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= hope   = =**Definitions **= *** insert your comments where you wish, you do not have to add only at the top. If you wish to respond to someone's post then add right below them.**

(MiLES) Trevor, sorry about bumping your posting down one notch but I wanted to let everyone know I'M A DAD!!!!! We have a wonderful baby girl named McCartney Emily Johnson, she was 8lbs 1oz, 50 cm long, born on June 4th at 5:29pm in Meadow Lake, my wife Julie and baby are doing great, they were home from the hospital 24 hours after giving birth, that was an experience I will never forget!!!! It has given me a feeling of pride, love and joy I couldn't have imagined possible. She is even letting us get some sleep at night, The concept of hopeful pedagogy has an entirely new perspective for me.........

(Trevor) Wow! All of you have such interesting and different perspectives regarding a definition. I would have to agree with those who did not like the term 'hopeful'. I suppose the intended definition of the term 'hopeful pedagogy' would certainly be Frierian, perhaps something like: A set of teaching methods designed to help not only to transmit information, but to create an awareness on the behalf of the student that he or she, to the exclusion of all others, is capable of affecting the course of his or her learning and life in general. I believe the most important aspect of hopeful pedagogy is emancipation. That is, to make students realize that they matter and that they can affect even the most difficult life circumstance. The 'hope' in hopeful pedagogy does not apply to the vague hope that a teacher may be able to make a difference, but to the hope a teacher can create for a student. I feel it is important that this definition be student - centered.

I'll get things started by suggesting we __negotiate__ and __create__ our own definition of "hopeful pedagogy". Perhaps we could put names in (brackets) so we can identify the writer for each posting. (Rheda) I hope my last comments went through....
 * (Sherron)** I started to look for a definition to post here and then changed my mind when I read this by Paulo Freire ' .... the meaning of a text is negotiated, that it is not imminent in itself but the result of polemical argument between dissenting interpretations.'

( Tim) Throughout my research I struggled to seperate emotions from the title of Hopeful Pedagogy. Friere's book Pedagogy of the Heart extends from the study of oppression. It looks in detail the role of social environments play in the education of an individual. How school can go beyond the education of an individual to create social changes in the community. As I read the opening pages of the book I was reminded of Augusto Boal who founded the Theatre of the Oppressed.

[|Augusto Boal - Theatre of the Oppressed]

I was attracted to this experiential form of learning and its impact on society. Reenacting injustices allowed spectators to come up with solutions and inspiration to make the appropriate change.

Paulo Freire was a major influence on Boal’s teachings. He and Freire became so close in later years, that when Freire died, Boal is reported to have said:  //I am very sad. I have lost my last father. Now all I have are brothers and sisters.//

Oppression is a continual issue addressed in the First Nations community. History has created boundaries in First Nation lives that provide fuel to the identity of oppression. Many of the Brazilian ideals can be translated to terms of similarity to the American Indigenous people. Perhaps exposure to the practices of the Theatre of the Oppressed could be looked upon in the school setting.

I read some comments on hopeful pedagogyand I must say...there are definitely varying ideas and definitions....I also think that it is entirely up to each person what they think hopeful is...like Joanne, I also read articles in theme 4 and I found some interesting facts and ideas...We have to nourish the soul of our students before learning takes place...If I remember correctly, that is what our Ancestors taught us..We have to accept who we are as people before we can begin to teach others. `The Heart of a teacher`-teaching holds a mirror to the soul. If I am willing to look in the mirror, and not run from what I see, I have a chance to gain self-knowledge--and knowing myself is as crucial to good teaching as knowing my students and my subject``

As for hopeful, from my point of view..I have been holding my breath as I watch my students struggle from class to class...what i think is important is not important to them...I plan lessons that i hope is useful only to have them drift throught the lesson without once giving notice to any of my planning...so much for that lesson....next...

(Rheda) This is my definition of hopeful pedagogy  To continue the discussion on what hopeful pedagogy means to us....I found these 5 points interesting...so I replied to them in my own ``hopeful pedagogical`` views....  1.  If all teachers were to respect all differences....there would be no need for us to use words like discrimination, racism and prejudice in our classrooms as we teach about Aboriginal people and their plight in our history in Canada...there might still be hope for Aboriginal students in our classrooms...only hope can help them now....as we watch the news on how many Inuit children are committing suicide...what lesson do you think their teachers are planning for the week after three children committed suicide?....what lesson would you plan after seeing such tragedy?...  2.  Do we have respect for the educands, when we manipulate them into thinking that their views are important when we don`t take the time to listen to them?  3.  I like this one...my son would this one too...he said...``I learned more from the discovery channel than I did from high school`` Who are we fooling? Are we open and tolerant when we acknowledge the diversity of our educands?  4. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> How can we say we are teaching so that our students are learning to learn when we as teachers ask them to regurgitate information without asking them what they think and why? <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> 5. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> And lastly, are we challenging our students when we give exams that do not require them to think critically? <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> I have always been the one who is different. In my graduating class of over one hundred, I am one of two brown faces in the picture. I was shy, but my thirst for knowledge was greater. I was withdrawn but my vision for my people never dimmed. I was silent but my heart cried out every time someone called me squaw. I was quiet but my eyes never stopped observing. I was restrained but my mind still wandered to a brighter future. I was unemotional but my laughter sang to the trees as I walked alone in the moonlight. I was repressed but I never gave up hope. I was oppressed but I never faltered except to pick myself up again. I am a living example of hopeful pedagogy. The odds were against me right from day one. I was the second youngest of a family of twelve. I started looking after myself at the ripe age of six. My parents who were both uneducated in the non-Aboriginal way taught me everything about life and survival. I can look for definitions of hopeful pedagogy in my students` faces as they begin each semester knowing that some teachers will destroy their dreams and extinguish any visions they have of accomplishing their goals.
 * 1) <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> to express respect for differences in ideas and positions.
 * 2) <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> to respect the educands, never manipulating them.
 * 3) <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> to be tolerant, open, forthright, and critical, teaching is not simply the "transmission of knowledge concerning the object or concerning the topic"(p. 81).
 * 4) <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> to teach so that educands can learn to learn "...the reason-for, the "why" of the object or the content."
 * 5) <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> to challenge educands with a regard to their certitudes so that they seek convincing arguments in defense of the //why//.

<span style="color: rgb(7, 17, 162); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">(Tim) Rheta, I too believe you need to teach to the moment. As you used the examples of tragedy affecting lessons, I have had to teach during an event of a funeral where the wake was being held. It was utterly silly to teach about grammar when it needed to be a time of emotional healing. This was not an isolated moment with tragic events happening on a weekly basis. I seemed to focus in on the establishment of hope in the students lives. Through Native Studies and ELA, I found avenues to express perspectives of "Hope". Select stories and articles allowed examples of human success. Where obstacles were confronted and overcome through the concept of hope and effort. I am strong believer of with hope comes happiness. As a way to measure happiness, I have noticed students respond to nature more actively when involved with fun.



<span style="color: rgb(16, 138, 157); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"><span style="color: rgb(0, 207, 255)">(Jinny) When I view/hear the term "hopeful pedagogy" I put it into context for myself immediately. I am still surprised at this program being so much about ourselves. In my mind, the term refers to my hopes for my teaching practice, what I aim to achieve, not necessarily hope for. If hope was all I had, would I still be doing what I am doing in my classroom? When I hope for something, I feel as though I don't have the power over the outcome, it is left up to fate. Hopeful does not seem to be the appropriate word for me when I think of what I want my teaching practice to achieve. I am a positive thinker and shoot for the expectation to be fulfilled, not just the wish/yearning for it to be. It is interesting to read and hear what scholars, dictionaries and other educational professionals have to say but that won't put it into context for me, my values, beliefs, students or classroom. Each individuals' "hopeful pedagogy" is different. I feel it is what we want to add to what we already bring to the table for my students. (Rheda) I agree Jinny. Every individual is a unique person so therefore we cannot begin to lump hopeful pedagogy into one definition.

<span style="color: rgb(67, 11, 147)">(**JoAnne) I think I put a slightly different connotation on the word hope. It has as aspect of belief to it. Hope is the belief that something will happen. It calls me to action, to work for the goal. If we sit back and hope without action, I agree that we have no power over the outcome. If hope causes us to believe that what we do makes a difference, then we will pursue the outcome from a different perspective. When applied to education, then hopeful pedagogy might be the belief that what we do in the classroom matters to our students.** (Rheda) Everything we do in our classrooms matters to our students. We walk in with a smile on our faces, we generate happiness. We instill pride, they become confident. Everything we say and do matters.

(Todd) I whole heartedly agree with you JoAnne and you said best here what I was trying to say lower on down the page. I do agree that hope can simply spring from nowhere, but I also believe that hope can be nurtured through actions. I believe we can plan for hope to occur in each and every student, but as for the outcome as you have pointed out we have no control over and this is perhaps due to the relationships that we have with our students. Those that we have a strong relationship with we seem to have a greater success rate with than those we do not. You also make a good point in that we teachers have to have hope that what we can do, or are doing, can make a difference in students' lives. Without that hope in us, can we truly create a hopeful pedagogy in our classrooms for our students?

(Brent) JoAnne, you and Todd are in sync with Pedagogy of Hope. Freire says, “The hoped-for is not attained by dint of raw hoping. Just to hope is to hope in vain,” (p.9). His idea is that a minimum of hope is needed to start a struggle, but without the struggle hope soon dies. There has to be action (action research perhaps) to sustain hope. (Rheda) Having those strong ties with our students does make for success stories. Keep up the great work Todd. JIm ** JInny I like your use of the word context. You and all of us are truely becoming action researchers. Dewey would be proud to see teachers reflecting upon our experiences based on the contexts which we live and work. (I think he would).
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 124, 255)">

(**JoAnne)** Just thought I'd start with the old fashioned dictionary definitions of hope and pedagogy. Hope: To wish for something with expectation of its fulfillment. Pedagogy (They varied somewhat so I included more.): > **2.** the profession of a teacher > **3.** the activities of educating or instructing; activities that impart knowledge or skill
 * 1) The art or profession of teaching.
 * 2) Preparatory training or instruction.
 * 3) **1.** the principles and methods of instruction


 * (<span style="color: rgb(198, 16, 16)">Darrell) ** According to Paulo Friere, "Hope as an ontological need, demands an anchoring in practice." (Friere, 1992, p.9). This means hope must be rooted in the way we teach. It is difficult to envision what this might actually look like. This underlines the difficulty of connecting theory to practice. What constitutes hope and what creates hope then become guiding principles in determining what a hopeful pedagogy might look like. Although this creates far more questions than answers it really initiates critical self reflection about teaching, beliefs, values, and what is education really about?

(Rheda) When minds like ours (Educators) start thinking and inquiring, there is hopeful pedagogy. The more questions we ask ourselves, the better we are for acting on them. (Miles) Questions that lead to more questions are as useful as an answered question, maybe more inportant....... <span style="color: rgb(0, 127, 255)">JIm You are right Darrell. Friere wrote that teachers should use action and reflection to critically exam our practices (I think Dewey wrote similar sentiments, too). By doing this I think we can work towards a hopeful pedagogy.

