After reading the Tozer article, I am realizing that I already thought about some of things it discussed on my own. I for one dislike reading newspapers because it is all propaganda that clouds the truth. In reading about critical literacy, I agree that the writing done today tries to standardize people. It gets them to think this one way and uses elaborate plots to cloud their better judgment. If one can only read the words on the page and understand the message they are portraying, as in cultural literacy, then they will never be able to think freely. As a citizen of this country they must do that in order to keep it moving smoothly. The USA is full of individuals with different backgrounds, and I believe as teachers it is our jobs to incorporate each one. We should be able to relate each student to the topic or show them ways to find relations on their own. This is a lot like critical literacy; however, I do not believe in showing students how they are being oppressed by the majority. I think in this society everyone looks to blame someone, and by doing as the critical literacy describes we are only continuing the cycle. I think the solution is to show students how to relate and how to define themselves within a society. We should not show them how to become standardized people, but show them how to become individuals who can still relate to society and not be angry at it. People need to learn how to use their own tools to define who they are and live successfully.
As someone who is going into math education, I related this reading to teaching math in a critical way. I think all subjects should be taught close to the way critical literacy is described. With math I should look for ways to describe it outside the text book. I should find ways to make math something every student can relate to. If students can not relate to a topic they will not be interested enough to learn it. Also with math, I need to show students how to think outside of the box. Important learning tools are problem solving and critical thinking. If students can learn these they can apply them to any situation in society or school. I think the most advanced learners are critical thinkers because they do not just solve a problem they look for new ways to do it. By looking for new things they discover new important inventions that help shape our world. It may sound cheesy but I believe it to be true. I hope in my teaching career I can help others to see how important it is to be a critical thinker.
