Kumashiro’s Article Blog Post

In Kumashiro’s article he focused on ‘common sense’ in the education system and defines it as the traditional ways we think about teaching and learning. He makes note that “good teaching is not a neutral concept” (p. 3) which is very important when thinking about ‘common sense’ because ‘common sense’ causes you to limit what is considered to be ‘good teaching.’ People follow ‘common sense’ because it allows them to make sense of the world by explaining why we do things such as, attending school five times a week and why it starts in September and ends in June. It is important to pay attention to ‘common sense’ because it can be (and usually is) oppressive. It causes you to dismiss other ways of thinking that may be better than the present way. ‘Common sense’ tells you that this is the way things have been done for years so it must be the correct way to do things when in fact it usually causes schools to not recognize the oppression happening in their education system. It is also important to pay attention to ‘common sense’ because it needs to be challenged. If we continue to believe that what we have been taught for years (in relation to the education system) is the right way to go about things then many students and educators will continue to suffer because their needs are not being met. ‘Common sense’ has convinced teachers that their teaching ways are neutral and that there is no reason to question their ways when in fact they are causing oppression and ultimately failing their students. My ‘common sense’ of curriculum and pedagogy is the traditional views of most students. I bring with me into this course the understanding that curriculum and pedagogy is an outline of what is needed to be taught created by the government for teachers to cover in class. It is needed to be covered in order for the students to move onto the next grade level. ‘Common sense’ is a complex concept that is needed to be understood by everyone (teachers especially) in order to improve and change our ways of thinking and understanding.