(MILES) I wa sthinking earlier today about hopeful pedagogy and how it can be examined from various perspectives. From an administrative position I would hope the staff at any school would be working towards all students finding sucess not only academically but socially, emotionally and physically. Mayer (2000) and Hopkins (2005) talk about the importance assuring student safety and security while in the charge of the school. From a classroom teacher's perspective, I would want my students to feel a sense of teamor unity, a place to share accomplishments and responsibilities. I do a writing assignment at the start and finish of the school year. We sit in a large circle and each student writes their name on a blank piece of paper and handed back to me. I redistribute the papers randomly so everyone has a paper and have each student write something nice about the person whose paper they have. We then pass the papers to the left or right and do the same thing again until each paper has been on each student's desk. I collect the papers again and start reading the compliments or characteristics and have the students guess who it is I'm speaking of. The kids love it and I have always found that the students are energetic and motivated to after this activity. From a student's perspective hopeful pedagogy can be as simple as an adult asking how their day is going to not having heir spirit crushed over something small. The world is cruel enough, I don't feel kids need any extra helpings of negativity. Right now I am thinking about the way Trevor handled a student that swore at him in class. A trip to the office was the last thing that student needed. Trevor listened and said the kid responded appreciatively to Trevor's empathy.From a parents perspective, even though my daughter is only 2 weeks old, I want her future teachers to care as much about how she feels as what she knows or can do. If I could write a letter to any of her future teachers it would look something like this...... Dear Mrs. or Mr. This is McCartney, she's the best I have, please treat her that way. Would my letter be considered hopeful pedagogy?? I feel it is............................

<span style="color: rgb(0, 152, 255)">(PETER) <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">As many of you, before I try to post any comments, I want to define the meaning of the term, “hopeful pedagogy”. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">First of all, I don’t like this term at all. If there is such thing as “hopeful pedagogy”, then “pedagogy” must be really “hopeless”. How bad are we in perfecting of our “art of teaching”, so we hope beginning this discussion on “hopeful pedagogy”? <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">In fact, after reading the draft paper for the 12th Dalhousie Conference on University Teaching and Learning held a month ago in Halifax, <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">“Why Professors Hate Their Jobs: A Critique of the Pedagogy of Academic Disengagement”, by William Frick, University of Oklahoma and Jim Parsons, University of Alberta, (  http://learningandteaching.dal.ca/dcutl/pdf/parsons1h.pdf ), <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">I realized that just like the twenty-eight University professors interviewed in this research paper, sometimes I “ … felt caught, trapped, unappreciated, and powerless to find joy for their spirits”; that “.. we are a hope-less lot, deeply cynical, feeling broken and battered” and that “… hopeful pedagogy might help.” (p.1) <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">I found this paper quite interesting and as I was reading Friere’s, the author quoted by some of you as well, insights from “Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum”, I got a feeling that perhaps I am on the right track in defining the meaning of the “hopeful pedagogy”. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">“… Paulo Freire (2007) would tell us that teaching, in addition to sharing, is a vocational opportunity to raise critical consciousness for the learner. The teacher, in community with others, practices so as to mobilize persons, to free persons from domination and oppression - to set learners on a different life-course because of newly-acquired thinking, attitudes, skills and dispositions. Teaching, then, finds its full meaning in a community of liberated (broadly construed) persons who have dedicated themselves to reconciliation, justice (broadly construed), discourse, mutual dependence, collective interests beyond the limited parameters of individual and/or collective identity, and peace." (p.3) <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">   <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Personally, I like the term “pedagogy of hope” better, as in “Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope” Bell Hooks.  <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">   <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">“… Teaching can happen anywhere, at any time - not just in classrooms but in churches, in bookstores, in homes, anywhere people get together to share ideas that affect their daily life.”.   <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">   <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">And, here is again how Freire presents the essence of “hopefull pedagogy” in his own words: <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">“… Our pedagogy cannot do without a vision of man and of the world. It formulates a scientific humanist conception that finds its expression in a dialogical praxis in which teachers and learners together, in the act of analyzing a dehumanizing reality, denounce it while announcing its transformation in the name of the liberation of man.” <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Sounds like “Pedagogy for Freedom”, doesn’t it? <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Freire, writes: <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">“ …teaching is not about transferring knowledge or contents. Nor is it an act whereby a creator-subject gives shape, style or soul to an indecisive and complacent body. There is in fact no teaching without learning. One requires the other. And the subject of each, despite their obvious differences, cannot be educated to the status of object. Whoever teaches learns in the act of teaching, and whoever learns teaches in the act of learning.” <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">The paper also talks about two contrasting terms, pedagogies of disengagement and engagement, in terms of how do we treat others. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Finally, the paper suggests seven Steps to Successful Pedagogies of Engagement: <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">“… We offer, in its infancy, some suggestions about how we as academics might overcome our cynicism and lack of hope. Although we have spent perhaps excessive time deconstructing what we have called a pedagogy of disengagement, we will not speak so much about how to beat out disengagement. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Instead, we will metaphorically accept and engage a law of physics – two things may not occupy the same space at the same time. We understand that there are flaws with this physical metaphor, but in its infancy it seems fruitful. In other words, we believe that filling life with a pedagogy of engagement will naturally push away and off to the side a pedagogy of domination. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Our plan calls for a 7-Step Program that, as imagined, does not cherish Step One of the famous 12-Step Program that says “I accept that I am not in control …” The steps are not necessarily sequential but rather processural. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Step One: We acknowledge a profound sense of our own good fortune and an active gratitude for the opportunity we have as academics. We see our place in the academic life as a gift that is unearned in the sense of an entitlement, and we accept that being an academic carries a responsibility. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Step Two: We act with compassion towards others. Compassion (from the Latin) means “suffering with” – feeling empathy, identification, and sharing the experience of life with those with whom we work. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Step Three: We actively “name” our oppositions to systemic domination, and by doing so act in ways to move us towards justice (with colleagues, for example, and for our students). We seek to engage goals that promote working and learning in partnership or interdependence as opposed to independence. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">(We must teach, research, write, and serve together in addition to joining each other in conferences.) <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Step Four: Our work must emphasize engaged praxis, not intellectual piety. That is, we accept the responsibility of an “ivory tower” that is responsible to a culture and a society. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Step Five: We must talk more to each other. Our impulse must be toward transformation through dialogue – to help change those and ourselves in pursuit of a better life. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Step Six: Our work must emphasize community (common unity). Community is inherently social and political, involving practices such as demonstrating respect for each other, responsibility and integrity in relationships, and service. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Step Seven: We must engage in cooperative acts committed to the long-term, with an active recognition that omni-competence is short-sighted. And, hard as it might be to do in a system that actively prizes omni-competence, we remain committed to working in partnerships and community even when the system creates little space for these."  <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">   <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">So, the BIG Question is:   <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">   <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Does it sound for you as “hopeful pedagogy” or I am on a wrong foot here? (Rheda) Hopeful pedagogy is what each and everyone of us makes it to be. I do not believe that there is one right definition. Peter, your insights into defining hopeful pedagogy is not wrong. We are all different so therefore our views will also be different.

<span style="color: rgb(0, 152, 255)">(PETER) Rheda, you must be right. I read a few others opinions about what does “hopeful pedagogy” really means for each of us. In search of the meaning of this term, I tried to be free of prejudice, fears, morality and religion, but perhaps it is not possible. As you and others wrote we all come from different backgrounds. Each of us has own system of beliefs. I do believe in three factors that determine how any of us go about teaching: I came from the system that oppressed freedom, destroyed identity and banned spirituality. Teaching had a strong influence of the existing political system at that time: the standardized instruction, testing and rote memorization was the predominant way I was taught in my school. Today as I master the way I teach, I want to be free of those influences. I am learning a great deal from all of you. I see a hope of becoming a better teacher. I hope for a change. I’ve listen a series of lectures, “History of Freedom”, taught by Professor J. Rufus Fears, University of Oklahoma Ph.D., and Harvard University. In lecture four he talks about Athenian Tragedy-Education for Freedom. “Athenian”, says Professor Fears, “understood that he must be educated for freedom and that education was an on-going process not the matter of compulsory school”. He argues than that “our education today is not for freedom. It is an education for expertise in a particular field. It is an education to socialize to make sure that we can work eight hours a day”. For me, “hopeful pedagogy” is “an art of teaching freedom”, and I won’t be able to master my profession if I remain a slave. In the “Freedom and the Lessons of History”, Professor Fears reminds us about one particular lesson that “human nature never change. The desire for power and to use that power for self-interest is always there. It is restrained only by morality” He finds it’s strange that “one controversy of our day”, Darwinism, is replacing the God in our schools. “We as a society”, continues Professor Fears, “turned away from the liberty. And I hope that in time, I’ll be able to teach my students one of the fundamental principle of liberty, freedom of enquiry, as it was taught to Athenians. It lies at the foundation of our Universities and we say there should be no restriction upon that pursuit.
 * 1) our personality, background, tastes, and attitudes;
 * 2) our own experiences as a students in school; and
 * 3) what we learn as a student of teaching.

"...to unveil opportunities for hope, regardless of the obstacles" Friere Students face obstacles on a daily basis and the obstacles they face can be comparatively different based on their SES, culture, beliefs, langauge issues, home environment, addictions, etc.... All students should be treated fairly but fair does not mean equal and this is a point I make very clear to all students I work with. Sometimes it takes a while for students to see and understand this concept but when the "light bulb goes on" for students concerning this issue I feel they have learnt a valuable lesson regarding respect, empathy, cooperation and flexibility. Hopeful pedagogy is keeping your door open to all students to come through and get what they need to suceed. For some students this may be having someone to talk to at school, for others it may be help with subject content, for others still, it may be as simple as feeling safe and secure at school from 9:00am to 3:30pm. When I can go home at night and feel comfortable with what I said and did at school that day I feel I am working effctively and affectively toward hopeful pedagogy. To quote Mark Spooner from our NB symposium, **"be present"** and the students will be able to relate to you. He also stated that **"we are** **graduating youth that are failing at life". "The cognitive will come when the affective is in place".**
 * (MILES) - Hopeful Pedagogy....................**

(Rheda) Several of us mentioned Spooner`s words. My question is, ``Are we still graduating youth who fail life?`` If we are, when do we stop? Is it because of the curriculum that we allow that to continue? Will changes in curriculum change teachers` attitudes as well? How about stories of how some teachers who use 20 year old assignments to students whose parents he taught?

(MILES) I don't feel the curriculum is what is causing people to fail at life but I can't say I have an answer, Multiple intelligence theory is suppose to address and support all student's learning styles but we continue to see young adults fail in the labour force, in post secondary insitutions, relationships, and life in general. I have ideas about what is wrong but no hard and fast answer. If we knew what was causing this sustained pattern I would hope we would change it. Is it a motivation issue? Are today's youth setting unattainable goals for themselves or no goals at all? Apathy? Indifference? The urban dictionary defines failing at life as **"Being a completely worthless bag of flesh and/or waste of air. People who fail at life usually** [|**suck at everything**]**." (not my definition??) Saskatchewan's economy has never been stronger yet the gap between haves and have nots is widening not narrowing. People continue to fail at life. Why??**

(Brent) You’ve got some profound questions Miles. What are the factors that lead to the disconnect between potential and performance? Drugs, alcohol, apathy, fear? I see a lot of my students who are scared to push themselves, or have no incentive to try and I can’t seem to help them find it. Why?

