Project Proposal
I have decided to write an institutional autobiography. My focus is on two institutions in particular: school and family. I plan to address the ways in which my education has been shaped by the schools I have attended, as well by the contrasting experience of my older brother who attended the same schools as me through high school. Both my personal educational experience and observations of my brother's education have changed me as an individual, a thinker, a learner, and an educator. My goal is to show how my brother's experience in school (as compared with mine) led to changes in my ways of thining about education and helped shape my philosophy as a teacher. I am incorporating Miller's work and Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
posted by Barbara Buran @ 10:29 AM
3 Comments:
Barbara,
Great! I firmly believe we are all deeply influenced by our families – the expectations we hold for ourselves, the expectations our families hold of us and themselves, and more especially, although it is not overtly mentioned, how we as individuals see ourselves when we think about our siblings and how they see/think about us. There is no doubt whatsoever that the schools we attended, the teachers we had, the material covered and when it was covered all greatly affect who we become in life. For example, if there is only one or two years difference between you and your brother, there may not have been much change in the curriculum you both encountered; however, if that difference is five, six or more years, things probably changed dramatically in the curriculum. You may want to make that a clear point as you begin your autobiography. Also, do not forget to mention whether you are the older or younger sibling and if and how you believe “being a girl” makes a difference. Do you think there is a difference between the education received in an inner-city school versus a suburban and/or rural school? Does attending a public versus a private/parochial school make a difference? Were any/all of these factors in your growth and development as an individual? I look forward to reading your autobiography – I am certain it will be very interesting.
i agree with nieves the difference in you and your sibling and how many years difference plays a great role even with male and female. i see a great difference with how i was taught and how my brother is taught now 10 years later but i also saw a diffference with my sister which was only 2 years younger than me
This sounds really interesting. The contrast between you and your brother will be illuminating, I think, and it gives you a nice, tight focus. That said, it seems to me that the sibling relationship and this contrast are your real focus. I'd steer clear of generalizing about the family as an institution too much, because it may distract you from what's actually a very clear focus.
You might turn to Miller for a discussion of Freire, the banking model, and creativity, etc. He discusses the idea of working creatively within institutional structures at some length. Also, you might turn to Gilles and Fauconnier for a discussion of creativity.
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