Advocacy in Action: More than just an assignment

If I've learned anything from this week's Communication Activism pedagogues, it is that the classroom should be a place in which ideas for true activism are created, encouraged and acted on. Service learning projects like the Advocacy in Action project are not just term projects in which students have to engage in their worst fears, group work, for the entire semester, but a chance to support the community in practical ways that alleviate social issues - even if just a little bit. But do my students know this?

From their worried emails and the lines of students coming to ask questions after each class, all I can see is the stress they are under. It is November after all! But do they really understand the value of the advocacy they are doing? And the power they have to advocate for other issues outside the classroom? As we approach the final days of the Advocacy in Action project on Wednesday and Thursday, I'm excited to see what my students conclude about the assignment. While I anticipate not all of the presentations will be major successes, I genuinely think that many of my groups did understand the value of this project.

Not only will we aim to engage in these final presentations reflexively and in terms of the advocacy we accomplished for our partners, but hopefully in terms of our capabilities to advocate for others in the future and our intention to do so. As a major tenet of CAP, it is not only important to consider these social issues and self reflect on our roles in perpetuating them (CCP), but it is vital that we act in order to create change within the power structures that cause these issues to continue, and our classrooms are places in which we have the power to do both. It is more than just talk, but a call to action that sets CAP apart from other methods of pedagogy.

Similar to the Advocacy in Action project, De La Mare created a service learning style approach to her public speaking course, with the goal “to build connections where social systems draw separations” (p. 196). While courses delving in CCP will bring these issues to life, it is the responsibility of a CAP course to provide opportunities for students to act in and out of the classroom, or the materials necessary to create these activism opportunities. Although we as TAs may not be able to create course, or even just new assignments, that give concrete opportunities to promote advocacy among our students it is critical that we approach our classes with a “language of hope and possibility” (Simpson, p. 81) and encourage students to see their own capabilities of advocating for others in their interpretations of assignments and in their daily lives. 

I wouldn't say that this week's readings are the most impactful to me, I do believe that I can utilize Communication Activism Pedagogy for some serious good and learning among my future classrooms and communities. From service-learning projects to more overt methods of activism, it is important to apply what we learn in the classroom to the outside world, and the world we will engage with much longer after we all finish school. I'm excited to see my students' final takeaways for the Advocacy project this week, and even more excited for the future opportunities I have to promote CAP in the classroom. 

"Time May Change Me"

Hey Google, play "Changes" by David Bowie

“There can be, and usually is, some degree of pain involved in giving up old ways of thinking and knowing and learning new approaches. I respect that pain” (bell hooks, p. 43)

We didn't have to read Teaching to Transgress to know that change can be painful. I'd like to think that I enjoy change and the spontaneity it brings to life, but even the most spontaneous and free people can be greatly affected by change, especially when that change has to do with the ways they fundamentally think about the world.

As we consider the contributions of Freire, bell hooks, and other critical communication pedagogy scholars throughout our readings this semester it is clear that in order for our classrooms to give voice to our students and become places of self-reflection and learning, we must all engage in a dialogue regarding the necessity of change in how we view our world, and how we make space for others. bell hooks stated, “it is crucial that critical thinkers who want to change our teaching practices talk to one another, collaborate in a discussion that crosses boundaries and creates a space for intervention” (p. 129). 

In today's TED talk (or... Ed talk?? Too much?), dialogue is key, and no matter the pain it might bring to the classroom it is vital to transform it into a space of inclusion and learning. I think I've been "okay" at implementing dialogue such as this in the classroom, whether through offering alternative messages in a group rhetorical analysis, discussing different social issues when choosing a class partner, or solving conflict between Advocacy groups with different goals. However, it's not just something we can sprinkle here and there, but this sort of dialogue should become a new language in the classroom. We should teach students from day one that inclusion and learning are our main priorities, and that students should express their voices and be experts in their own right and that we will offer them the space to do so. 

Tomorrow, as I embark on our week of performance studies and get to talk my students ears off about my dude Kenneth Burke (for 15 minutes or less of course), I want to implement this language of critical dialogue from start to finish. While I can pinpoint specific times these dialogues have occurred in the past, it is important that our students know this dialogue should be constant and have significance not only to certain topics but to the transformation of our class environment and student learning. Not only do I want to empower my students in their ability to express their voice in the classroom and become experts, but in their learning ability to understand each of the topics required, no matter how foreign or difficult they might be initially. 

While it might be painful, unexpected and difficult for us as teachers and our students to experience this change, it is a pain we should respect and welcome. It brings transformation to our classrooms and ourselves, and ultimately displays to our students that they are all welcome and valued!

Re-remembering: A reflection on the last 7 days and a lifetime of school

I come from a family of educators. My parents are both teachers, my dad was a coach, and both my aunts have had jobs ranging from kindergarten teacher to a college professor and principal. Growing up in such an education-oriented environment I never imagined being a teacher myself; which make my experiences this semester even harder to imagine!

The road to the end of this semester has had its fair share of bumps and dead ends, but as it comes to a close I am more surprised by students and proud of their work each class period. A successful run with rhetorical media analyses in class, finding out my donations team regularly meets at the bowling alley to hang out and finish their assignment, and seeing my 2020 students make 3 friends out of random strangers when I only required them to meet 1 - these are just a few highlights, and they're only from last week! As I grow prouder of my students and their accomplishments, I can't help but think how much I have grown throughout the semester as well. 