<span style="color: rgb(91, 17, 172)">**(JoAnne) The articles I read from Theme 4: Teacher Identity and Work (Palmer and Hole) talk about how we can focus on curriculum and the students, but what makes us a 'true' or 'whole' teacher is our 'heart' or integrity. That could be the same as Mark Spooner's idea of being present. I also think that when we reference 21st Century thinkers like Daniel Pink, they are calling us to graduate students who are engaged in life and society. I also am excited to see the new curriculum initiatives have a focus on developing students with a strong self-identity who are enaged in their world and in learning. What does this mean in our pursuit of hopeful pedagogy? Figuring out how we teach in way that guides both ourselves and students to 'be present' is hopeful pedagogy. It includes both the yearning, as John mentions, and the expectation that dealing with the affective brings about a change in the cognitive. Our teaching opens the door to the possibility of making the world a better place, one student at a time.**

(Rheda) I also believe in opening doors of possibility to students. (literally). It is a policy that we are supposed to lock the student doors at ten minutes after nine and after one in the afternoon. But, when a student comes to the door late, I am the one who lets them in. I figure, they are here, they want to learn. They may have slept in because their parents also slept in, so why not open the door for them. So, when I do open the door, I give them my famous smile and say, ``Good morning or good afternoon, I am keeping track of how many times a week I open doors for you, so, please come to school on time tomorrow.`` These students walk away with a smile knowing that someone actually cares for their education and they usually do not repeat that action. (MILES) We have all been late... Rheda, what is the school's policy on staff being late? Are they locked out and losea aday's pay?? Imagine how the students wouls see this?? Trevor's earlier comment about keeping hopeful pedagogy student centered is key. It's huge...........

(Todd) I also read the articles by Palmer and Hole and likewise say some of the similarities that you speak of. Much of the articles selected in that fourth theme have the recurring idea of the power of the teacher, as a person, and how we can both aid or harm a student just by being. So much of us comes into our teaching that it is difficult to separate us as a teacher and us as a person. With so much of us involved, of our personality, in teaching our "hearts' as you say and the readings reiterated that we are bound to achieve highs and lows based upon our relationships with students. By placing our "hearts" into teaching, are we not maybe channeling our "hopes" as well? //Hope may be little more than a fantasy which keeps us from being mindful…Without giving up hope, we will never accept where we are…Hope is a fantasy at the expense of being…a lack in the here and now…How would it look to teach without hope?...If one gave up hope, one could live in the problems one saw [and] one might see ways to deal with them. (Doll and Gough, 2003).//
 * JIM** - <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif">Here is an interesting quote that I do not agree with about Hope and teaching. Peggy McConnell’s //Perspective on Britzman and Pinar// (Doll and Gough, p.111, 2003) contains a quote by Peter Taubman who was speaking to a group of curricular theorists about losing hope. Taubman argues

I have to admit when I read this I understood what Taubman was trying to get at, but I just do not agree with him. I feel that hope **is** realistic. Fullan argues that hope is not a // naive view of the world – the blind hopefulness attributed to those who cannot bear to look at the realities of life…[Fullan] holds that hopeful people are very aware of reality and that it is their hopefulness that allows them to remain optimistic in spite of what may appear to be insurmountable odds.( ////Hulley and Dier, 2005, p. 41).//

I think that to hope is to be human and Giroux contends that in education //hope makes the leap for us between critical education, which tells us what must be changed; political agency, which gives us the means to make change; and the concrete struggles through which change happens. Hope, in short, gives substance to the recognition that every present is incomplete. (Edmondson and D’Urso, 2007)// Therefore, teachers with a critical eye on what can be changed and with the support of their communities and administration can find pathways to improve student achievement and competency. Hopeful educators and students can create better futures for themselves.


 * //Duane -//** Here is an interesting quote from Shor. "as a pedagogy which embraces a raising of the consciousness, a critique of society, as valuing students’ voices, as honoring students’ needs, values, and individuality, as a hopeful, active pedagogy which enables students to become truly participatory members of a society who not only belong to the society but who can and do create and re-create that society, continually increasing freedom".

<span style="color: rgb(0, 148, 255)">**Jim** - Wow! Duane...How do we do this? (Darrell) ** Fullan also suggest that hope is a necessary ingredient of change: "Fullan(1993) contends that technical planning has not worked in educational change and that political pressures have failed to make a difference. He suggests that innovation should be built on a deeper understanding of the complex interrelationship of emotion, hope, empathy, and shared purpose. True school reform requires shared hope and passion.(Hulley and Dier, 2005, p.2)
 * <span style="color: rgb(192, 22, 22)">


 * (Darcy)** I have to agree with you. I just can't help but feel that you'd get a sense of complacency without hope. That you need to be realistic in your goals and expectations, but that without hope you're more likely to be stagnant. To go back to the famous AR (action research) isn't that the goal - to give students a voice in the classroom??

(Trevor) I like the idea of hope, but I much prefer the idea of intention. To me, hope implies that there is an element of chance or fate, that outcomes are beyond one's control. I have always preferred planning and logical prediction. I am not saying that it is wrong to hope for the best for our students, but it is a little disconnected to reality for me. Perhaps that is because I like to be in control and there is an element of hope that, at least to me, suggests that outcomes are somehow 'out there', or beyond my control.

**Todd)** My first attempt at posting while be my opinion based upon no research of what “hopeful pedagogy” is. To me “(pedagogy” is a student-centered approach to teaching that embraces the students’ uniqueness for learning. Think of it as a sort of enabler to encourage students, in their own unique ways, to empower them to be facilitators of their own learning. Now I realize the many inherent problems with this statement, but is this not what we wish to strive for? Turning students on to learning?


 * (John)** Hopeful Pedagogy is a paradoxical concept. It seems easy enough to understand yet is as elusive and out of reach as the stars in the sky. Considering that pedagogy is: “the art or science of being a teacher” (Wikipedia, June 2, 2008) and I am a teacher, it stands to reason that I should be able to conclude hopeful pedagogy to be defined as: “a yearning to choose the correct strategies of instruction to teach in an effective manner” Further investigation into the topic reveals a mushroom effect, whereby defining hopeful pedagogy sprouts up in places other than the classroom and, upon further investigation/reflection, becomes harder to pin down. What is hopeful pedagogy and what does it mean to me as I search/research methods to enhance my best practice?

(<span style="color: rgb(232, 0, 255); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">John) Hopeful Pedagogy should focus on being the best we can be. In order for this to happen we need a focus or focal point to frame what this actually is. Striving to be our best, yet knowing we can always improve our practice. Hopeful pedagogy sets a target for us; something to shoot for. As we take the steps toward our targeted goals we need to simultaneously set new goals to continue the evolutionary process. Hopeful pedagogy is to yearn for experience. Though perfection may be unattainable and Utopian in theory, the action is exploring and developing into fields of expertise; it is the journey, not the destination. Hopeful pedagogy lends itself to differentiated instruction to benefit all students. Differentiation of instruction " which emphasizes attention to variance in students ' readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles", (Tomlinson) gives students the best possible options to meet their learning objectives and addresses all learners. Hopeful pedagogy removes the power element and increases awareness and purpose for education. When power struggles are eliminated, Freire tells us, a more fulfilling learning can exist. Hopeful pedagogy is something elusive yet quite close at hand. The desire to become a better quality teacher is to reach for the unattainable; that which is just out of reach.

So... who is yearning? The student yearns for experience, would be the obvious answer. But does the teacher yearn as well? Does the teacher remain ever curious, searching for new answers, other perspectives? How would this look in the classroom, in what ways would it impact learning? I have been looking at the book How to Think Like Leonardo daVinci, and a crucial element to genius is curiosity. How often do we encourage students to follow their noses as they research? How might a rubric affect (read: limit) their curiosity? Does this common practice squash attempts at a hopeful pedagogy? (Rheda) I totally agree with your questions Sherron. For me the rubric (in this class) makes me aware of my inability to make it to the top. It seems that no matter what I write or say, is never going to be good enough. I would also say that it does limit my curiousity because my ideas may not be what the instructor or teacher wants.
 * <span style="color: rgb(222, 18, 114)">(Sherron) ** <span style="color: rgb(11, 10, 10)">John I really like what you said - "  <span style="color: rgb(11, 10, 10)"><span style="color: rgb(5, 5, 5)"> <span style="color: rgb(232, 0, 255); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Hopeful pedagogy is to yearn for experience."   Lovely.

(Kim) Sherron, I like your question: who is yearning? I think as teachers we not only teach life long learning but we live it. We, as teachers, yearn to learn. If we had discovered all of the answers to teaching and __all__ students succeeded in school at the same level because of our tried and true methodologies, we may quit teaching because the quest for knowledge and experience would be over. There would be no need to yearn to learn. Life as a teacher would be boring. Perhaps hopeful pedagogy actually involves the excitement and thrill of new ideologies and experiences in the classroom for the students as well as the teacher.


 * Duane -** I really like what you say above John. I believe hopeful pedagogy first comes from within, meaning teachers have "it" in them to be better and to improve for the needs of their students and themselves. I also believe teaching is a skill that needs to be developed in a mechanical sense. Peer coaching and self reflection are beneficial but teacher supervision can also be empowering for improvement. The difficulty is overcoming the intimidation of being supervised. Adding to the difficulty is that many teachers are only supervised their first two years and then left alone. Shouldn't hopeful pedagogy continue throughout our careers?

(Rheda) I agree with you Duane about the supervision. Teachers should be supervised throughout their careers. An evaluation should be considered a learning tool. Don`t we as teachers evaluate our students on a daily basis?

(Todd) According to Freire, the central task of an educator "is to unveil opportunities for hope, no matter what the obstacles may be." I think Duane that this is something similar to what you have said above. You have as well asked a very important question about educators and their role in hopeful pedagogy. Can an educator that has lost the zeal for teaching achieve a hopeful pedagogy? I know and understand that this pedagogical concept is centrally around students, but educators and our relationship to students has a fundamentally huge impact on whether hope is present within the classroom. A teacher that [truly] cares I believe will model this and constantly build upon it. If a teacher is looking at improving themselves and does so on a regular basis I think they practice a little hope themselves into improving their abilities and that this can be carried on to students.

<span style="color: rgb(32, 213, 32); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"><span style="color: rgb(16, 157, 30)"><span style="color: rgb(29, 195, 31); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> (Jinny) I like your mind John! A yearning or desire to choose to teach in an effective manner... the want is there, but is the will? :)If you are a teacher of any form or area, practice should be a goal in your career. I forever want to know what I can do to better help my students and I find ways of doing it. I don't feel it is unattainable but continually changig once you have attained an aspect. Our students will always be changing as society changes. When I become a parent, I hope to doing better at that as well. Does "hopeful pedagogy" have a role in parenting as well, coaching, community member...? (**Darcy)** Maybe this reflects that the idea of being open to change and trying new things has applications in many areas, of which teaching is just one? I think it's not a bad thing because it kind of supports the fact that maybe as teachers we're actually going in the right direction? For me personally, with almost all educational topics I'm actually used to a lot of confusion, but I think that making it what it needs to be for your particular situation is what makes it an useful concept??? SO,, like I mentioned for me anyway, it's how I need it to relate to my particular teaching situation and desired best practice. It's probably way different then what it needs to be for you, but the point is that you're open to improvement??


 * (Sherron)** Teaching is grounded in the idea of change through growth - the transformative power of learning through experience. I believe teaching matters and that we can make a difference in the world through teaching. As students begin to see themselves as agents of change, the ripples in the circle expand.

