week 14 Pedagogy, Patriotism, and Democracy


Apple’s article presents the effects that the disastrous event 9/11 had on schools. He analyses the social and pedagogic context of the 9/11 tragedy. In the article, Apple uses “compulsory patriotism” to describe the damaging effects the event 9/11 caused in schools. He assumes that 9/11 had effects on pedagogy, which pushed schools to participate in a complicated set of patriotic discourses and practices. However, he thinks that the patriotic fervor that arose with the supports of the government and the public after 9/11 was radical and also a threat to real freedom, at least in the field of education.
I was shocked when I read that a lot of extreme and radical revenges on some Islamic, Punjabi, Sikh and other students occurred in high schools and at universities after 9/11. How could this happen? Was it just because of patriotism and anger stimulated by the tragedy? Why did students who receive education have those extreme behaviors? I think this irrational revenge on the one hand disclosed the issues existing in education; on the other hand, according to the article, it seems that the world or national issues are far away from students’ daily life, and the school curriculum can hardly build a connection between them even if the relevant topics are included and discussed in the courses. In addition, this issue suggested that schools were required to take a series of actions to teach students how to express their patriotism in an appropriate way through education. In addition, teachers’ attitudes and reaction to the issues are very important and can greatly affect students.
Then how could education or schools react to the national issues? I agree with Apple that schools should help students develop a “critical contextual understanding” of the issues through introducing the international relationship, national political and economic policies and history, etc., but not serve as a political tool. By this logic, schools should take the responsibility to answer to the issues critically and mediate the negative effects they bring, but how? As the author mentions in the article, prominent headlines in a local conservative newspaper stated such things as ‘School Board Bans Pledge of Allegiance’, because a majority of people on the School Board voted not to have the reciting of the pledge or the singing of the anthem, “even though the board had actually complied with the formal letter of the law”. (p.304) Thus, if schools do not become the tools of politics to train radically patriotic Americans, it might be difficult for them to avoid the fate of being labelled as “opposition of the nation” by social media.
Further, I agree with the author that “social criticism is the ultimate act of patriotism”, and “rigorous criticism of a nation’s policies demonstrates a commitment to the nation itself”. (p. 306) I think schools should hold this as the goal of education in order to train students as real patriotic Americans with critical thinking and freedom, in the face of the stress from the government and the public. Then my question is, first, how can schools cope with the pressure coming from social media when encountering the effects of a national event? Second, how to suture patriotism into the curriculum appropriately?

Comments

  1. Xuezhi HouApril 18, 2019 at 12:14 PM

    Hi, Yutong, thank you for your sharing. For your sharing, you talked about the disastrous event 9/11. When I visited the museum of 9/11 in New York, I can feel the feeling that atmosphere. So, for your final question, I think schools should provides some experience for the students to visit the historical place and have a visible experience of the event. And I also agree with Apple that schools should help students develop a “critical contextual understanding” of the issues through introducing the international relationship, national political and economic policies and history, etc., but not serve as a political tool. The history is not just a kind of history but the things we need to face and schools should not only teach the history in the classrooms but should provide the experience for them to visit and to experience. So that the students will get the feeling more directly.

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  2. AnonymousApril 18, 2019 at 3:20 PM

    Thank you very much for your sharing. In my opinion, reflecting on the impact of events from political events or disasters is also one of the important functions of education. Patriotism should be the product of social imperceptibility, and coercion can not achieve results. There is no absolute freedom but relative freedom in the world. I do not agree with the view that patriotism is a threat to freedom. Education should not be instrumentalized, but should guide students to think and have the ability to distinguish right from wrong. As for the two questions you raised, I think that first of all, schools should do a good job in crisis preparedness plan to minimize the impact of emergencies on normal teaching. Secondly, first of all, we should guide students to establish a correct concept. Schools or teachers themselves can not force students to patriotize. This is the influence of the society, and I believe that a positive and optimistic, noble student will not love his country.

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  3. April McFaddenMay 5, 2019 at 4:48 PM

    First off, I like Michael Apple and generally I agree with him. I have encountered his texts a few times in this program.

    Back in the early 1900s, when there was a surge of immigration, the goal of education was to build a educated citizentry and help immigrant populations assimilate. We talked about this in weeks two or three. After 9/11, education used patriotism as a tool to fuel and pacify xenophobia.

    To your second question, I don’t believe imbuing students with patriotism is the responsibility of the school rather the larger society and ultimately the parents. It’s subjective and how it’s manifested is culturally specific. I think dictating it in a systematic way that is education is harmful and does not allow for nuance.

    As to your first question about social media and national events, I think social media should be engaged as a tool for critical analysis. As a way to see different opinions and perspectives and allowing learners to draw their own conclusions.

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