CARE AMID AMBIGUITY OR, MORE APPROPRIATELY, A PLEA TO GO OLD SCHOOL WITH THE NEW TOOLS

Main Article Content

Becky L. Noël Smith

Abstract

The following is a reflection on my experience with my students as we underwent the transition to virtual classes in the pandemic of 2020-2021. It highlights some of the problems related to reproductive labor and explores the absurd within beliefs about ‘technological efficiency’ and the discourse surrounding ‘synchronous and asynchronous’ instruction. It concludes with a realignment of philosophical and pedagogical aims under such conditions and calls on educators to rethink virtual teaching practices so they might help students embrace 3-dimensional, tangible learning activities that can be done without a screen and in their physical environment.

Article Details

Section
Articles - Special Issue
Author Biography

Becky L. Noël Smith, California State University, Fresno

Becky has been involved in the field of education since 2002. As a former public school teacher, a mother, a community organizer, and through her academic work, she advocates for democratic policies and practices in the public’s schools within the U.S. She now has the privilege of putting to use her teaching and learning experiences in her work with future teachers in the Department of Liberal Studies at California State University, Fresno. She maintains research interests in philosophy of education, history of education in the U.S., the aesthetic and moral dimensions of the craft of teaching, and the persistent struggle to make public schooling more humane.

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