I hope you all enjoyed the class that we had today.
I thought that it would be interesting to debrief a little bit more on the final activity that we at the end of class. It seems like everyone’s reaction to Marina (the old white guy) was not intending on getting to know what was happening to him, but just to find a way to shut him off and get the bus running again. So my question is, beside from trying to silence the old guy, what would’ve been other alternatives that we could’ve used in order to address the situation more efficiently? (Think about Freire’s Problem Posing theory).
Arturo, How can you use the motivational interview skills to address that situation on the bus?
Going back to Freire’s concept of problem posing, he suggests that dialogue is the key element that leads to critical consciousness, which as a result leads to the transformation of the oppressed. With this in mind, how can youth of color in urban cities can get their voice heard through dialogue and transform the world in which they live in?
Is dialogue practiced at your agency placement? If so, how effective is it? Does it follow the Freirian approach? Meaning, the instructor’s goal is to assist the student in becoming critically conscious and aware of the different elements of oppression around him/her.
We did not get a chance to talk much about “operation Likofi” in class. Here is another chance for you to share your thoughts on the video? Did you notice the reaction of the population? What did you think about it?
Once again, thank you for your participation.
6 comments:
Dear Kevin,
Thanks for class and for making me think about how the social justice experts have to address the behavior of “the old white guy”. It is really interesting how “the old white guys” are not able to stop when other people are trying to open their eyes about how rude and unacceptable they behave. I did intervene in such arguments maybe three times in my life. Usually, on the street, I am talking to people very calm and soft. In all three cases, these people just left without attacking me again. Therefore, my first suggestion is to demonstrate opposite behavior. Usually, people who allow themselves to behave that way lack social awareness and the feeling of human dignity. And, they do not know how to react in different situation. In my country, we say: if the dog is barking, do not bark back”. Basically, if you answer to the screaming by screaming, you lower yourself to the level of that person. And we do not want that.
However, it gave me hard time to imagine what would I do if that person will not stop. Another one might be finding a question to ask “the old white guy” to make him think (trying to find a neutral ground). Hard hard to think about it. Maybe, that is the reason why many people would not intervene. In my country, that guy will be taken out by men and beaten to hell for such behavior. However, we are not allowed to do that here. We have freedom of speech.
That balance between the obligations and rights is barely addressed in both assigned readings. However, it is important. How we can proceed with that dialogue that is so necessary in order to build just and equal society? How we are able to facilitate the dialogue in the settings when freedom of speech is widely used by people who do not know what they are talking about (“the old white guys”). Those people who know how to use it (“Occupy Wall Street”, “Pussy Riot”), are being widely discriminated by the ruling elite.
In order to facilitate dialogue, there should be an equal representation in the Government. As Arturo has pointed out in class, we barely see someone from working class making decisions for us. How people who have never took train in their life suppose to know whether the express trains should run only during rush-hour (exaggerated example). The same thought I had talking about police officers in New York. Who else knows the needs of communities better than people from communities. However, it is harder and harder to facilitate this dialogue when you move up to the ruling elite. The connection with regular people is becoming less and less on each stage of this process.
Finally, I was thinking about research and Freire more. In my survey, I had to ask the question to be able to evaluate people’s actions. Hw many people were arrested? How many of them were re-arrested? That survey barely allows the participants to engage in this dialogue which is recommended within the problem-solving approach. Therefore, the last three questions in each survey were open ended. The respondents were able to express their points of view in order to make me draw a conclusion about their “groupthink”. The role of researcher in further making these conclusions is too big though.
Best,
M.
Great job Kevin,
I believe the class was eye-opening. As I mentioned last Thursday, motivational interviewing is an approach in which the interview help participants come up with a solution to their problem or situation by themselves. The only thing I would try to do at that moment is to let the “old white guy” understand that the bus driver has all the right to stop the bus. I would tell him that I know he has to get to an important place, as everybody on the bus, and the only way to do that is by sitting down and letting the bus driver do his job. I would even advise him to call the MTA customer service if he has any complain but that was not the right moment. This conversation does not necessarily follows the guidelines of motivational interviewing.
At CEO, we use motivational interviewing to deal with participants’ issues. A job Coaches would never tell participants that they have to have their phone available so that CEO staff can communicate with them. Instead, they would tell participants that they need to be in contact all the time so that participants can get an advantage of all the job opportunities Job Coaches get. Then he would ask “ how can we be in contact? Then, JCs wait for a response and keep the dialog based on the participants’ response.
