Author: Sadika Chowdhury

Blog 3: Pedagogy and Power

Paulo Freire is against the education system which he classifies as the “banking concept of education.” He supports the idea that education should be a more collaboratively where students and teachers work together, instead of the teacher giving lectures and students just recording it. This is more like the teachers just filling up students’ mind with any pieces of information and students have to accept it without questioning it, which is not good for students’ growth. This empowers the teachers, give them authority, and disempower students as it limits them from challenging themselves, asking questions, and think creatively. In my first year of college, I had a professor who would give lectures by reading the textbooks. If you had any questions, he would tell you to read the textbook, it will answer all your questions. Therefore, as a student, it was very difficult to learn because textbooks don’t always provide the explanations you need. Connecting back to Friere’s theory, since there was no collaboration and interactions between the professor and students, it was hard for me to learn anything in this class. I had to use outside sources such as youtube videos and google to learn things, and it felt like an online class. I do agree with Friere’s point, it is important to have interaction between the educator and students in order for students to grow, learn, and think critically.

My ART story

Art is a form of communication, through which we express our thoughts, emotions, intuitions, and desires. For me, art is a way to express my imaginations and turn them into a visual form. When I have a stressful day or even have free time, I like to draw and design, it helps refresh my mind. Specifically, I love to draw and design clothes, shoes, and jewelry. I am not good at paintings but I enjoy playing around with colors and do abstract paintings. For me, art has always been an important part of my life, it is something also connects me to my late grandma. She used to love drawing, knitting flower designs and village scenarios on the quilt. Every piece of her artwork tells a story, which has inspired me to think beyond, be creative with my imagination and turn them into alive. I believe art is inside all of us, it doesn’t have to do with painting or drawing, it can be in any form which we use to express ourselves. I hope to learn more in depth about art, the history, the way different cultures and generations have defined art, and how people view art in today’s’ world.

How to Make a Post ?

  1. Go on to the CUNY Academic Commons site (https://commons.gc.cuny.edu)
  2. Look at the top right corner, it says “Register,” Click on it, and complete signup.
  3. Log into your account
  4. Click on the “Groups” tag, search “Art 1010 Fall 2018 9:30 am” (unless you have the link that was sent by the professor)
  5. Click on the 9:30 am Class MW tab on the left side corner
  6. Then, look at the top of the page, “+ New” tab, just click on it.
  7. There will be 2 options: “Post” or “Media.” Click on “Post”
  8. Here you go! Enter your title, on the white blank space type your work.
  9. On the right side of the page, you can see “Save Draft” you can click on it if you want to return and do it later.
  10. After you are done, scroll down on the right side, you will see “categories” check the box “9:30 AM class”. Also, underneath that, you will see “Tags” just add your tag.
  11. That’s it, click on the “Publish” button.
  12. Done!
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