Critical Pedagogy?

Hi all--

I have decided to go ahead and start a blog for the class. it seemed like the best way to post thoughts--even if they're only mine---without burdening everyone's inboxes.

After last week's class, I kept thinking about the idea posed by Rachel of envisioning critical pedagogy. What are the potentials as well as the dilemmas that imagining poses? I spoke a bit to this in the first class, but the the presentation led me to ask:
Can we identify critical pedagogy "in the moment"? Is there something about the modifier "critical" that implies a looking back--reaction, reflexivity, reflection and presents a contradiction for embodiment or performance?

Other questions that arose for me:
What is liberatory education? Seems much easier (in situations that are not overtly oppressive) to identify what is not? Is liberation in the process or in what we do with what we learn?--although that implies a separation of the two which may or may not be there.

As far as the dynamics of the class, I felt some discomfort around the ideas expressed that we should all "respect" each other's ideas, comments, etc. but that "conflict" was welcomed, indeed needed. It seemed obvious to me that it's hard to assume that conflict won't be taken personally by some--and then have we violated their need for respect and validation?

enough for now. hope to hear from some of you--respectfully, of course . :0)

take care,

Leda