Hello fellow teachers, we live in a time of great suffering as teachers, professors, and general educators there is a lack of appreciation and understanding for what we do. Often, we are seen as sources of information, banks of knowledge that lack any real experience in life simply smart individuals that cannot function without the power-hungry atmospheres of our classrooms. I could not disagree more, however with the great push and challenge in public classrooms to become more inclusive and accepting of the identities of our students we seemingly have no correct answers in our increasingly complex roles as models for our students. But I believe there still is hope if we shift from the perceived banks of information to holistic models of life experience. After reading Bell Hooks chapter on Educating as a Practice of Freedom, I realized we need to shift from assembly line or teaching toward the Standards of Learning set by the state and instead promote a more holistic approach to learning that still covers the Standards set.  Instead of students wanting to learn for the sake of knowledge or simply because they are forced to go students now desire practicality, how will this affect me or why is this important are common thoughts from students that we are currently ill prepared to answer. Our transition from banks of knowledge to models of life experience will lead students to better self-actualization. As teachers we need to be, “the vision of liberatory education that connects the will to know with the will to become” (Bell Hooks 18-19). This holistic approach will help teachers navigate the extremely controversial topics which have now been placed at our doorstep. Bell Hooks believes that “Engaged pedagogy necessarily values student expression” (Bell Hooks 20). Allowing students to express their interest while connecting it to their own experiences and ours promotes individual freedom and allows students to reflect on their experiences while connecting it to what they are learning, allowing for a praxis of sorts. However, this is no easy task, we must “practice being vulnerable in the classroom, being wholly present in mind, body, and spirit” (Bell Hooks) Once we do this not only will the student acquire more from class, but we too will grow.

Hooks, Bell. Teaching to Transgress: Education as a Practice of Freedom. 1994. London: Routledge. pp 13-22