A CRITICAL TURN

A description of the natural rights construct and its effect on civics education would not be complete without reviewing the main critique of it:  the critical theory construct which is primarily supported by academics.  In the postings leading to this one, this writer has been reviewing the natural rights construct.  That review was completed with the last posting.  To use, advisedly, the language of its origins, critical theory is the antithesis of the natural rights view.

          What this and following postings will do is answer three questions:  what view of morality motivates an adherent to harbor critical theory beliefs? What view of government and politics does the construct describe and explain?  And how do the construct’s adherents view their contributions toward the common good?

But before beginning this brief view, here is a word of “warning.”  Unlike the natural rights construct, this construct has very little influence or presence in American classrooms.  Why?  A simple reason for this is that its ideas and ideals do not have much support among the American people.

For those who do find this construct appealing, there is a wide variance of support from being merely sympathetic with its concerns to a life-defining commitment to its tenets.  While any set of ideas will not garner complete support among those who are attracted to it – that includes the natural rights construct – this is even truer for critical theory. 

The fact that the construct is based on Marxian ideas – a set of ideas Americans have been historically antagonistic toward – goes a long way to explain this lack of support among the general population or lack of consistent support among its adherents. 

For most teachers and other establishment educators (administrators and workers at educational bureaucracies), Marxian positions tend to be considered un-American.  As such, those who support part or all of it might be seen by many or most Americans as less legitimate than what is warranted. 

To fully appreciate the natural rights view, one needs to understand what the view engenders in opposition.  So, here is, hopefully, a legitimate and respectful presentation of this other view, albeit a short one, for a reader who might harbor antagonistic biases.

If only a few teachers and school administrators support critical theory, also known as critical pedagogy, one can ask:  why bother with this view at all?  In the various schools of education on the nation’s college and university campuses, critical theory has become the dominant perspective and that is what, frankly, keeps it an active force in education. 

These educators run the teacher education programs at the nation’s universities and colleges.  While this is true, their lasting effect on incoming teachers is highly limited.  In most cases, students who are exposed to ideas that run counter to what has become accepted truth will tend to dismiss such messages.  They have little influence. 

Upon finishing these few years away from home at a higher educational facility, students return to accept teaching jobs either in their hometowns or in towns or areas nearby.  In their assigned schools, they reemerge among the milieu of other teachers and school personnel who hold beliefs and attitudes that are more familiar.  These beliefs tend to be antithetical to the beliefs espoused by critical pedagogues.  It turns out that these other co-workers have much more influence on these newly credentialed teachers.

But it is important to present this critical theory construct to the reader because parents and teachers should have general knowledge of what these scholars behind the ivy-covered walls are presenting.  While this writer is not a critical pedagogue, those who are have important ideas to offer.  They offer legitimate concerns and challenging ideas.  Their recommended approaches to curriculum should be given respectful consideration. 

They are sources of information about which typical citizens are not conscious.  They shed light on tilted policies that favor advantaged, economic groups.  These conditions are verifiable and they seriously question the levels of justice the nation extends to lower income segments of the population.  As such, critical pedagogues deserve the attention of any citizen who is serious about social capital.  Hopefully, the following postings will stir an increased level of interest among the readership.