Pedagogies In Waiting For Superman, And Paulo Friere's Waiting For Superman

Teachers are among the most influential peoples in our lives. Respectable teachers not only guide us to learn in the classroom, but also provide a model as to how to treat others and be moral human being in everyday life. While this is an extremely rewarding position, there are difficulties when it comes to creating a lesson plan or deciphering what to teach and not teach. For everyone has taken a class with a teacher, therefore everyone has their own opinion on how a class should be run and how students should be treated and tested. As a result, pedagogies, or teaching methods, were created in order for experts to give their opinion. These pedagogies may be related to the realities in the film, Waiting for “Superman”, which greatly focuses on the effectiveness of teachers. As a case in point, Paulo Friere, a philosopher

In other words, the classroom is rigid and lacking creativity and critical thinking. Children, such as Francisco, Anthony, Daisy, who are students in the film, and several others, are oppressed in this environment for the reason the teacher’s information cannot be questioned. Those who attend dropout factories or poor schools may be accustomed to this method of teaching. Moreover, they cannot connect to the information because it does not involve their lives or culture, and they are not truly learning, only regurgitating for the sake of the grade. On the other hand, “problem posing education”, the concept developed by Friere would create an open environment, similar to the Frierian method, where students are active and communication is key. As one learns to communicate their ideas to the class and the fear of being wrong subsides, the students are left feeling empowered. In this environment, genuine interest in the lesson and creativity flourish. Empowerment and self-worth are concepts in which Geoffrey Canada founded his charter school upon. He does not accept failure, nor should he or any