Radical hope book kevin gannon
Higher education has seen better days Harsh budget cuts the precarious nature of employment in college teaching and political hostility to the entire enterprise of education have made for an increasingly fraught landscape Radical Hope is an ambitious response to this state of affairs at once political and practical the work of an activist teacher and public intellectual grappling with some of the most pressing topics at the intersection of higher education and social justice. Radical Hope book Kevin Gannon asks that the contemporary university s manifold problems be approached as opportunities for critical engagement arguing that when done effectively teaching is by definition emancipatory and hopeful Considering individual pedagogical practice the students who are the primary audience and beneficiaries of teaching and the institutions and systems within which teaching occurs Radical Hope surveys the field tackling everything from impostor syndrome to cell phones in class to allegations of a campus free speech crisis Throughout Gannon translates ideals into tangible strategies and practices including key takeaways at the conclusion of each chapter with the goal of reclaiming teachers essential role in the discourse of higher education Radical Hope A Teaching ManifestoI first became aware of this book via a UDL Universal Design for Learning podcast Kevin Gannon seemed to balance the feel good hopefulness with both pragmatic and practical information and this proved to be true in this teaching manifesto In truth the manifesto ish parts could use a sharper editorial pen in places but there are so many worthwhile pull quotes I can forgive the bits of eremphatic repetition The real overarching concept here is that education should be transformational not transactional Is that revolutionary thought No of course not But what Gannon so skillfully achieves is helping the interested teacher remember WHY that s important and to help that teacher feel motivated to make it happen otherwise known as HOPE There is a lot of radical hope in this book for students for teachers for education as a field But it isn t all about inspiration Gannon substantively brings in pedagogical theory addresses praxis a la Paolo Freire and offers opportunities for reflection freewriting journaling as well as suggestions for real life application Chapter 1 dramatically titled Classrooms of Death I may have rolled my eyes explains that a pedagogy of radical hope includes a moral imperative to create the type of inclusive and equitable learning spaces in which our students become critically conscious and actively engaged in their own education 23 I always cringe when I see the words moral imperative because as most of us know that is hardly a monolithic concept for us humans But I think Gannon s use of such weighty language here serves its purpose this isn t just headwork but instead also very much heart work This is work that asks for a reinvestment and a revitalization of student centered pedagogy Middle chapters provide information about UDL and how to implement it as well as constructing a syllabus worth reading Chapter 7 Chapter 8 however is where I really started to connect Even just the chapter s title Pedagogy is not a weapon really grabbed me in some visceral way It isn t that I should need a reminder of that but it did drive home how easily weaponized pedagogy can become The chapter focuses on the purpose and value of the transformative work Particularly helpful is Gannon s discussion of Safe Spaces and Trigger Warnings which he aptly advocates as brave spaces and content warnings He invites the reader to consider these things as pedagogical tools that allow for genuine engagement and confrontation with ideas and material 113 and posits that they are a necessity in providing the required structure and support for that engagement and confrontation One of my favorite quotes You may think you re being clever by utilizing shock value as a teaching tool but likely you re just being an asshole 113 We all seem to collectively agree that being an asshole is not sound pedagogy yet there s a lot of asshole moves out there in the teaching world Sometimes it is a lack of recognizing the immense privilege we might hold in teaching spaces Sometimes it is brought on by the performative aspect of academic conversations 133 and severe cases of imposter syndrome But whatever it is ultimately Gannon says teachers must see themselves as collaborators rather than occupying opposite points of some academic spectrum 146. Radical Hope ebook The pandemic has many teachers feeling beaten down after what has inarguably been an extremely challenging and tiring year Exhaustion rarely leads to active and inspired change But Gannon manages in a mere 152 small pages to not only light the spark but offers ways to take steps forward Manifesto is perhaps a disservice here because what Gannon really provides is a hand a ready assist for those who may feel a bit lost when charged to decolonize or diversify or unlearn These are valuable aspects of the work yes but all too often radicalized to the point of becoming just another academic performative contest The real radical idea it turns out is in the hope that eschews despair but does so in a way that often relies upon the faith that our current thinking and actions will create a better future even without understanding what that future will look like 4 Radical hope means we see teaching as a lively dynamic commitment to the ongoing and sustained work of student centered praxis naming and demolishing systems of inequity and employing an emancipatory pedagogical vision 150 in what is routine and mundane as well as that which is unexpected and extraordinary Radical Hope A Teaching Manifesto A strong and inspirational book Teaching in our universities can be incredibly depressing Thinking about teaching in our universities can be incredibly depressing How do we create radical hope This book provides strategies to create possibilities and