ECS 210

Week 1: January 10 & 11

The problem of common sense

How does Kumashiro define ‘commonsense?’ 

            Kumashiro defines as something that everyone should know. It is also defined as something that would be considered the ‘norm’. It is assumed that everyone has similar knowledge based off of common experiences. “…Common sense call(s) on us to engage in anti-oppressive forms of education”

Why is it so important to pay attention to the ‘common sense?’

It is so important to pay attention to the common sense because, simply, it might not be common to everybody. It is enviable that people have a different common sense. Students as well as teacher will have a different common sense which could influence the ways they learn and teach. It is important to pay attention to this so that the learning environment is a non-biased environment. Things such as race, culture, morals and other beliefs and values may have a different common sense. Common sense is based off of experiences which people share differently which leads to individuals having different common sense.  An example from the text is the norms about school such as when it is open, the materials are divided into disciplines and that the students are grouped based on their age, common sense is telling us that these are what it means to be in school. But, “if we were to learn that there are other ways to structure schooling, or that prevailing views of schooling are actually quite oppressive, we might end up feeling quite disoriented or uncertain or even guilty.” This ‘norm’ may not be normal to every student. How it is set up is that the everyday schooling processes track only certain students toward academic success. In conclusion it is important to pay attention to common sense because everyone may view the situation differently.