Critical Pedagogy for the Teach

So, I've been thinking about this idea of critical pedagogy and how the teacher is the learner, creating a conversation between student and teacher rather than teacher as transmitter.

This is one of those things that takes awhile to get used to--seeing the teacher in a different light--as a person who makes mistakes, as a person who can be questioned--as a HUMAN! It is like the first time you realized your parents weren't the all-knowing. They always seemed to have all the advice--like knowing the answer was part of a built-in device inside their brains. When you realize that parents are human and make mistakes, and have to struggle to find a thoughtful answer, it can be a bit of a downer... sort of like coming to terms with the teacher as a person, just like your parent.

One of my professors in undergrad practiced this notion in critical pedagogy. She created an environment in her classroom of dialogue among everyone. We questioned the ideas she posed, we offered our opinions of them (many times negating them), and she accepted this, while also defining her role as a learner too, constantly writing down our thoughts and ideas. Through this setup of dialogue, she became empowered by what we (the students) had to say. At first it was hard to accept a teacher that did not know everything and that questioned EVERYTHING she and everyone around her said. But after awhile it was comforting to see that she was like us--she got confused by things and had to struggle through concepts just like us. And together we worked together to empower each other and try to get to new levels understanding.

I think if we set the bar of the teacher as a human, someone who can engage in conversation with the student to yield newfound information and understanding, we can change these notions that teachers have an all-knowing device in their heads and are separate from the learners.

Does this make sense? This just came to my head while we were talking about critical pedagogy and the role of the teacher.