opportunities spaces and creativity Most poignantly the book builds relationships between a student s life and a life of learning. Radical Hope ebook Inspirational Not squishy Not hugging it out Learning with a gateway to the future Radical Hope A Teaching Manifesto this book is all the good things rich in theory useful in practicebrief synopsis Kevin Gannon historian and prof at a public US university reflects on pedagogykey takeaways classrooms are not a vacuum students have real concerns need to be taken seriously treated respectfully learn in a supportive environment where they can be agents of their own education Gannon s values include accessibility agency empathy equity failure as a virtue representation many notable quotation pedagogy is political. Book Radical hope RADICAL HOPE is so freaking quotable we cannot blame students for the failures of the systems in which we ve forced them to operate Radical Hope A Teaching Manifesto Overall I liked this book I think he overestimates sometimes how popular traditional pedagogy is meaning lecture memorization etc A lot of what he talked about in this book is I think standard practice The difference is that he focuses on hope and compassion This book is in a similar vein to a few I ve read over the past years which focuses on thinking through our practices from the student s perspective I appreciate his approach and think the book got better as it went on and it was best when it was practical giving examples of how to implement this hope into what we do. Radical Hope book I do think he sets up traditional pedagogy as a kind of straw man to attack when as I said I found some of the approaches he was attacking as standard to be out dated and not things that most teachers do. Radical Hope epubs air One problem with the approach here and I think it s common is to pit teachers against students I think he s trying to encourage a student centered pedagogy which I support The problem is that it puts the burden of learning and adaptation squarely on teachers I agree many of us need to change But he doesn t really acknowledge that many students are under resourced and many don t have adequate time to dedicate to their studies So I feel like some of his theoretical beliefs while admirable aren t totally accurate or realistic given the current situation in our learning spaces many of which are digital. Radical homemakers book Ultimately I liked much of his outlook hopeful but found a lot of the book obvious and or unnecessarily dualistic Radical Hope A Teaching Manifesto I don t agree with all of it But I think that s actually why it s a five star book because despite my disagreements everything in there is worth engaging Radical Hope A Teaching Manifesto I think a lot of people are picking this book off of their tbr stacks right now because of the title Surely we all feel the need for radical hope right now. Radical Hope bookworm It s also useful right now as a lot of us are thinking overtly about pedagogy as we move everything online right now There s a lot to appreciate in this compact book Each chapter has a highly researched and yet highly conversational discussion of a topic followed by a short in practice section with some questions and suggestions for learning and putting ideas into practice. Radical hope book kevin gannon I appreciate the author s sensitivity to the limits that most faculty have both in terms of time and in terms of power to effect big sweeping change This book takes of a class by class student by student approach with frank discussions about things like universal design and free speech on campus I m glad so many people are reading it right now it s got me thinking a lot of useful questions about my teaching right now such as who am I teaching for What am I teaching for These are very helpful questions especially right now Radical Hope A Teaching Manifesto Radical Hope was a great reflection on what it means to teach transformatively to embrace the full potential of education as liberation I particularly liked how Gannon complemented abstract or philosophical points with actionable tips for redesigning assignments and syllabi. Radical hope book This book was the topic for a graduate student teaching discussion group I was a part of in winter 2021 and we agreed that it did a great job of provoking debate over how best to design for equity and inclusion Above all this book made me feel less alone in the struggle to create inclusive learning experiences and that in itself is tremendously valuable Radical Hope A Teaching Manifesto To be an advocate for student learning I think we have to be advocates for both students and learning. Radical hopevalley college This book is exactly why I am an educator and exactly what I think we need to see of in higher education The book itself models the commitment to praxis that Gannon advocates for each chapter marrying action and reflection by combining theoretical discussion of the chapter s theme with suggestions for how we might put that theory into practice in the classroom Radical Hope A Teaching Manifesto The fact that this book was published in 2020 and includes the word radical in it s title shows me that so many of my higher ed colleagues do not have inclusive transformative classrooms And that makes me depressed But overall I appreciated the tone and self awareness of the book And I particularly appreciated the chapter on the syllabus which called out the many it is in the syllabus jokes seem all over Facebook and on mugs I hope someone makes T shirts for students saying your syllabus wasn t worth reading Radical Hope A Teaching Manifesto Nice read Reiterated things I practice and value in the classroom Feels good knowing that these practices were emphasized in the book Radical Hope A Teaching Manifesto
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Radical hope definition another notable quotation treating all students equally was not the same thing as treating all students equitably flexible instead of rigid adaptable instead of dogmatic
