Fear…
Freire’s second letter really hit home for me both personally and professionally. I have been through many experiences where I had a fear of something, but one situation stands out the most in my mind…and at the time in which I was going through it, there were feelings of fear, insecurity, panic and everything else in the middle. I wish I had this book at the time, but at some point I did realize that I can either let fear take control of my life or I could take control of my own life and start focusing on the things that I could do to help me get through that situation. I think teachers sometimes feel insecure about their feelings on certain issues and therefore remain silent. I know this because I am trying to overcome some of those feelings myself…and maybe it’s not so much insecurity as it is inadequecy when you are faced against teachers who are and have been in positions of power within the school in which we work. It is very difficult to stand up and ask questions or voice comments, but I am finding that it is really the only way to get real solutions to issues within your school community. I find it very sad that Jaeger was excused from the school in which she worked because she found it best to teach her students…not the required curriculum. Where was the respect…not only for the teacher, but for the students? Don’t they derserve someone to stand up for them? If not us, who then? Publishing companies don’t know our students, politicians don’t know our students, administrators don’t really know our students…we know our students…we are the ones who are with them day in and day out in the classroom (and I know I’m preaching to the choir)…it frustrates me that so little respect is given to our profession, yet so much is expected of us at the same time.
In regards to Freire’s second letter about reading comprehension, I know he wrote that with me in mind! :0) I am that person who daydreams while reading only to realize at the end of the paragraph that I have not read anything at all! It is so frustrating! Reading is not easy for me. I’ll be honest with anyone, except my students, I’m not a fan when it comes to reading. It is not that I don’t enjoy sitting down and reading a good book, article, etc., but it is the amount of time it takes me to read through something. In addition, language plays an important role in whether I enjoy a particular reading and the amount of time it takes me to read something in particular. I have always had difficulty with reading comprehension…I look back and realize that the fun, “special” reading class that I went to everyday, was a pull-out program for those who had difficulty in reading. I didn’t know it at the time though. It is a struggle that started such a long time ago and still follows me to this day. When I read a passage, usually if the language within the passage is difficult to understand, I have to re-read through it several times. In addition, I have to pull out the dictionary (auxiliary tool) and dissect the difficult words into easier to understand words in order to fully comprehend the meaning. It takes time to do all of that. For those who are like me in this area, there is fear and panic that begins to arrise within oneself when a lot of reading is assigned at one time. And for those of us who do like to be prepared to at least somewhat take part in a disscussion, being able to read and understand the text is important. It made me feel better to know that Freire seemed to understand this fear by saying, “Studying is a demanding occupation, in the process of which we will encounter pain, pleasure, victory, defeat, doubt, and happiness” (Freire, p.52). I have a love for learning, but at the same time it causes me such a feeling of defeat at times. However, I find that the more I put my entire attention into something (the more I surrender to the text), the more meaning and knowledge is constructed. In conclusion, something that I have taken away from these two readings is to never let fear paralyze you into not standing up for what you believe is right. Never let it get the best of you…find steps to overcome it and work through it. We are the voices of our students, let them be heard!
We should write to Freire and tell him we are discussing his book…what a joy that would be for him.