<span style="color: rgb(33, 41, 192); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">(John) <span style="color: rgb(209, 210, 121); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="color: rgb(126, 78, 166)">Sherron, your inspirational “agents of change” really stood out for me According to Katherine Larson’s article: “Changing Hearts and Minds: Drop Out Prevention”, …students must be able to imagine and internalize possibilities for themselves that are different from what they may be living.” As we develop hope, we extend the transformations needed for students to control their own destinies. (Rheda) John, your statement,...students must be able to imagine and internalize possibilities for themselves that are different from what they may be living....is very true for me as well. I knew that even as I was being abused at residential school that I was there for a reason and that was to learn read so that I would be able to go out into the world and one day become something other than a statistic, dependent on drugs and alcohol like most of friends did. I even graduated from high school, against all odds, because I kept hope alive.
 * <span style="color: rgb(223, 17, 17)">

(Darrell) ** So true! By considering what might be as opposed to "what is my present reality" provides motivation to intrinsically pursue an education rather that the extrinsic motivational structures that are so entrenched in the system. The internalization of possibilities is genuinely empowering.

It's by Adriana Puiggros and she's talking about Paulo Freire and she says that " To speak of a 'Freirian method' is a mistake, except when referring to his strategy of teaching reading and writing to adults. But his contribution should not be reduced to a method whose technical innovation is limited but whose political and teaching/communication consequences are wide. This is because of their ability to delve deeply into the processes by which subjects are constituted, and also because the Freirian way of thinking discovered the importance of the teaching-communication encounter between educator and the person being educated, of that moment in which a relationship of power between cultures is established.
 * (darcy)** I was just on the following site http://www.wacc.org.uk/wacc/publications/media_development/archive/1997_4/paulo_freire_and_the_p

She concluded with this quote and this is kind of what I really like, b/c I see the application with my students The educator can be the person being educated, and the person being educated the educator. I think that I really need to remember this, b/c I often get into an information dissemination mode and I forget that there's lots that I can learn from my students. It's 2 way learning/communication and I would do well to keep that in mind. Maybe that's kind of my hopefull pedagogy??

<span style="color: rgb(0, 152, 255)">(PETER) I also start seeing an open dialog as a preferred mode of communicating with my students. Paulo Freire in his work “Pedagogy of Oppressed” put the idea of “dialog” at the center of what he called liberating pedagogy. However, after reading “Dialogue and Critical Pedagogy” by Nicholas C.Burbules I became less idealistic about this idea. In this work Burbules argues that: “ … Freire’s statements that teachers and students can each learn from the other (which is certainly true) is often taken as meaning that the teachers and students are equal in knowledge and understanding (which is, of course, generally not true). One of the most troubling paradoxes in Freirean (or Socratic) pedagogy, therefore, is where the teacher’s pronouncements of modesty and openness to learning from students threaten to become disingenuous in circumstances where everyone concerned, especially the students, know that the teacher does have expertise, does have intellectual and political agenda, and often does have a distinct role – even within an ostensibly open dialogue – in pressing the discussion towards specific outcomes.” I have to admit that in spite of my sincere believe in dialog’s privileged communication status, it will be challenging to use it in my practice today. Nevertheless, I see the desire for dialog as a part of “hopeful pedagogy”. Through it “…teachers and learners are joined in a shared act of inquiry and meaning-making”.

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(243, 68, 195)">(**Leanne)** To identify my personal definition of hopeful pedagogy, I must first decipher the terms 'hope' and 'pedagogy'. According to Wikipedia, hope "is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope implies a certain amount of despair, wanting, wishing, suffering or perseverance — i.e., believing that a better or positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary". Pedagogy "is the art or science of being a teacher. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction". With a better sense of the individual terms, I can construct my personal meaning of hopeful pedagogy - a means of teaching and relating to students that brings about an increased awareness of one's surroundings and abilities as they pertain to future endeavors. In other words, allowing kids to see the potential in themselves and encouraging them to take the steps needed to experience success both within the education system and outside - regardless of sex, race, socio-economic background, etc. Taking the constructivist approach, mixing it with one part discovery learning and two pinches of experiential learning, then shaking it up with a little authentic learning serves as a great way to introduce students to new learning and continued life-long learning as they make the transition into the adult world.

(Rheda) Great recipe for success Leanne!!!

Here is a line from my report. What do you think? Are hopeful pedagogy and hopefully improving pedagogy the same thing? (MiLES) Hopeful pedagogy denotes a sense of purpose, hopefully improving pedagogy seems like guessing or relying on chance and luck.... just an idea....Thanks for the email about McCartney.....
 * JIM**

<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 122)">**(Sherron)** Interesting thought Jim, but I'd have to say they are not the same thing. A 'hopefully improving" pedagogy sounds as if one is optimistic that the teaching will improve; whereas a "hopeful pedagogy is about the HOPE in teaching when we remove issues of power in the student/teacher relationship. You have changed a __noun__ to an __adjective__. Or did I completely misunderstand your premise. Can you explain it further? <span style="color: rgb(255, 9, 0)"> (Darrell) I concur, Sherron. There is a significant difference between hopeful pedagogy and hopefully improving pedagogy although they do not have to be mutually excluive depending on the context. Barry Kanpol (1994) makes a significant distinction between schooling and education. The basic logic for schooling argues Kanpol relies on preparing students for a market economy. "Underneath this rubric of market logic lies the students need to be extrinsically motivated to learn. Grades, pop quizzes, fear of their results, cheating systems, reward structures that filter an immediate gratification logic, strict accountability models for teachers, demeaning stereotyping, sterile teaching methodologies, rote learning, frogetting information the next day or simply after a test, and the like, place the student and the teacher in the awful predicament of using schooling as a socialization mechanism that loses sight of the many reasons for attending schools in the first place." Education in essence is about nurture, care, community, citizenship preparation and understanding and practicing democratic principles. I could go on ad nauseum about the oppressive nature of schools simply because of their institutional structure and the societal norms and values that guide them. Hopeful pedagogy to at least many critical theorists is about social justice, and the with this providing an intrinsic motivation to learn through a constructivist approach. Kanpol(1994) summarizes this notion best as well: " We can indeed educate our students if we choose when and where it is appropriate to resist schooling structures. Hope lies in asking and answering this following question, and then subsequently, taking action. To what end do I teach? When I can truly answer that question, the critical pedagogue will realize tht teaching is more than about transmitting the basics of schooling, but really about the vitality of educating for citizenship, democracy and the hope that this can be passed on to future generations."

(Kim) Interesting question, Jim. I needed some time to think about it before I responded. I don't think that the two terms mean the same thing. I think that hopefully improving pedagogy implies more of a conscious effort to improve one's teaching, whereas hopeful pedagogy is a more natural way of teaching, with continuous reflection, about one's beliefs of teaching and how they are applied in the classroom. For example, hopeful pedagogy is they way one treats one's students on a daily basis and hopefully improving pedagogy is more about how one applies Professional Development to current teaching methodologies.


 * //Duane -//** I aslo read that article by Kanpol. Darrell, although I agree with the statement regarding when to resist schooling structures, I am apprehensive of how teachers will know this. Some teachers may avoid certain school structures for the wrong purpose.Once again trust becomes an issue along with professionalism.


 * (Todd)** I was reading a book the other day entitled Improving Student Learning One Teacher at a Time and the first chapter was called: Replacing Hope with Certainty. The author brings up a good point that I believe you stumbled upon with your question Jim. She asked this question: "How did we get to the point where teachers hope for good results rather than plan for them?" (Pollock, 2007) I think many of us, if not all, at one time or another have said "I hope that went well." or "I hoped that they learned something there." Is this hopeful pedagogy? I think it is part of it, but not the full picture. I think all teachers are determined to do what it takes to improve students' learning and lives but as she says in her above quote I think actions and planning are the key to hopeful pedagogy and assisting students to succeed. Hope is initially there to guide us, but action and determination, to help each student succeed is what determines "hopeful pedagogy."

<span style="color: rgb(226, 18, 72)">**(Sherron)** Todd, do you think you confuse the word "hope" with "wishful thinking" in that example about waiting for results? "Hope" can be used in many ways but the context is important in defining the word. What if Hope is not there as a guide, but as a lens through which we view the world? Hope can be a Framework for teaching, the way by which our practice is shaped, relationships formed and classroom dynamics built in a positive way. A hopeful pedagogy places the student and the learning at the centre - not my ego or my need for control or my unquestioned authority over my students. I don't believe "action and planning" are key to a hopeful pedagogy; the __relationship__ between the teacher and student and between students is key to reframing the paradigm. Without establishing a relationship based on trust, honesty, respect, and belief in the student to construct their learning and contribute in a significant way on the journey, there can be no hopeful pedagogy.

(Todd) I hear what you are saying Sherron and if you have read my other posts I do clearly state elsewhere that "hopefully pedagogy" is a student centred process. Relationships are crucial to this process and I do not think I have said otherwise. Planning does not necessarily mean control. Planning can and is in my classroom and many others a process between the teacher and the student as co-educators. As the process itself is student centred and students are all uniquely different it might often times rely on teachers in order to assist hope along for each unique individual through planning. This planning is based upon our relationship with each individual to coincide with their learning and how they learn, breaking down the traditional power struggle that may be found within a typical classroom and hence creating a partnership of educators.


 * <span style="color: rgb(243, 32, 87)">(Sherron) ** Thanks for the clarification Todd, I understand what you mean. I've often wondered how teachers "plan a process". What does the planning look like in a constructivist based classroom?

<span style="color: rgb(246, 58, 19)"><span style="color: rgb(25, 16, 16)"><span style="color: rgb(175, 29, 29)">(**Darrell)** Sherron,I believe that you have hit the nail on the head. Friere even went one step further. He removed the entire mechanism for control from the equation. Teachers and students become colleagues or co-learners. This creates a situation where you have a teacher that learns and a learner that teaches. The removal of the typical power relationship that exists between teacher and student virtually disappears. Many teachers would be rather uncomfortable with this concept. A significant paradigm shift would have to occur not only in education but in society as a whole for this to happen.

(Rheda) Darrell, are you comfortable with this concept of teachers` removal of power??

The greatest tool to promote change, and keep hopeful pedagogy alive, is respectful communication. Paulo Friere's view of the importance of communication is summarized on http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-freir.htm. This article statest that to Friere, "Dialogue wasn't just about deepening understanding - but was part of making a difference in the world. Dialogue in itself is a co-operative activity involving respect. The process is important and can be seen as enhancing [|community] and building [|social capital] and to leading us to act in ways that make for justice and human flourishing." By promoting a culture of respect in my classroom my students and I can make our own definition of the direction we hope that our lives go in and then try to implement change in the world.
 * Megan**

<span style="color: rgb(16, 157, 30); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">(Jinny) Hopeful pedagogy... I still don't like the hopeful part... as Leanne mentioned earlier about there being some despair or suffering with the term... but how Kim refers to it as engaging in a best practice. It is achievable. We may want to apply it to all students but even if it is one or two in the classroom is it not a success? It should be a cyclical process, striving for the acquisition of hopeful pedagogy throughout our careers, as Duane's question posed. Once we hav found a best practice, let's continue to find how we can reach further to more students, beyond our classrooms and so on.

(Kim) A quote from // Pedagogy of Hope: Reliving Pedagogy of the Oppressed // (1992) by Paul Friere states that “hope, as an ontological need, demands an anchoring in practice.” I found ontological need to mean a conception of reality; it is a study of being or existence. Therefore, the quote means to me that according to reality, hope demands an anchoring in practice. An anchor is stability, it keeps one grounded. To have an anchor in practice, one must truly believe in what one does and know that one is making an impact or a difference. When one believes that one is doing the best one can, one is taking part in a “best practice”. From this quote and these definitions, I believe that hopeful pedagogy is engaging in a best practice.

