Subversive Teaching

Alan Watts once said, "Irrevocable commitment to any religion is not only intellectual suicide; it is positive unfaith because it closes the mind to any new vision of the world. Faith is, above all, openness-an act of trust in the unknown." As noted in the chapter "Crap Detecting" of Teaching As a Subversive Activity, the application of this quote in relevance to knowledge leads a very profound conclusion. Neil Postman indicates this by suggesting the swap of the word "religion" in the quote for the phrase "set of facts" (6). Analyzing this quote from an education mindset reveals a lot about the nature of teaching. It points out the need for reform by stating how an inability to have an open-mind can detract one from his or her true intention.

Friday in class, I witnessed one of the most engaged debates I have ever experienced in a classroom. The group of students, who are constantly referred to as the "troublesome" class, strolled into the class and immediately began chatting. Ms. Howell quickly took on the role of classroom manager. She stopped all the conversation before it even began between students. Using phrases like "take a seat" or directing specific students to be quiet, she quickly took control of her classroom. Eye rolls and pouting faces were visible on almost all faces of the student. Ms. Howell already had her EdModo presentation on the board, and she explained the activity to the kids. The activity was a debate on two of the videos on fracking the children had watched in a previous class. Prior to class Ms. Howell and I divided the seating of the classroom into two different large groups. The students in each group were set up face to face in long rows. The groups were assigned a video and given 5 minutes to prepare an opening argument using their knowledge gained on fracking from the video. Each team was then directed to choose one person to present their argument in a 3 minute time frame. While a person was presenting, the students were instructed to remain quiet and take notes on the claims made. Following the opening arguments, the groups were given 2 minutes to ask clarifying questions to the representative of each team. Examples of clarifying questions were given on the board, and the students were told to model their questions after them. The students were then directed to appoint a new presenter and to tackle in their groups the problems they saw in the opposing team's argument for 3 minutes. The new presenters then made their case to the class. Due to time constraint, the students were not given a change to rebuttal. Instead, they were given 2 minutes to create a closing argument and 1 minute to present it. Similarly to the other two presentations, the groups had to elect a new leader to conclude their arguments. By the end of the debate, students were laughing and wildly gesturing with their hands. The girl who made the closing statement for the Gasland team was pointing intently at her prepared sheet in front of her. Her voice increased rapidly as she rushed to finish all her points in the set time frame.

Passion, guys; it's beautiful.

Why is subversive teaching important?

It evokes emotions that students would not normally portray in a traditional classroom setting. I believe in the genuine nature of all people, but I acknowledge that not everyone's is easily tapped into. At its heart subversive teaching is an understanding of human nature. When one can discover how to draw emotions and to make connections to real life, the students are more prone to open up, to let loose, and to give in. Give in to their "resistance" for knowledge because it's finally tangible. They're given an opportunity to distrust what they're learning and to challenge what they know; the creation of the never ending search and thirst for more.

Origin: Self
Understanding of one's self + acknowledgment of the need to evaluate = subversiveness