Against Common Sense: Teaching and Learning Toward Social Justice

by Kevin K. Kumashiro

Drawing on his own experience teaching diverse grades and subjects, Kevin Kumashiro examines aspects of teaching and learning toward social justice, and suggests concrete implications for K-12 teachers and teacher educators.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Social Justice

152 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Ekollon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel fairly ridiculous saying this, but this book was too wordy for me, and the writing just bored the heck out of me. It is entirely possible that there was lots of thoughtful, useful information in it, but it was dense, dense, dense. I didn't have a good time reading it, had trouble understanding the point, and just wanted to stop. I kept going because I was assigned to read it, but if I'd been left to my own devices, I would have dropped it and started another book. That isn't to say others won't like it, it's just that I personally did not enjoy this book.

[Senni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took quite long to read, despite it not being a long book. The text may be a bit dense, but it’s worth reading through. Personally, gave me many good insights and comfort as an relatively inexperienced teacher student.

”Common definitions of ”good” teaching often leave little, if any, room for the moments in education when confronting one’s own resistances to disruptive knowledge can be traumatic. In fact, ”good” teaching often means that crisis is averted, that lessons are doable and comfortable, that problems are solved, that learning results in feeling better, that knowledge is a good thing. … Yet, if anti-oppressive teaching requires disrupting the repetition of comforting knowledges, then students will always need to confront what they desire not to confront. And since learning what we desire not to learn —- can be an upsetting process, crisis should be expected in the process of learning, by both the student and the teacher.” (Kumashiro, 2009, p. 55)

[Kathrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book lived under my bed for a significant amount of time, and once I rediscovered it, had to sit at the back of the queue until I could make time for it. All of the momentum of teaching critically surged back up immediately, and I intend to use a chapter or two in future teaching courses. This is a practical guide to critical pedagogy in practice.

[Mel Katz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with Dr. Kumashiro's work when I read "Troubling Education: Queer Activism and Anti-Oppressive Pedagogy" for a class. This book was just as incredible. I love how the book is broken up into two parts - the first being more theoretical and the second rooted in praxis (yet of course linking to the first half). What I found so powerful as a pre-service teacher were the narratives that linked so beautifully to Kumashiro's writing in the first half of the book. As someone preparing to teach multiple subjects, the book pushed my thinking to approach anti-oppressive education in every subject area, not just the subjects that "traditionally" push for anti-oppressive/social justice education, like English and social studies. What I love the most, though, as will all of Kumashiro's work, is the emphasis on asking questions rather than seeking singular "answers." Highly recommended for all.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast, easy read. I agree with the general principles put forth but -- probably because this is written for such a general audience -- a lot of the actual content was oversimplified so much that I found some of the examples more distracting and frustrating than helpful. (e.g., all of the stuff about gender and queerness.)

[Liz Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this at the same time as Alfie Kohn's Feel-Bad Education and they complement each other very well. Kumashiro draws on his experience as a K-12 teacher as well as a teacher in teacher education. A simple take-away from this book is that we must always be questioning our teaching in order to genuinely be social justice and anti-oppressive educators. I was also reading this at the same time as Angela Davis' book 'The Meaning of Freedom' and a lot of what she write ties in here too, in particular the intersectionality between oppressed groups. As educators we may be addressing one form of oppression while unconsciously promoting another form of oppression. This book was written to address pre-service teaching education but I found it valuable for my own work as an Early Childhood Educator, and I think anyone interested in pedagogical practices that challenge hegemony will find much of value in this book too.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the easiest book to dive into; Kumashiro's writing is esoteric and labyrinthine at times, and his seminal text has a tendency read as much like a Zen koan as it does a book on educational practices. Once you adjust to his style though, this is an extraordinarily valuable text with great insights into leading a non-oppressive classroom - as impossible as such a thing may be in the book's own estimation. If one does not read Kumashiro carefully, he might seem to verge on frustrating hopelessness, but he construes his ideas more as a Platonic ideal to which to aspire, rather than an achievable goal, and with that distinction in mind this book is a resource not to be discounted.

[Chloe H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slim, and very readable this volume does not offer and easy solutions or blueprints for anti-oppressive education, but it is a great way to start to shift your thinking and begin a dialogue about what such education might look like. Highly recommended to teacher-librarians.