(Kim) I found a list of things a teacher might do to promote a pedagogy of hope from the National Urban Alliance which I found interesting: 1) High expectations for all 2)Authentic tasks 3) Active learning 4) Helping students make sense of what they are presented & designing instruction to maximize opportunities to deepen and elaborate on meaning 5) Literacy rich environments 6) Quality resources 7) Connecting school to home, culture and community 8) Problem-focused learning 9) Collaborative and applied work on issues of deep concern to students and community 10) Pedagogy for all I think we would all strive to achieve these goals in our classrooms. http://www.nuatc.org/news/pedagogy_hope_confidence.doc

(Todd) I found this quote while surfing the web tonight and I think it really sums up the whole idea of a pedagogy of hope. "Change is more apt to occur when we help magnify 'promise and potential' rather than pathology and failure." Wow how real is this. This is really getting to the crux of the central tenet to hopeful pedagogy. Is this not what we strive for? But much like "The Force" [from Star Wars] it is often easier to focus on pathology and failure. (JoAnne) <span style="color: rgb(84, 16, 157)">I like that thought that we focus on 'promise and potential". I was reading Karen Hume's book //Start Where They are: Differentiating Success// and she asks us to look at student strengths rather than the weaknesses. She says that teaching to individual learning styles, personality and interests will support learners more than trying to find only their gaps and trying to fill those. It's an interesting thought to think that maybe hopeful pedagogy calls us to look for the positve rather than the negative. I wonder how it all relates to the current buzz phrase of Assessment for/as Learning? Does the pedagogy of Assessment for Learning focus us on what students know, or what they lack? **
 * <span style="color: rgb(58, 17, 136)">

=<span style="color: rgb(4, 134, 174)">**Examples** = <span style="color: rgb(4, 134, 174)"> Megan There is one specific time in my teaching career that I felt I made a difference in a students life. I remeber being at an inservice my first year of teaching and having an assistant director talk about how each year he tried to find one student who really needed someone to care about them and taking that students under his wing. I thought this was a really awesome idea. My first year I tried to mentor one student but by the end had really made no gains and felt discouraged. In my second year I bonded with this little boy who did not have much of a home life. He would get in trouble but when you asked him about it he would amaze me with his frankness and honesty and confess everything that he had done. I realized that he would probably make the worlds worst criminal :) because he would surely turn himself in, so I decide to make him my project for the year. I remember one time looking at his unhealthy lunch and talking to him about the importance of eating vegetables. The next day he told me that he got his mom to make him a salad at the restaurant she worked at. From then on he would tell me what vegetables he was eating everyday. I would also check in with him everyday at school to make sure he was not getting into too much trouble in the evenings. He even started studying for test with a little encouragment. For the year I had him his grades improved and for the most part he stayed out of trouble. I see him from time to time around town and I am not really sure how he is doing but for the year I was his teacher I really felt that I made a different in his life. This totally renewed my hope in my profession and mankind.

(MILES) Megan, I also remember Brian's talk at our in-service that year about caring for students and it is amzing the response and change you made in that students life. I have read some postings that argue that hope can not be created or handed out by a teacher but your story encourages me to believe that hope is never dead. Maybe it can't be measured empirically, but you could empathetically measure your impact on that particular student. People may forget what you say or what you do but they will always remember how you made them feel. I borrowed that statement from someone, somewhere, I can't remember who??????? (Trevor) I remember that line as well Miles - and I totally agree with it. I have always attempted to teach in such a way as to show students that I sincerely care about them as people. As Spooner discussed, it is crucial that educators awknowledge and respect the humanity of each individual student. Human - beings can sense insincerity, and they respond by withdrawing. If we, as educators, do not sincerely display interest in our students, we will be unable to build meaningful and productive relationships. I also believe that it is the students who most need genuine human interaction who are most affected by teachers who don't care. These at - risk students often have a great deal of life experience involving negaitve human interaction. It is the responsibility of good educators to break the cycle of negative relationships and be beacons of positivity in the lives of students. I can think of one example in particular in which I believe I acted as that beacon of positivity. I had a 16 year old boy come to class one day near tears because of a situation at home and the fact that he was failing every class in school, including mine. I took him aside and asked him what was wrong. He replied by saying, "You don't give a 'bleep' anyway - get off my case!" At that point, I could have disengaged and sent him to the office for swearing at a teacher. However, I knew it was not personal and that the young man's response was probably directed at many things in his life. I responded by telling him that I did care. I gave the rest of the class a reading assignment and took the young man for a walk. I did not attempt to offer any unsolicited advice, I simply listened for about 15 minutes to what he had to say. When we returned to the classroom he thanked me for listening and noted that nobody ever listened to him. From that moment on, his attitude toward me and my class changed entirely. Though he was not universally successful overnight, he did pass my class and eventually graduated with a legitimated grade 12. I don't pretent to take credit for the young man's success, but I would like to think I was a positive light in a dark time for him.

<span style="color: rgb(31, 13, 160); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">(Tim) I also remember Brian's inspirational speech. My respect for Brian was established by the words at the conference. I wanted to emulate his ideals. Currently I find it difficult to establish a personal relationship with students since of my lack membership in the community. As a citizen of a neighboring community I have limited interaction with the youth. Continuos interaction is needed to make a substantial difference. To be their to listen.

<span style="color: rgb(31, 13, 160); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif"><span style="color: rgb(13, 12, 12)">**(Sherron)** The Arts provide students with an expanded view of the world and provides them a vehicle for expressing their ideas. As they take risks, they gain confidence and their self esteem grows. As they learn to accept themselves they also learn tolerance for others. I remember a Collective Creation I worked on with a group of grade 10 students. They wanted to explore why people cut themselves. The process led us through discussions, research, interviews, exploration with scenarios, creating characters from various perspectives and writing a script resulting in a film. Students reflected on what was learned, shared personal stories and created an original piece to share with others. I think this experience changed the way they see the issue and their ability to respond/react in new situations. Here is a link to an awesome student blog  [http://wanderingink.net/?p where she talks about creativity. This kind of writing and thinking by a 16 year old fills me with hope!

(Miles) A grade 3 student at my school showed up Tuesday morning, he hadn't come to school on Monday and was late Tuesday so he was at the office at about 9:30amfor a late slip. Quite often I ask the students why they are late or absent and when I asked this boy why he was absent Monday, he told me he was in school, but not in class. I asked about this and he explained that his grandfather had taken him and three of his cousins out to the bush to learn about and do a sweat. Before he went back to class we talked about his day and what he learnt, the things they did, the process he and his grandfather had gone through. He had learnt something very important Monday, something that is not found in a book, or on the internet. Experiencing is a vital tool for learning. There are lessons all around us we have to stay mindful of this and truly accept that not all students will fall into the neat and organized categories that sometimes we would like them to fit. The cultural lesson(s) that was taught on Monday was as valuable as the lessons that were going on in the traditional classroom. I am hopeful that the cultural traditions of First Nations people are handed down to the next generation because if they are lost they will be lost forever. I think back to Mark Spooner's NB presentation and I had to ask myself; who was the "EXPERT" on Monday? Grandpa or the classroom teacher? We need room, space, a chance to position ourselves in a place where there is time and commitment to both.

(darcy) After reading your comments Sherron, I see this mirrored with my students in the lab. In the lab, they need to use info memorized in their academic classes but take another step to problem solve or think critically. As they get more comfortable in the lab ( which reflects the work place) their confidence grows. There is a large team work component to the lab and as their individual confidence grows, they become better group members. I think that this really helped me b/c this group work/problem solving is one of my goals for the students when they are practicing pharmacy technicians. The student really like the lab b/c it's often their first exposure to their chosen profession. LIke I said above, I think that it's a shame if I miss opportunities to learn from my students, instead of them just learning from me. go figure that you (artsie) and me(technicial) would have so much in common?? Maybe you're brains are just rubbing off??? darcy


 * <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 189)">(Leanne) ** I can easily relate to your comment Darcy and would like to support it with a personal example. You mentioned learning from our students and the importance thereof - I couldn't agree with you more. For the last two weeks, I have been visiting with former students of whom we (my partner and I) have been working with regards to job readiness. What we thought we were doing to help them in their quest for continued learning and work place readiness and what was actually happening, was an eye-opener to say the least. What we considered to be our most effective strategies were in fact 'best practices' according to students, but they also managed to teach us how they percieved the experience we were providing and made us aware of the true impact we had over them. They trusted us enough to be open and honest about our programming and about their apprehensions which will aid us in enhancing our future programming. Being able to bring out the analytical ability in our students and encourage feedback (both positive and negative) was huge in my effectiveness. I know I kind of beat around the bush with this . . . but it makes me realize the great contributions students have that we sometimes tend to underplay or ignore. They are our future and it is important to include them in the planning process, and more importantly, it gives me pride and **hope** to know that this generation cares enough to want to make changes to help pave a new path for all who follow. (Darcy) Hey, this really reminds me of giving students a voice with AR!!! Ha, HA!!

<span style="color: rgb(0, 76, 255)"> JIm - Todd I like your idea of "community of hope". It creates a sense that we are more than a school, that all the people in a persons life help educate and develop them.
 * (Todd)** In reading the other responses from everyone I seem to see how the idea of hope is central to not only the school, but to the students. ver the past week or so as I have been thinking of this and reflecting on the true meaning of "hopeful pedagogy" I kept on coming back to my last project on community schools that I did with Trevor and John. Many of the readings focused on how negative impacts, such as poverty and violence, on children can have negative consequences upon their educational process. As many of us have already stated, and I think that fundamentally that this is a key role of teachers within the educational process, that hope can guide us [teachers] in developing responsive measures, that are not intrusive within the daily curriculum [as many of us struggle to complete] that create an atmosphere of hope for students to flourish in by develoing success that may counter the negatives. By creating or manufacturing success [in students] it creates hope. A "hopeful pedagogy" enables us to develop in students habits that help them resist the negatives that can come from poor socioeconomic or violent conditions. However, I think what is equally important, is the creation of a "community of hope" that fosters habits within all students to continually develop and encourage the development of hope’s habits. This comes out of my experience within my best practice reflection in creating a safe classroom. By creating a "hopeful" atmosphere my belief is that it could possible lead to this continued growth of hope in a safe and nurturing classroom where not only can students flourish individually, but can work together to create a more positive outcome for all by creating success. Teachers can emphasize hope to not only achieving the goals of the curriculum; but by also promoting students’ success through personalizng work [for individual students] that build upon past accomplishments. As found in our last paper on community schools, we need to occassionally look beyond the confines of the classroom and school to the community resources and coordinated efforts of other social agencies to faciliate this hope. =
 * A useful article: Shade, P. (2006). Educating Hopes. //Studies in Philosophy and Education, 25(3)//

<span style="color: rgb(70, 20, 133)">**(JoAnne) I taught in a school where it may be perceived that the students had little hope. It was overwhelming at first. Many experiences could have led to a feeling of hopelessness:**
 * <span style="color: rgb(70, 20, 133)">**getting a midnight call from the RCMP asking for a list of a student's friends because his parents didn't know where he was or who his friend's were**
 * <span style="color: rgb(70, 20, 133)">**students waking themselves up and getting themselves to school**
 * <span style="color: rgb(70, 20, 133)">**students acceptance of parents in custody and their familiarity with the police**
 * <span style="color: rgb(70, 20, 133)">**excitement of 'cheque day'**
 * <span style="color: rgb(70, 20, 133)">**student hunger and lack of clothing**
 * <span style="color: rgb(70, 20, 133)">**a student winning a bike in a raffle and then his parent pawning it**

