Teaching to Transgress

[esmeraldus-neo.livejournal.com]

It has been a while since I read bell hooks. I first encountered her when I was learning to teach writing as a Master's student. I remember loving her work.

It's only recently that I have been reading the works of the Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, and have found that his way of thinking resonates with mine.

When I picked up Teaching to Transgress tonight and began to read, it was easy to slip into hooks's rhythm; she is another writer for whom I have an awesome respect and would love to meet one day. Then I turned a page to discover that her work has been informed by Hanh's.

That explains why she works for me, too. Engaged pedagogy and and engaged Buddhism must fill some kind of need I have.

To educate as the practice of freedom is a way of teaching that anyone can learn. The learning process comes easiest to those of us who teach  who also believe that there is an aspect of our vocation that is sacred; who believe that our work is not merely to share information but to share in the intellectual and spiritual growth of our students.
 

In chapter one, hooks points out that Thich Nhat Hanh's engaged Buddhism is practice in conjunction with contemplation, which is similar to Paulo Friere's "praxis" or combined action and reflection.

*I personally interpret the words "spiritual" and "soul" in a non-theistic way.

Comments

[egretplume.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this post. These are both writers I love, and Teaching to Transgress is on my To Read list.