I've been reading a lot about critical education and the links between it and education for democracy, at the moment. It's a fascinating subject, and very closely associated, I believe with Critical Pedagogy and Freire's work. One of the best texts on it that I've read is 'Democracy at the Crossroads', edited by Cameron White and Roger Openshaw, which is an excellent collection of articles about the role of education in developing critical - or not - citizens. Although there is a bit of a bias towards Australia and New Zealand (which was good for me) I've no doubt that it'd be useful for all kinds of critical educators.
 
Anyway, in one of the articles in that text, written by Cameron White himself, he raises the issue that teachers are becoming less professionals and more technicians. It's a powerful thought. White argues (and I must admit, although I've only been teaching for 10 years, so compared to some of my colleagues I'm a newbie, I agree with him) that previously, teachers might have wanted to create actually democratic learning environments for their students. Such a task is by no means an easy feat, and it's hard to say how successful teachers might have been, with only anecdotal evidence to rely on.
 
However, White argues that, with the advent of neoliberalism - and it's pernicious effect on education - suddenly it's possible to see the real purpose of schooling, at least as it is envisioned by policy makers. White writes, 'We are finally admitting that schooling has never been a great equalizer and ensurer of democracy that we advocated. For do we really advocate democracy? Schooling serves to perpetuate the status quo and is reactionary to the point of practically being archaic' (p85).
 
Scary stuff - but it gets worse: 'We are witnessing the corporatization of education in our society and we are laying back and taking it. Vouchers, education for testing, cultural efficacy, funding based on test scores, teachers being blamed for societal ills, and schools and teachers having to take on the roles of parents and babysitters are only a few of the vital issues that must be addressed' (p85).
 
Essentially, I think that White is arguing that, at schools, we need to firstly be conscious of the power structures that are present around us, and secondly, we need to move against this unadulterated abuse of power. I mean, it is vaguely ridiculous to be teaching about democracy and the importance of everyone having a voice when students' voices are often ignored in those same classrooms. This is one of the real tensions underlying citizenship education.
 
On the other hand, there is much more to this problem than simply allowing opportunities for student voice: policy makers increasingly determine both what and how teachers should teach. This is intrinsically linked to the idea of national testing and accountability, and it begins to approach my main thoughts in this blog: by creating what might be termed 'teacher proof' curriculums that are 'the gospel according to politicians and bureaucrats', we are in danger of seriously deskilling teachers. Why do you need a teacher who is capable of complex discussion and engendering community involvement, when all you really need is somebody who can write the 'truths' on the board that students can then copy into their books, ready for the ever-present competition and testing halfyway through the year?
 
Essentially, the teaching profession is at risk of being further devalued; where once we required all our professional skills to help students come to understand equality and diversity, to encourage values and attitudes that worked in the favour of everyone in society, now teachers simply 'deliver' a curriculum and 'control' the students while they do it.
 
What can we do about it? I'll suggest some thoughts in later posts.