<span style="color: rgb(70, 20, 133)">**I really could make the list continue. Despite the difficulty of many of their lives, these students instilled me with hope. They wanted a relationship. They responded to people being 'present'. They shared their emotions without manipulation. When my principal told me I had to become less of a bleeding heart, I had to search for the hope. I looked to my colleagues and say them seeing the positive, making the lives of the students hopeful and happy while they were at school. I realized that I had to focus on my impact being the best it could be within the classroom and school atmosphere. If I succeeded, the hope was that the success they felt there would empower these students to find the strength to survive and thrive, despite encountering obstacles, many outside of our experiences. In other words, they would have hope.**


 * (Todd)** I can relate so much to what you have said above Jim with those quotes from students about "hoping" to pass a class, "hoping" to pass something in late, etc. Over the past year as I myself have been a student in this Masters course, I find myself rethinking some of the ways I have been operating my classroom. I never thought of myself as a hard person, but I did emphasize deadlines and whether or not I would accept them late. Especially if they were assigned weeks or months before. However, like John spoke of above, (like Freire) I have been finding myself really focuing on the students and their needs. I am becoming a little more lax with deadlines in the hope that those students who need extra "hope" coming from various backgrounds can benefit from the added encouragement and communication to get projects done and in. By providing them with hope I am finding that more often than not, they respond and do not let me down. Like Spooner said "listening comes before learning." This I also discovered my AR project last fall, that students should have a voice and they can be excellent partners within education.

Duane - I agree Todd that we have all likely changed our approach since starting this program. Focusing on students' needs is extemely important but unfortunately there are barriers that keep us from doing that to the extent we would like. Recently, Brent, Darrell, and I talked about policies in schools. Are they in place for the needs of teachers or students? The shift in "hopeful pedagogy" is enormous and it needs to include so many elements form students, teachers, curriculum, policy,etc. If we can strive to do our best in the interest of student well being we can be successful. Like so many other parts in education there is no finish line (which we often look for) rather a continuum to keep moving forward and improve.

(Laurette) I can relate to hope as a goal, a goal that can be accomplished. Several years back when I decided to fundraise for a class trip to Disneyland with some High School students, it felt like it was impossible at first because Disneyland in California was so far away and we had to raise enough money to make it happen. It was a hope that each of these students wanted. It took us at least two years to fundraise before we actually went on the trip, but it became a reality and the students loved it. It was an experience and a trip they would never forget, once in a lifetime. I'm glad I help them reach their goal and thier hope. It was a challenging event, but we pull through. It was amazing. Would I do it again? I hope to. I guess determination and commitment is the key to success.

<span style="color: rgb(0, 136, 255)">**<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"><span style="color: rgb(0, 121, 255)">JIM ** I think that schools are places of hope. They allow students to learn, gain knowledge, ideas, concepts, etc. that they can use to create their own perspectives about life, society, and our world. I enjoy coming to school everyday and working with students because their is a positive energy that reverberates everywhere. Part of this energy is hope. Students want to become something someday...this is hope; teachers want their students to succeed....this is hope; administrators want their teachers to inspire students and create amazing learning environments...this is hope. I am sure their are more examples. Can you guys think of others?

<span style="color: rgb(44, 0, 255)">(John) Jim, while I agree that schools are places of hope, we must remind ourselves that there are obstacles for some students. Do we need to be aware of the Euro-centric education system prevalent in our schools? How do we teachers instill hope in students who are not from European backgrounds when, as Schick and St. Denis assert, that Aboriginals: “ are discouraged by dominant discourses from understanding their situation as an effect of racism, and may even be disciplined from within to accept that racism is what happens under special, isolated circumstances.” Freire contended that the basic importance of education lays in the "act of cognition not only of the content, but of the //why// of economic, social, political, ideological, and historical facts...under which we find ourselves placed." [|http://www.edb.utexas.edu/faculty/scheurich/proj3/freire5.html<span] (June 2, 2008) Addressing these issues are an important step in searching for the elusive “Pedagogy of Hope”. What do you other folks think about this concept? <span style="color: rgb(35, 16, 16)">**<span style="color: rgb(169, 15, 15)"> (Darrell) ** <span style="color: rgb(39, 22, 22)">I agree, John. Inequities exist in the present education system even if we are remiss to make that admission. There are issues of poverty, race, and gender that are imbued in the social structure of the school since it is a by product of our society. Friere does provide a list of tasks that a progressive educator might utilize to attain that elusive "Pedagogy of Hope." They are as follows: 1) To unveil opportunities for hope, regardless of obstacles. 2) To accept the political and directive nature of education. 3) To express respect for differences in ideas and positions. 4) To respect the educands, never manipulating them. 5) To be tolerant, open, forthright, and critical, teaching is not simply the "transmission of knowledge concerning the object or concerning the topic." 6) To teach so that educands can learn to learn"...the reason-for, the "why" of the object or the content." 7) To challenge educands with a regard to their certitudes so that they seek convincing arguments in defense of the why. 8) To respect popular knowledge, cultural content....this is the point of "departure for the knowledge (that educands) create or the world. 9) To understand that the "perception of the why of the facts....lead us to transcend the narrow horizons of the neighborhood or even the immediate geographical area, to gain (the) global view of reality...." http://www.edb.utexas.edu/faculty/scheurich/proj3/friere5.html

This is not a formula to achieve a hopeful pedagogy as the context of the teachers and the learners differs situationally.

(Kim) I think that because we hope that our students will succeed that it appears we place our needs ahead of our students. We place deadlines on assignments because our there in the real world, nobody cares about your problems; when work is to be done, it is to be done or you don't get paid. From a teacher's perspective, which is academic, success is often measured in terms of academics and when students succeed academically and go on to University, we want them to be prepared for the demands placed on them by their profs. We are to ready students for their future so there is a tension between our hopeful pedagogy in the classroom and what the future holds and expects from our youth. **<span style="color: rgb(237, 18, 84)"> (Sherron) ** What is an "educand"? Is this the word for "student" or "learner"? Where does this term come from?

**Duane H** I agree schools are aplace of hope. Unfortunately not for everyone. This is where we need to grow as educators. We need to find ways to reach out and give "hope" to students who may not see school as a place of hope but rather a place they have to go. All to often we get caught in the trap of teaching the curriculum and not students. Imagine if we taught the students all the time. Wouldn't that give a sense of hope to both teachers and students?

<span style="color: rgb(0, 107, 255)">**JIM** I think, as teachers, we have observed a relationship between hope and achievement. Students with “low hope” (a term I read about in Snyders article...see references) have stated or asked, “What’s the point?” or “There is no hope in doing it now, is there?” (I just had this happen today actually!) or “There is probably no hope in hell you could let me hand it in late, is there?” or “I hope I pass this class, this time” or “The teacher doesn’t like me.” Their lack of hope appears to be directly correlated to their poor achievement in class and may lead to skipping or other behavioral problems. So how do we as teachers address this? I think Duane you put it best when you wrote "we need to reach out and give hope to students". How do we do this? I think Spooner said it best in his lecture, "Care!". I truly believe if you care students will respond!

<span style="color: rgb(187, 12, 43)">**(Sherron)** I think it is a Euro-centric concept that we "give hope" to others (sorry Jim!). It is not something to be handed out through actions. Hope grows within an individual when they come to believe they can make a difference, they can contribute and their voice will be heard. I feel __relief__ when a teacher gives me an extension on the assignment, I may be __pleased__ when a teacher congratulates me on work well done, I may even be __encouraged__ by a smile in the hallway.... but is this hope? I don't think so. Hope come from emancipation, empowerment and a desire to see the future.

(Brent) While I was reading Freire I gave my aunt a call. She worked with the poorest of the poor in Brazil in the mid to late seventies. She said most of her consciousness raising was done with the rich, not the poor. The poor knew all about the social injustices of the military dictatorship they were living under. It was in her dealings with the rich that she had the most impact getting people to think about things that were taken for granted. She had a story about working in a village owned by a doctor. There was a woman who worked for the doctor as cook and nanny. She had worked for him for 29 years without a day off and my aunt went to see the doctor so the woman could get a regular day off in order to take some of the classes my aunt taught. The doctor argued that there was no point educating the black villagers because they were lazy and mentally inferior. My aunt argued that he had a woman in his own house who worked fourteen hours a day without a day off for years, who the doctor trusted with his children every day. She said he was surprised at that and admitted he hadn't thought of it that way before. She said the incident was not an isolated one. On another kind of cool note, my aunt met Freire at a workshop and described him as a very practical man. She remembered him as a strong advocate for social justice not revolution.
 * (<span style="color: rgb(219, 15, 15)">Darrell) **While I do agree the hope does come from emancipation, empowerment, and a desire to see the future, I also agree with Jim's assertion that caring makes a difference. I can draw on personal experiences where students responded to caring teachers. Caring leads to trust, trust leads to collaboration and sharing. I am certain there are countless stories of student success that began with someone caring. In some instances all we can offer students is caring and hope we can prevent them from falling through the cracks.


 * <span style="color: rgb(234, 31, 90)">(Sherron) ** Yes, I completely agree that we need caring teachers, willing to build honest relationships with students. I was being a bit argumentative for the sake of finding clarity in the discussion (it get things going doesn't it?). Jim, I think you make an important point, because as teachers become more focused on curriculum and assessment, they have less time to build the necessary relationships with kids. I find it amazing that you, as an administrator and a Science guy,(both biases on the table now) have committed yourself to really listening to your students, responding to their needs, making learning exciting and stimulating and taking time to really notice people. Those are valuable qualities and they foster an environment in which hope can flourish.

Duane - Improving morale of staff and students is key to hopeful pedagogy. In a book by Whitaker, Motivating and Inspiring Teachers, many strategies are outlined to promote the enjoyment of learning. Some include: 1. Actively involve students in the learning process. 2. Relate content objectives to student experiences. 3. Support spontaneity when it reinforces student academic interest.

(<span style="color: rgb(172, 22, 22)">Darrell) An interesting point, Todd. Rick Stiggins, an assessment expert, believes that students need to go on "winning streaks" so that they might become successful. He beleives if you use assessement effectively students that struggle can go on these "winning streaks." In essence success breeds success. <span style="color: rgb(39, 22, 35)"> Leanne Hey Jim, Spooner also said, "listening comes before learning". I believe you are on track when you mention the importance of caring - when we deal with affective learning - cognitive learning will follow. Ahh. . . Spooner - what a wise fellow! How many times have we heard, "If you want respect, you have to give it!" Sometimes though, we wait to be the recipients before dishing it out - we must always respect our students - their thoughts, their input, their effort, whatever. Spooner also stated that 'school was a place that made students feel stupid'. Wow, are we missing the mark if that is the impression we are portraying! I sincerely HOPE that this attitude can be altered.
 * <span style="color: rgb(219, 15, 15)">(Todd) ** I came across this quote today from a book, entitled Results: The Key to Continuous School Improvement, that really spoke to me about hopeful pedagogy: "To help us maintain this hope, we must celebrate and elevate success." (Schmoker, 1999) To me this is the fundamental backbone to hopeful pedagogy. If we can create an atmosphere of success and consistently embrace it through celebration can we not achieve making a difference in students' lives? Success can be measured in so many ways and often time students need just some form of success to begin them on this journey of creating hope. Success no matter how small, should be celebrated to encourage this growth and encourage those that often times have very little success in their lives to continue on.

