Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in an Urban Secondary English Classroom

Reading the experiences of Duncan-Andrade and Morrell in North High was really difficult for me, because I've seen how a low-income, low-quality school can make students feel hopeless and angry. I can understand why the students had a hard time caring, because there was a lack of encouragement and socioeconomic and cultural connection between the teachers, their lessons, and the students. That's why I'm glad to see that there are instructors like Duncan-Andrade and Morrell work in classes like these. I honestly wish I had seen teachers like this in my middle school, because the effort these two put into connecting with the students instead of manufacturing a generic curriculum designed for white, middle class students.

I was a big fan of how Duncan-Andrade and Morrell made an effort to combine modern pop culture (hip hop music, the film A Time To Kill) and more classic literature (Romantic period poems, Native Son) to create relevance and establish connections for students where previously they may not have seen them. There is a common misconception in American society and in the educational system that there is only one way to educate, a system that Nobel Peace Prize nominee Stanley 'Tookie' Williams referred to as dyseducation: education which is focused on test metrics and meeting percentage goals based off of elite school performance, rather than focusing on providing an education that is relevant to students while still teaching students to read, understand, and produce in the Language of Wider Communication.

What made me feel reaffirmed in the use of critical pedagogy by Duncan-Andrade and Morrell is the change in their students, both in school performance and civic activity. The undertaking of Serious Voices for Urban Youth by their students to create a magazine that included articles, poems, and drawings that addressed issues that mattered to them is an example of how students who had previously been discarded by the educational system can work together to put in effort and create a product that shows a critical understanding of language. Most importantly, the students were able to create an outlet for their voices, ultimately allowing them to speak to future generations of students at North High School. Sadly, North High was left in poor condition even after they had graduated, and the high income school on the other side of town had completed a 5 million dollar stadium while North High was lacking textbooks in a large number of classes, showing the hypocrisy of the educational system in regards to funding and working towards the equal education of all students. However, many of the students in Duncan-Andrade and Morrell's class went on to perform well in college, matching with their high income peers, ultimately giving me hope that there is a possibility for change in the system to occur.