Commentary on Why Pedagogy Attention Is Needed in CLAJ

Abstract

Commentary on Why Pedagogy Attention Is Needed in CLAJ Monique Akassi (bio) In 2021, many educators and students of African descent have faced invisible barriers. These include whether critical race theory should be taught in schools during the novel Covid-19. Additionally, the #BlackLivesMatter movement responded to the ongoing routine of African Americans losing their lives during a time that mimics W.E.B. Du Bois' declaration that "the problem of the twentieth century is the color line." While the debates continue in higher education, a plethora of pedagogues have become disconnected from students of African descent due to a lack of effective Africana pedagogies to cultivate pupils' authentic voices through critical thinking, writing, oral communication, and research skills. Indeed, many pedagogues have been trained to apply mainstream pedagogical frameworks to all students as a one-size-fits-all approach. At the same time, little attention is focused on the rhetorical situation, such as the target audience. Indeed, a one-size-fits-all approach often results in many mainstream students benefiting from high-impact teaching methodologies that intersect with their Western culture. However, there is a disconnection for many marginalized students of African descent. Systemic racism is on the rise, and the colonizer is often in the classroom during these unprecedented times. Furthermore, the politics of diversity, inclusion, and critical race theory are in conversation with Stanley Fish's arguments. He contends in his controversial book, Save The World On Your Own Time, "[i]t is a question finally of what business we are in, and we are in the education business, not the democracy business." In comparison, bell hooks suggests in her work, Teaching To Transgress, that "[t]o dispel the notion" that the college writing class "should always be a safe, harmonious space" remains problematic for students silenced and ostracized in the academy. In Post-Colonial Composition Pedagogy: Using The Culture of Marginalized Students To Teach Writing, I challenge English composition educators committed to preventing a cultural underclass of English language writers to disrupt, interrogate, investigate, and publish more scholarship on research that helps shape high-impact practices for marginalized pupils. Using Africana based cultural practices to connect and identify with minority students will simultaneously build bridges to promote more cross-cultural connections through ongoing learning and teaching through an Africana gaze. Moreover, while students continue to be oppressed for using their own languages in schools and on the streets, Vershawn Ashanti Young and Aja Y. [End Page 250] Martinez acknowledge in Code-Meshing as World English: Pedagogy, Policy, Performance "the difficulties in implementing a code-meshing pedagogy" but argue that "all writers and speakers benefit when we demystify academic language and encourage students to explore the plurality of the English language in both unofficial and official spaces." Therefore, the need for more pedagogical attention in the CLAJ is more relevant now than ever before. During this moment in history where systemic racism in academia needs dismantling, educators can become liberators to assist minority students in changing from invisible to visible, unheard to heard, and alienated to appreciated. Ultimately, CLA members can consider contributing to this innovative pedagogical inclusion by implementing scholarly works in pedagogy, such as innovative lessons, lesson plans, unit plans, teaching ideas, articles, etc. In the words of James Baldwin, "[t]he paradox of education is precisely this—that as one begins to become conscious, one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated." As CLA members, let us raise pedagogical consciousnesses together and examine our society through insightful lenses. Monique Akassi Monique Leslie Akassi is an award winning, scholar, author, innovative leader, manager, and educator at Howard University and George Washington University. Works Cited Akassi, Monique. Post-Colonial Composition Pedagogy: Using The Culture of Marginalized Students To Teach Writing. Robbie Dean Press, 2011. Google Scholar Baldwin, James. "Color." Esquire, December 1962, pp. 224–229. Google Scholar Du Bois, W.E.B. The Soul of Black Folks. A. C. McClurg, 1903. Google Scholar Fish, Stanley. Save The World On Your Own Time. Oxford University Press, 2012. Google Scholar hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. Routledge, 1994. Google Scholar Young, Vershawn Ashanti and Aja Y. Martinez. Code-Meshing...