When the Distressed Teach the Oppressed: Toward an Understanding of Communion and Commitment

Abstract

J ane Tompkins' 1 990 essay, of the Distressed, decries the preva­ lence of what she calls the of pedagogy in col lege classrooms-that is, a model, perhaps unconsciously, centered entirely on the teacher ' s performance in front of the students. She calls instead for a more student-centered approach, based at least in part on the model Paulo Freire ( 1 970c) describes in Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Tompkins' essay prompted a number of forthright responses. Most emphasized the difficulty of enacting Tompkins ' recommendations for teaching because of overwhelming course loads; a lack of institutional prestige and/or support; students who just don ' t care ; or a nostalgic and lingering fondness for performance pedagogy. Tompkins ' concept of performance-based pedagogy and the responses it occasioned indicate a healthy willingness among teachers of reading and writing to discuss pedagogy. Nevertheless , I remain troubled by attitudes toward students embedded within this exchange. Certainly Tompkins advocates using student-centered techniques; her invocation of Freire conjures up a powerful dedication to students. Freire 's commitment to students, however, his commun­ ion with them, results not from mere technique but from his spiritual foundation in l iberation theology. I will .explore the implications of this idea first by cons id­ ering how people have responded to Tompkins, and then by examining the links between her argument and Freire ' s in Pedagogy of the Oppressed and other, perhaps lesser known, writings. I want to raise the possibility that, while we may consider ourselves student-centered educators in a Freirean sense, we have, in fact, taken only tentative first steps on an arduous journey.