In the participants’ first week, CEO provides life skills workshops. These workshops give participants a perspective of what the obstacle are after they get out of jail or prison. I believe these workshops help participants become aware of elements that keep them oppressed. For instance, they may know that some employers would rather hire someone without a conviction. However, CEO staff teaches participants how to lead a conversation that would focus on the participants skills and good experience rather than the mistakes they committed in the past.
Thank you for a great class, Kevin! If I were to think in terms of Freire, I would start a problem-posing dialogue with the old man. I might ask why the old man acted in this offensive manner. I would not directly aprehend the older gentleman but I would try to use a gentle tone of voice to determine his motivation for being offensive. I believe by not outrightly stating that the man is wrong in his statements I may be more likely to change his opinions regarding his offensive behavior. Creating a dialogue could enlighten the older man about how his behaviors are wrong.
In terms of my agency, I think we discussed in class how CJA acts as the dialogue between the oppressor and the oppressed. By conducting interviews with the defendants, we offer the judge a better understanding of the defendant as a person and try to demonstrate that they are active members in society. We create a Freirian dialogue between the judge and the defendant by offering the judge an interview demonstrating the potential of the defendant.
In regards to the video portraying the events surrounding "Operation Likofi," I was appalled by the actions that were taken. I was very surprised in the beginning of the video when the general indicated that this was the "people fighting against this injustice." However, as the video progressed the audience sees the horrors and destruction created by Operation Likofi. Mothers, fathers, and grandmothers tell their stories regarding the loss of a loved one. The events reminded me of the current situation in the U.S. regarding police brutality.
Hi Kevin, thanks for a really great class! I thought the class activity was an interesting way to conceptualize the ideas found in the readings.
A few weeks ago, I got to meet the participants of the Pathways Project in one of the prisons in Asheville, NC. And in a sense, the dialogue that was held that afternoon during the prison tours was a unique one indeed. Imagine a Ford Foundation funder (of the Pathways Project) engaged in conversation with a incarcerated individual, talking about everything from the mundane (how to create powerpoint presentations) to the meaningful (future plans upon release). As encouraging as this setup might be, it still is not ideal because the general public does not get to hear these tales of self-redemption, but it still provides the incarcerated individuals with the knowledge that their voices matter.
As I mentioned in class, there are college-in-prison programs that spur incarcerated individuals to think critically about their involvement in the justice system leading them to the awareness of how micro and macro level forces impact their lives. A product of the Freirean approach would be Walter Fortson, guest speaker for my seminar, since he is critically aware of the system in which he and many others like him are situated.
In my journal response, I noted that the population seemed gripped by fear and therefore held back from intervening at the shocking injustice taking place right before their eyes. This made me think of Gramsci…how through physical coercion, the state obtains its “consent” from the people.. and therefore the right to do as it pleases.
I thought the class was great! In the class simulation, I think it would have been better to try to learn why the old man had these negative views and misconception and try to actually have a conversation to teach him how his actions affect others.
I think in terms having their voice heard, youth of color need to seek people who are willing to listen and teach people about the challenges they face. While I personally think it should be the responsibility of every person to listen and respect others voices, I know that in reality people will not be receptive. In a perfect world youth of colors voices could be heard and accepted by everyone, but in our broken system, youth of color should focus of making their voice known to people who are willing to have a dialogue and move past people who refuse to listen or respond. In my agency it is very complicated. Service providers try to have a dialogue as much a possible but in many situations it leads to worse outcomes or isn't possible at all.
Great class Kevin! Very creative and left me thinking in a different perspective.
I think you raise a good question regarding Marina's character. Since this was my personal experience. I ignored the "white man" simply because I thought he was old and ignorant. but I had not realized how much the words affected the driver and how easy and heartless it was for those words to come out of the man's mouth. I question Freire's method of dialogue when the person being aggressive does not "break through their character". For instance, the way Arturo's motivational dialogue is used was similar to the dialogue that took place on the bus (in real life) the people were calm and asking the man "why are you giving him a hard time?" then he would say "why is he and all of you giving me a hard time just DRIVE". Unfortunatly the man was not listnening or aware of the derogatory terms he said, or even care. How do you get across "these" people?Are we forcing this man and his perspectives to be silenced? Does that make us the bad guy or hero?
Regarding the video, watching the individuals reactions it appeared it was a mixture of conforming to the new ideals, complacency, confusion, and for those who were aware (mothers?) it was a frightening with looks of hopelessness.
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