boundaries that suffocated me and imprisoned me. The boundaries turned my dream of being a teacher into a disappointing reality.”
Dr. Jones says that education is designed to suppress freedom. What does this mean? What would it look like in practice?
What are the goals of BLM at School? How could these ideas be incorporated?
How would systems in education, such as “discipline” and assessment, change as a result of integrating the guiding principles of BLM at School?
What would it mean to disrupt “traditional curricular violence”? How could this happen in the humanities? In STEM?
How does Anji play integrate with the liberatory model of teaching as a practice of freedom?\
Likewise, how could play be an “antidote to neoliberal and global education reforms”? How would this work across multiple ages?
What would a high school classroom look like without educational colonization? Imagine what’s possible:
What steps could educators take to reckon with the truth, so that they may teach the truth?
How can reform movements, such as those centered on the achievement gap, run counter to education as a practice of freedom? What would it mean to combat these reforms?
Dr. Jones slightly revises James Baldwin’s writing, stating, “If the concept of education has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If education cannot do this, then it is time we got rid of it.” Reflect on this statement. What does it mean for you?
Q&A: Freedom to Learn and the Freedom to Teach w/ Dr. Denisha Jones