Palmer's book, "The Courage to Teach" has been one of my favorite readings for this course, because it allowed me to thoughtfully approach a mindset I've held about teaching for years, and everyday as I went into the classroom. Palmer argues that by questioning one's identities as both a teacher and a student, teachers are not only able to better understand how to interact with and provide learning opportunities for their own students, but they understand how their true selves can be incorporated into their teaching styles in effective and meaningful ways. Palmer encourages teachers to embrace the paradoxes found within the classroom, in this case providing students with the best learning opportunities and teaching as one's true self. More often than not it seems that I place limits on my role based on the different spectrums of these paradoxes. Am I giving each student a personalized education in which they achieve the learning objectives, even if this means incorporating multiple different types of activities in a given 50 minute class period? Am I communicating enough about myself honestly in order to build relationships with students that create a trusting environment? Am I being the student I want in my own classrooms in my graduate classes? And am I also making time for myself, my family and my friends out of my school life? 

While not the answer to solve all questions, it seems that Palmer's approach of "re-remembering" one's true identity offers a valuable opportunity for us to not only consider who we want to be in the classroom, but who we want to be as people and how we can express both. Palmer states that “Re-membering” requires teachers to “[put themselves] back together, recovering identity and integrity, reclaiming the wholeness of [their] lives” (p. 21). Not only should we seek to accomplish the learning objectives necessary for students to find success in our courses (our job kinda depends on it), but we should put value in our own expressions of identity, and ultimately seek to just be whole people - teacher, student, friend and everything in between. 

As I sit watching my mom prepare for her own class tomorrow - coloring turkeys for thanksgiving, what a gig! - I have a clearer picture of the "heart work" that goes into teaching. While I still don't place my identity solely within the teaching profession, I find it necessary to approach how I think and communicate this role with a new sense of excitement and remembrance of what brought me to be a TA in the first place. Considering all the teachers I've had who encouraged me, taught me important lessons and made a lasting impact, and how I engaged in the classroom as a student are necessary memories to help me understand one of my current identities as a teacher. I think if I can re-remember all that, and continue to position my thoughts, communication and feelings about my role more enthusiastically, I might just start to look like the teacher my students want and need.

#thanksforcomingtomyTEDtalk

Rhetorical Vigilantes: Batman, The Washington Post and other pop culture sources taking down power structures

As I sit answering last minute emails from students, frantic about their rhetorical analyses papers - or confused because they skipped class, I can't help but reflect on an interesting an engaging last few weeks of 1010. Having the opportunity to teach my 1010 students about rhetorical analyses was such a fun experience, and a definite student-becomes-master moment, but how can I ever be sure that my students enjoy or appreciate the value of such assignments, much less understand how to do them?

My love for rhetorical analyses is extra. I believe almost every research paper I've done in undergrad was a rhetorical analysis, and I loved learning new ways to consider language and rhetoric in unexpected artifacts. From Burke's pentadic criticism and cluster critiques, to narrative criticism and Bormann's fantasy themes, I find rhetorical analyses of all kinds to be unendingly interesting, important and so.. normal? Rhetorical analyses offer us more in depth, "academic" opportunities to critique artifacts we encounter everyday to determine how they communicate to audiences, why, and the implications of these acts. And add anything generally about language in the mix? I seriously can't get enough! When I began preparing my lesson to teach my 1010 students I was having so much fun and could not wait to see my students that week to pass on my knowledge of the subject.

Come the end of the day Tuesday and I was PUMPED. Not only did I get to share a little bit of my personal interests with my students through the artifact I chose for us to analyze (The Washington Post's 2019 SuperBowl Commercial - I love journalism!), but I genuinely think they understood how to complete their own analyses and enjoyed the class discussion we held. Although there were some disagreements about how students interpreted an artifact, such as the statue of liberty as a symbol of patriotism vs. immigration, I could see the wheels turning as the students discussed their interpretations of the artifacts and the overall effectiveness of the video. I have never left a class feeling so confident that my students' truly learned the material and could recreate the process themselves for their projects, and considering it was one of my favorite communication studies topics? Talk about a good Tuesday.

As we discussed narrative theory and the use of pop culture in the classroom in Pedagogy, I couldn't help but think about the relevancy such rhetorical analyses had within the discussion. The "Batman Class" created by Hammonds and Anderson-Lain to analyze the role of narrative theory and pop culture was a great example of an extended rhetorical analysis as the class used the same text throughout the course to discuss various communication concepts. Not only did the text incorporate important social and cultural ideas into class conversation, but it was an interesting and seemingly common artifact that students might not consider academic amongst everyday life. By using such a common artifact, as well as one that has ties to particular niche audiences, we can teach our students that truly anything and everything is worthy of studying and has value in the classroom, especially the artifacts they identify with and enjoy. McCauliff and Denker stated that through the use of such pop culture artifacts in connection with a critical communication pedagogy teachers become co-learners with their students, their own experiences are allowed to be represented and in focus, and (much like the actions of our hero Batman) dominant and oppressive power structures are torn down within the classroom to make way for a critical, reflective and diverse environment.

By allowing students to become experts in the classroom through the use of diverse and representative pop culture artifacts, we create space and give them a voice, but we also allow for opportunities of critical reflection regarding their social realities. Rhetorical analyses give us all a chance to communicate about how others communicate through different sources, and is more common than we might expect. One could even argue that a lot of the discussion we have in classes and as debriefing activities serves as a rhetorical analysis depending on the day's activity. Whether or not we knowingly engage in rhetorical analyses in our classrooms, it is vitally important that we consider the cultures and identities of the pop culture media we utilize in relation to those of our students and actively participate in the creation of a critical communication pedagogy within our classes. If we truly want our students to become better communicators and people rather than get the A, our classes depend on it!

#thanksforcomingtomyTEDtalk
Payton