| Alex E. Blazer | Course Site | Teaching Portfolio |
| Banking Education | Malls | Poetry |
How do you respond to this "quiz"? What does it assume about the nature of knowledge, knowledge conveyance, and pedagogy? What's the teacher's job? What's the students' job? (Hint: think about these questions in terms of Freire's thesis.)
As I find it difficult to assess the effort you put into your informal writing assignments, I will now use daily quizzes to calculate your performance (read, determine whether or not you've read the assignments—no, you cannot use your books) in this class. You have 10 minutes to complete the quiz.
1. Define Freire's banking concept of education. (20%)
2. List 7 of the 10 characteristics of the educational banking transaction. (20%)
3. What are the main differences between process and product-oriented world views? (20%)
4. Between problem-posing and knowledge or solution-imparting pedagogies? (20%)
5. According to Freire, why is the bank education oppressive? necrophilic? (20%)
In the next 25 minutes, in small groups discuss Ferlinghetti's poem and Guterson's essay not only in terms of thesis and what's at issue (as we've been doing in past weeks) but also in regards to these questions, as well as any other relevant questions that your group's conversation may generate. The questions that involve "you" mean "you" as an individual and not as a group; therefore, you as a group don't have to reach consensus. Don't forget to select a recorder to present your thoughts, however divergent they might be, to the rest of the class.
1. What are the thesis(-es) of each selection?
More importantly, what's at issue for these authors? for you as readers?
2. Characterize Ferlinghetti and Guterson's respective rhetorical strategies.
How does each writer attempt to persuade you?
How do they support their arguments?
Does the "evidence" convince you? Why or why not?
3. What's Ferlinghetti's purpose? What's Guterson's intent?
What's their common ground? Where might they diverge?
Which ideas do you concur with and why? Which ideas do you disagree with and why (what arguments and evidence would you offer to refute them)?
Compare and contrast the diverging (opposing?) views of the the individuals—in this case, the poet's— relationship(s) to academic, scholarship, and/or intellectual communities that Eliot, Hughes, and Moraga bring to their poems. A commencing, interpretive "hint" which I encourage you to take exception to, if your interpretation contradicts it: While Hughes and Moraga's content explicitly reacts to academic communities, Eliot's implicitly privileges the learned. To further steer your group conversation, consider these questions. Also, don't forget to elect a representative who will report your group's findings, consensus, and/or disparity to the whole class.