The title of Tompkins' article, Pedagogy of the distressed is a take-off of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Basically, she describes her response to feeling burned out by giving more responsibility for the classroom to her students. It emulates her understanding of who she is and what kind of change she wishes for her students. The article is an assertion that the politics of the classroom are the politics of the teacher. So, how do we wish to be considered? Is it more important how we perform for our students illustrating to them how knowledgeable and talented we are? Or is the point to give students the opportunity to practice so that they are able to gain some mastery over what they are learning?
It sounds similar to what I do in Augustana's biology capstone course, AUBIO 411 - History and Theory of Biology, except that I believe that Jane Tompkins gives her students greater free reign in how they lead the class. I wonder if I am up for that? Sort of similar to my question of how I implement TBL in my classroom. I set up the structure and then I am a slave to it rather than being responsive to students' needs.
Hmmm... It is difficult to be responsive because it means that you cannot always be prepared for what students need. As a seasoned instructor, I must trust that the preparation is there as a result of the years of training and experience that I already have. And really, it is not about me. It is about the students being given the opportunity to become.