(Kim) It’s quite amazing to me that throughout the journey of this Master’s course, as I’ve needed examples, they have come to me in real life. I took my students to the Children’s Festival last Friday. I had kept the more demanding students (or whom I thought were the most demanding) in my group to alleviate any stress on the other parent volunteers. I was dreading spending the day with a particular student because he rarely listens, he wanders off in the school, and at times he is disrespectful. I was pleasantly surprised at the end of the day when I realized how much fun we had together. He was very active, along with the other members of the group. We quickly bounced from activity to activity but the whole group was excited to learn, see and participate. Their joie de vivre was exhilarating and I felt carefree along with my excited students. I think I learned more from my “demanding” group that day than my students have learned from me all year. Hopeful pedagogy - take learning out of the classroom. As the teacher, take time to learn from students. <span style="color: rgb(156, 165, 164); font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif"><span style="color: rgb(255, 20, 0)"> (John) Wow, Kim…amazing story. I can totally relate. Testing and grading in school is not the only way measure success. There are a variety of other ways to gauge success. By providing assignments outside the regular classroom domain, a student who may be bored with school can display his intelligence. Students, when presented with alternatives, may find the opportunity that previously eluded them. One of my floundering students was offered an extra credit assignment in ELA. He wrote and performed a rap song on a hot-button, current event I presented him. He had to research and evaluate a recent “drive by shooting” in Hobbemma, AB. He was grateful for the assignment and was happy when he learned about the situation. He was thankful I obliged him and allowed him to present his knowledge, his way. It is important to recognize talents that students own and to promote them with in a variety of dimensions <span style="color: rgb(0, 79, 255)">(John) <span style="color: rgb(0, 79, 255)">I was almost in tears today. A student of mine handed her autobiography in and what she revealed would surely be the epitome of hope. At 11, she promised her dying father, she would graduate from high school. Her father was not aware of the issues she faced or was about to face. This young lady reported to me that her mother was forced, by a boyfriend, at gunpoint, to do some nasty things and was threatened while being beaten. The autobiography also informed me that this student’s one time boyfriend was found frozen to death by the police. At age 11, she reported, she was “already grown up”. There were so many heart wrenching elements and evil incidents that I would never do justice writing them out here. We, as teachers, are supposed to teach and grade/evaluate etc. How in the world do I even begin to mark this assignment? This kid is going to graduate and I am going to be there to watch her next Friday. Look, I realise this is not the best piece of writing I can do; it seems all over the place, but I am shattered; how many students do I pressure for assignments when they have this crap going on in their lives? I have to question our entire system now…what is the point of teaching? When these poor kids leave us, are we at all aware of their troubled lives? Do we care? How do we show it? <span style="color: rgb(0, 79, 255)">This little girl gives me hope, but it can be stripped away pretty quickly.

(Todd) Like John above I have a story that last term really called to me of how much stuff we as teachers maybe don't know what is going on, or has gone on in our students' lives. I had two young women both in Law 30 who for the majority of the course struggled with the content, absences, getting in assignments, etc. These two young women were by no means troublemakers and fun to simply be around and chat with. It came down to the final exam to see if they were to pass and lo and behold they did not. I would normally give a student such as themselves the benefit of the doubt and pass them, but they were too low in the markings for me to do that comfortably. I asked the two of them to do one final assignment for me to boost their marks, after the exam as SaskEd can change marks up to 3 months after a final. The two of them responded favourably and wrote me to of the most moving assignments I have ever read in my short career (9 years). Both of them wrote about their lives and some of the legal issues they and their families have gone through. They talked about things such as being beaten, spending time in jail, having boyfriends in jail, etc. Their lives were filled with tragedy. Yet here they were still coming to school, struggling and hoping to rise above those lives they wrote about. I sometimes wonder, like John above, if the government mandated curriculum interferes with the curriculum that these kids live and should know about.

(<span style="color: rgb(210, 20, 20)">Darrell) We have an alternate school in Turtleford where students that have talents that are not readily evident in a conventional school setting are allowed to thrive. Learning in this context is far more relevant to these students. We have had few discipline issues as the students for most part are actively engaged in learning. They actually sell some of their projects which makes them feel that what they are doing has worth. The alternative school focuses on experiential learning and differentiated instruction. I believe these methodologies have been instrumental in attaining success.


 * //Duane//** - The examples everyone is sharing are amazing. While reading the examples I remember a former student that changed me. He came to our school as a student who was not allowed in the classroom in his former school. He was simply put in a room by himself where he soon discovered how to crawl through the ceiling. When he came to our school he became part of a class. Between the VP and myself we encouraged him to take part in extra-cur and gave him a ride home (his step mother could not be bothered and his dad was away at work). I would chaperone field trips so he would be included and as time moved on he became more confident. He is an intelligent young man but lacked social skills. His classmates included him in their social circle and he enjoyed coming to school. The class celebrated his birthday, a first for him. When his family decided to move away he was unable to come to school the last day because he couldn't say goodbye. Instead he created a blog thanking his class and teachers for including him and making school an enjoyable experience. To me, students and teachers came together and learned more not just academically but also about humanity. This student helped create hopeful pedagogy for me and others.

(Kim) Duane, I gather from your story that this student was filled with hope from his experience at your school. I like reading examples such as this because it gives me hope that reaching out to difficult children really can make a difference.

 (Todd) I will give you a personal experience of mine that I think best exemplifies hopeful pedagogy. I tend to be very quiet and withdrawn due to my stuttering, but I was even worse as a student in school. Having dealt with peer teasing and teachers that simply did not know how to deal with me I was very withdrawn and had very little positive to say about the schooling system and my time there. This began to change in Grade 10 with a teacher by the name of Redmond Curtis. I had him for three years straight in an IBEnhlish class. Over the three years as we read plays, specifically Shakespeare, he assigned everyone roles including myself. At first I was very resistant to this and did everything I could to not be part of this. He did assign me a role that was barely just a few lines and I was quickly killed off. Over the next three years the roles began to become bigger and bigger, and always was killed off. Eventually by Grade 12 I was actively taking part in class discussions and incrasing my communication with everyone. I know that some people here may not call this hope, but I do feel that that is what he did for me, created hope in myself and my abilities but building upon my successes. Ironically after Grade 12 he told me that he himself was a stutterer. This, plus what he did for me in school, built a solid relationship between us that has continued on to this day. He was my mentor in cooperating teaching and pushed me into doing stage plays. Ironically, the first part I landed in a college production and his were the exact same, Valentine in 12th Night.

(Sherron) That's a moving story Todd, and it highlights the beauty of synchronicity - how fitting you had the same part as your teacher. I love the fact that it was Shakespearean language (along with a gifted teacher) that gave you confidence and hope. This reminds me of working with a Modified English class when we tackled MacBeth together. One boy quite sincerely told me, "We can't learn that stuff, we're too dumb Ms. Burns!" The reason for being afraid of the Bard was different in this case of course, but it makes me think about teacher choices and how we set students up to believe (or not) in their ability by the challenges we lay before them.

(Brent) I think your story is a great example of the hopeful pedagogy Todd. I see hopeful pedagogy as teaching to raise awareness that the world could be better and the hope to act on that consciousness. Your story certainly exemplifies that coming to awareness and then hoping for better things.

(Rheda) Todd, your students are so lucky to be in your class. I wish I had teachers like you when I went to school at Carpenter. I do not recall one teacher who actually talked to me as a person when they found me crying in the bathroom after gym class because I was told I had dark legs and that I was not allowed to play on the volleyball team.

(Rheda) I am not sure what examples I am allowed to use on here. I have experienced so much in my lifetime that I am afraid to scare some of you. How about a student I had this last semester who wrote about her mom in her journal. Her mother past away a year ago and her father is in jail. She is living with friends and she was such a great student. But she had to leave school. She had no place to live. Her older brother was her legal guardian and he was only a few years older than her. She handed me her journal and told me not to say a word to anyone about what she wrote in there. I cried after I read it. I was shocked. She wrote about her feelings about life and how unfair it was. She wrote about her mother and how much she missed her. She wrote about her dreams of graduating wearing her mother`s dress. She wrote about her father and how much she needed him in her life. She was only 16 and like John`s student, she was way older and more mature than another in my class. What do we offer students like her? I offered her my home. I offered her my time. I offered her my sincerity. I offered her my tears and she smiled at me before she walked out of my classroom.

(Rheda) As Mark Spooner said in his lecture and presentation, are we still passing students who fail life? An Elder once said the same thing in a workshop I was attending. I have never forgotten that Elder`s wise words.

(Rheda) Sara Longman was also right when she said that as educators we need to reach out to our students` cultural diversity so that they can in turn embrace their culture without the fear of someone ridiculing them. I found an excellent example of how some school districts and school divisions are doing to better educate teachers about Aboriginal culture. It is a guide written by the Alberta government for teachers and educators of First Nations, Metis and Inuit learners. It gives the teacher a step by step reference to issues and protocol. I found it very interesting and it reminded me of Sara`s lecture on Hawk`s Nest in Regina where students are exposed to traditional practises.

<span style="color: rgb(48, 14, 200); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> <span style="color: rgb(35, 18, 186); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">(Tim) I must admit the success of this site to establish a meaningful relationship with the term Hopeful Pedagogy. Each participant opened up beyond the professional realm into personal reflection and opinion. Our perspective of the term truly depends on our current learning environment. Comparing my previous teaching assignment, students in the past had hopes that did not involve belonging and happiness. They then could turn to academic goals and hopes. Hopes that create opportunities in carreer endeavors. Today I often see students who have lost hope. They can't go beyond today into future goals because of social circumstances that distracts hope. I know I have to inspire hope. I need to move beyond the curriculum to create hope. I was described once as a sherpa by Senator Laurier L. Lapierre at an Encounters session. He described my carreer as a guide to students in happiness and opportunities. Lapierre spoke of the difficulty but also the success in reaching the peak. His metaphor acknowledged my role in the school as a facilitator of survival. To guide them through examples and methods to ensure survival and avoidance of dangerous obstacles. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">**SENATOR LAURIER L. LAPIERRE, O.C.** Promoter of Canadian Culture and Heritage

=**<span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(7, 94, 197)">Useful References **=

(Rheda) Here is the article from the Alberta government. It is titled: Our Words, Our Ways, Teaching First Nations, Metis and Inuit Learners. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1b/cd/6c.pdf

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif"> = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif">(**Sherron)** Here is an article about Freire's Hopeful Pedagogy at [|Taking Sides]. I found this site at [|Rage and Hope] <span style="color: rgb(86, 59, 140); font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif"> "Twenty years after writing //Pedagogy of the Oppressed,// Paulo Freire looked back and reflected on his writing and work. This reliving of //Pedagogy of the Oppressed// became //Pedagogy of Hope: Reliving Pedagogy of the Oppressed.// <span style="color: rgb(23, 7, 7)">Here is another Journal which looks at Thoreau: "[|New Awareness of the Power of Dialogue a Hopeful Pedagogy]" by Richard Sanzenbacher

