Mandy Geddes | Robley Welliver
Building on our practice of nearly limitless choice in the classroom, this presentation will explore the ways our pedagogy and practice in the classroom have been changing in order to accomodate the chaos of creating, the power of choice, and the wealth of student intelligence.
Our classroom practices draw on Jacotot, Rancier, Mitra, Palmer, Elbow, Friere, and hooks to create a space where learning truly serves each student. We seek to undo the embedded hierarchy of education and remove the idea that one way of knowing, making knowledge, or seeking knowledge is superior to any other. Our classrooms are radical spaces of compassion, self-discovery, and love, and they are also spaces of radical learning.
In our presentation we will discuss some of the theory behind our practices. We will also explore some of the ways we sought order out of the chaos of our classrooms and why we believe this approach to teaching is worthwhile for knowledge seekers. We believe that there are great opportunities for this pedagogy when we allow for and accept the belief that all people can learn, and the teacher’s role is to facilitate, not dictate, that learning.
Mandy Geddes has been learning about teaching, love, and life from her students at Community College of Aurora for the past 15 years. Her students, through their wealths of knowledge, their incredible vulnerability, and their willingness to be fearless, constantly push her to dig further into pedagogical research and deeper into love and compassion. So much of who Mandy is today comes from the impacts her students have had on her. These students embark on journeys of creation and growth with Mandy every semester, and she is sincerely grateful to get to share these journeys with them.
Robley Welliver attended an innovative, project-based elementary school and the first time she received a grade for anything was in 7th grade. When her 7th grade English teacher explained “points” she literally laughed out loud. Later, when a teacher wrote her name on the board as a means of warning against her smart-alec behavior, she was utterly confused. She was raised to break rules and question systems, beginning in elementary school, and that commitment to fighting the patriarchy has carried her all the way to a career teaching English at Community College of Aurora. Robley has used her experience questioning authority to support student learning through love, compassion, and a deep commitment to the human beings she shares a classroom with.