Teaching To Transgress

Chapter 13 - Eros, Eroticism, and Pedagogical Process

About Passion in the classroom - "There is not much passionate teaching and learning taking place in higher education today. Even when students are desperately yearning to be touched by knowledge, professors still fear the challenge, allowing their worries about losing control to override their desires to teach." (pg. 198)

Main Ideas & Theses

Bell Hooks talks about how teachers "teach as though only the mind is present, and not the body." (pg. 191) Students and teachers alike are expected to leave their body behind when they enter the classroom, and only use their mind to absorb information. Hooks talks about she can barely remember anything about what a teacher looks like, but would know their voice. She writes about this, and how this shows that passion is not a priority in classrooms today.

Consistent/Inconsistent with Experiences as a Student/Novice/Teaching Associate

I think this is consistent with what I have seen as a student. Many teachers often lecture the entire class, and do not put any effort into seeing if the students understand the material. In one math class I took, the teacher did not even attempt to lecture, and instead would just write problems for the class to do, and did not care if anyone understood. The whole class was confused for the entire semester, and most of us grew to dislike the subject. It is rare to have a teacher who is really passionate about the subject they are teaching. As a novice, it was difficult to have passion when tutoring because I was just learning how to teach and make lesson plans. Since I was a little nervous, it made it harder to be excited, because I was just trying to everything right. As that semester went on, everything became easier though , and it was easier to have fun with lessons.

Consistent/Inconsistent with Teaching Beliefs & Practices

I think passion should have a place in every classroom. It makes learning more enjoyable, and it often makes it easier to understand everything. When a teacher is excited about teaching, then students are more likely to be excited about learning. The classroom can be a much happier place with passion, instead of a boring lecture zone.

So What? Impact on Future Professional Development

Passion in the classroom should be encouraged in all schools. Maybe they should have seminars about making learning more fun, and involving the body and the mind, instead of just the mind. It should be an important part of education, because teachers should be animated about what they are teaching to students.