**(darcy)** these are books that you can read online: http://books.google.ca/books?id=I67nj7739lQC&dq=hopeful+pedagogy&pg=PP1&ots=wPuqJ_CyRB&source=citation&sig=YN9xQUMJ408Qa1RjZFbOZdWaE7A&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.ca/search%3Fq%3Dhopeful%2Bpedagogy%26ie%3Dutf-8%26oe%3Dutf-8%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26client%3Dfirefox-a&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=1&cad=bottom-3results#PPP1,M1 http://books.google.ca/books?id=XbOv4eTFSdEC&dq=hopeful+pedagogy&pg=PP1&ots=Xok1qIloio&source=citation&sig=b5mtumxIgQE5a1gagZdkC2vjQcQ&hl=en&prev=http://w [|**http://books.google.ca/books?id=a5LV72_y5UcC&dq=hopeful+pedagogy&pg=PP1&ots=IvE_iWQ7Pe&source=citation&sig=wS0rGbNvH10jYv_i_MzGCt5qHVI&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.ca/search%3Fq%3Dhopeful%2Bpedagogy%26ie%3Dutf-8%26oe%3Dutf-8%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26client%3Dfirefox-a&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=3&cad=bottom-3results**]

McConnell, P. (2002). //Perspective on Britzman and Pinar//. In Doll, W. & Gough, N (Eds.), //Curriculum Visions//. Pp.48. New York, Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. Hulley, W., & Dier, L. (2005). //Harbors of Hope//. Pp.1, 41. Bloomington, Indiana: National Education Service. Edmondson, J., & D’Urso , A. (2007). The importance of being critical: Opening possibilities and hope in education policy study. **// Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies //****, May, **Volume 5(1). Snyder, C.R. (2005). Teaching: The Lessons of Hope. //Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology,// 24(1), pg. Saskatchewan Bulletin. June, 11/2008. page 5. "Hulley suggests schools need to change to create sense of hope".
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 132, 255)">JIM **

(MILES) An interesting quote- "it is imperative that we amintain **__hope__** even when the harshness of reality may suggest the opposite" Paulo Friere

A quote from //**"Teaching Community; A Pedagogy of Hope",**// Bell Hooks, "There is a way out, even from the most dangerous and desperate situations". In the book she makes reference to Michael Jordan, arguably the most talented basketball player to play the game. She pointed out that MIchael Jordan had been cut from his highschool basketball team but went on to dominate the NBA in many offensive and defensive categories. He found a way...................................

Check out **//"Teaching Against the Grain; Texts for a Pedagogy of Possibility"//** by Roger I. Simon. It is a collection of essays on teaching for social transformation.
 * (MILES)**

http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.uregina.ca:2048/ehost/pdf?vid=3&hid=107&sid=4751ea0b-e12e-4f71-8f70-156b4ef373f5%40sessionmgr102 Found this article and thought I'd share it - it has some interesting viewpoints. The author, Snyder, outlines the steps to follow on the path to HOPE. He mentions the importance of engaging student thinking by providing an environment of HOPE - a classroom where meaningful goals are set, where teachers and students explore ways of reaching these goals together, and where everyone is motivated to succeed. He states, "//a hopeful classroom is a place that is alive with learning -- learning both the material and learning to respect oneself and fellow students. Long after our students have forgotten the content of what we have taught, and long after that content may have been supplanted by new and different content, we still can be assured of one enduring lesson -- hope can guide and empower a lifetime of learning."// By instilling this HOPE in students, we are giving them the confidence to become 'life-long problem-identifier and problem-solvers'.
 * <span style="color: rgb(229, 42, 180)">Leanne **

A list of articles/journals/readings I have examined to support “Hopeful Pedagogy” is listed below. I refer to them at various points in my discussions/comments. //Katherine Larson//. **<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Leadership] **. Burlingame: <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Nov/Dec 2007]. Vol. 37, Iss. 2; pg. 18, 4 pgs || //Gwendolyn Cartledge//, //Lefki Kourea//. **<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Exceptional Children] **. Reston: <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Spring 2008]. Vol. 74, Iss. 3; pg. 351, 21 pgs //Carol Chmelynski//. **<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|The Education Digest] **. Ann Arbor: <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Oct 2006]. Vol. 72, Iss. 2; pg. 38, 4 pgs //Mary Ellen Flannery//, //Cynthia Kopkowski// , //John Rosales//. **<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|NEA Today] **. Washington: <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Jan 2008]. Vol. 26, Iss. 4; pg. 35, 3 pgs //Linda Jacobson//. **<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Education Week] **. Bethesda: <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Apr 30, 2008]. Vol. 27, Iss. 35; pg. 8, 1 pgs ** 5 Promoting Social Competence and Inclusion: Taking Alternative Paths  ** //Patrícia Sarmento//, //Kátia Almeida// , //Mary Elizabeth Rauktis// , //Susana Bernardo//. **<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Reclaiming Children and Youth] **. Bloomington: <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Winter 2008]. Vol. 16, Iss. 4; pg. 47, 8 pgs //Julia Wilkins//. **<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|The High School Journal] **. Chapel Hill: <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Feb/Mar 2008]. Vol. 91, Iss. 3; pg. 12, 13 pgs //Anne C Lewis//. **<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Tech Directions] **. Ann Arbor: <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|May 2006]. Vol. 65, Iss. 10; pg. 4, 2 pgs //Carol Ann Tomlinson//. **<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Theory into Practice] **. Columbus: <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Summer 2005]. Vol. 44, Iss. 3; pg. 262, 8 pgs 9 //Carol// **//Schick//**, //Verna St Denis//. **<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|Canadian Journal of Education] **. Toronto: <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153)">[|2005]. Vol. 28, Iss. 3; pg. 295, 24 pgs
 * (John)**
 * ** 1 Changing Hearts and Minds: drop out prevention  **
 * 2 Culturally Responsive Classrooms for Culturally Diverse Students With and At Risk for Disabilities **
 * 3 Getting High-School Dropouts Back in School **
 * 4 KeepinG it REAL **
 * Project Aims to Tackle Dropout Problem, California-Style **
 * 6 School Characteristics That Influence Student Attendance: Experiences of Students in a School Avoidance Program **
 * 7 Strategies That Work **
 * 8 Grading and Differentiation : Paradox or Good Practice? **
 * Troubling National Discourses in Anti-Racist Curricular Planning **

Here are two intersting sites about Paulo Friere: http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-freir.htmhttp://www.edb.utexas.edu/faculty/scheurich/proj3/freire5.html
 * Megan**

Here is the one book I reference in my definition of pedagogy of hope: Palmer, Parker. (1998). __The Courage to Teach__. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.P

Theory and Practice. Habermas, J. Organizational Behaviour in Education. Owens, R. Motivating and Inspiring Teachers. Whitaker, T., Whitaker, B., Lumpa, D. What is Critical Pedagogy? Retrieved from [|http://www.21stcenturyschools.com]
 * //Duane//**

(MILES) Blatant non-example of hopeful pedagogy found at http://www.zonalatina.com/Zldata288.htm. ?????????????????????
 * the teacher teaches and the students are taught;
 * the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing;
 * the teacher thinks and the students are thought about;
 * the teacher talks and the students listen -- meekly;
 * the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined;
 * the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply;
 * the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting through the action of the teacher;
 * the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it;
 * the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his or her own professional authority, which she and he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students;
 * the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects.

Here are some great sources: Peters, S.J., Gregoire, H., & Hittleman, M. (2004). Practicing a Pedagogy of Hope: Practitioner Profiles as Tools for Grounding and Guiding Collective Reflection in Adult, Community, and Youth Development Education. Organizing Reflection. Hampshire, England:Ashgate
 * Darrell**

[|http://users.monash.edu.au/~dzyngier/Critical%20Pedagogy%20For%20Beginning%20Te...]

Beers, B. (2006). Learning Driven Schools. A Practical Guide for Teachers and Principals. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Alexandria, Virginia.

Paulo Friere on Hope and Dreams. http://www.ukzn.ac.za/cae/pfi/qf/hope.htm

More on Friere at the Paulo Friere Institute: http://www.paulofreireinstitute.org/

(Laurette) Here are some sites and articles to check out.

[|http://mingo.info-science.uiowa.edu/~stevens/critped/linksjourn.htm]

www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00003562.htm

New awareness of the power of dialogue: A Hopeful Pedagogy. By Richard Sanzenbacher. College Teaching. Washington. Summer 1997. Vol. 45, Iss. 3:pg 104, 4pgs.

(Kim) This is an excerpt from a book: __What Schools Can Do: Critical Pedagogy and Practice__

http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vrmPmojJK3cC&oi=fnd&pg=PA265&dq=hopeful+pedagogy&ots=5JvybZO37d&sig=WNtVws98yonKFK_lCg8beFRdXjk#PPA279,M1

This is an Australian essay entitled "School Leadership that is Informed by Students' and Teachers' Voices of Hope: http://pdfs.scarecroweducation.com/SC/TJS/SCTJSLMarch2005.pdf

The National Urban Alliance prepared a list of suggestions for teachers to engage in hopeful pedagogy: http://www.nuatc.org/news/pedagogy_hope_confidence.doc

A Chinese Proverb: "Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness" found at http://www.wwwords.co.uk/pdf/viewpdf.asp?j=pfie&vol=4&issue=1&year=2006&article=5_van_heertum_pfie_4_1_web&id=64.110.218.249 encourages us to do something about our situations and make learning better for our students.

Journal excerpt: "A Hopeful Pedagogy": [|http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=LJ3Sn3Jp1J4tH31cjqN5QRGr7MjjdnsjtnRhnsBlDJTQDrVlwggS!1859900500?docId=94300707]

Trevor Below are a list of journals I have recently read pertaining to hopeful or emancipatory pedagogy. I think each provides insight into communicatioon gaps, or new, innovative strategies caring teachers can use to help relate to their students.

Chandler, W., Freilberg, M., Stinson, A., and Nelson, M. Alternative teaching / alternative learning: Preparing in - service teachers for alternative education settings. American Secondary Education. Bowling Green: Spring 2002.

Trent, S., Kea, C., Oh, K. Preparing preservice educators for cultural diversity: How far have we come? Exceptional Children. Reston: Spring 2008

Swartz, E. Teaching white preservice teachers: Pedagogy for change. Urban Education. Thousand Oaks: May 2003

Paulson, R. Native literacy: A living language. Canadian Journal of Native Education. Edmonton: 2003.

Fernandez, R. Inner, outer, and in - between: Why popular culture and the arts matter for urban youth. Orbit. Toronto: 2007.

Todd
 * http://courses.cit.cornell.edu/practicestories/documents/Petersetal_final_.pdf (see the quote on change above)
 * [|http://www.calvin.edu/~cjolders/hope.html] (quote on the educator's is to unveil opportunities for hope, no matter what the obstacles may be)
 * just wanted to let everyone know that I had three other sources cited but they are randomly in my postings as I did not scroll down to see this section...oops.

(Brent) Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of Hope:Reliving Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York:Continuum Publishing Company, 1994. -Pedagogy of Hope is an easier read and much less angry/intellectual than Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder, 1971. -Both of Freire's books are available through the S.T.F. Stewart Resource Centre. Mills, C.W. The Sociological Imagination.New York: Oxford University Press, 1959. -Mills has the same idea as Freire, but in a form that's more in the North American context. Saul, J.R. The Unconscious Civilization.Concord, Ontario: House of Anansi Press Ltd., 1995. -John Ralston Saul's attempt to take back language and power form corporatist elites. His companion books Voltaire's Bastards and The Doubter's Companion are also excellent.