Pedagogy of Fear – Guest Post by Morna M. Mcdermott
At The Learning Network listserv http://bit.ly/fZdb6v members have been engaging in thoughtful conversations about the current educational policy climate. But, we haven’t stopped there. We have also committed ourselves to do whatever it takes to reverse the damage that has been inflicted on teachers, students, and families. Some examples are: posting on various social media outlets, writing letters to the editor, and participating in the SOS March and National Call to Action in July http://bit.ly/e0KcNe Recently, Morna M. Mcdermott, posted the following draft essay on the TLN listserv about, what she refers to as the pedagogy of fear. Morna is an Associate Professor at the College of Education, Towson University. She can be reached at mcdermottmax@yahoo.com She wrote this narrative to demonstrate “the powerful role that fear plays in shaping our current educational policies and practices”. We welcome your comments to this post.
Pedagogy of fear
I write this narrative as a parent of two small children, a classroom teacher of ten years and a professor of curriculum and instructor of ten years (and running). I selected this title to juxtapose other respected scholarship with similar titles, namely Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Pedagogy of Hope, and Pedagogy of Freedom. While I agree that oppression still exists and that hope and freedom are necessary to transform