1. Claiming an Education Women claiming an education vs. receiving an education –Proposes critical consciousness and dialogic practices (acting) in comparison to the banking method (being acted upon) Students must engage with teachers in an active, on-going struggle for a real education Teachers must engage all students in an active, on-going struggle for a real education –Proposes recognizing oneself as an active agent of social change with responsibilities: Taking charge of one’s own thinking, talking Not using one’s bodies as commodities for intimacy or economic gain Taking challenging and difficult classes rather than easy ones Not marrying early to avoid difficult decisions Resisting social norms that say women should be nice, play safe, have low professional expectations, drown in love, forget about work Insist on a life of meaningful work and relationships Draw boundaries to excel at one’s own work and goals

2. Critical Theories and Education Solorzano and Bernal use a critical race theory (CRT) and Latino/a critical race theory (LatCrit) framework “Borrowing from the law, we argue that CRT and LatCrit theory challenge the dominant discourse on race and racism as they relate to education by examining how education theory and practice are used to subordinate and marginalize Chicana and Chicano students” (Solorzano and Bernal 2001:312).

3. CRT and LatCrit Theory in Relation to Education and Student Resistance 5 Themes 1.Race, racism, and the intersectionality of race with other forms of subordination including gender, class, language, and immigration status are central to the study of Chicano and Chicana student resistance 2.CRT and LatCrit theory in education challenges dominant ideologies of “meritocracy, color-blindness, race neutrality, and equal opportunity” (2001:313) 3.CRT and LatCrit theory in education are devoted to social justice and social justice research that aims at the eradication of racism, sexism, and poverty as well as the empowerment of men and women of color

4. 5 Themes Continued 4. CRT and LatCrit theory in education privileges the “experiential knowledge” of students of color as “legitimate, appropriate, and critical to understanding, analyzing and teaching about racial subordination in the field of education” (Solorzano and Bernal 2001:314) 5. CRT and LatCrit theory in education dispute ahistorical and unidisciplinary approaches to education research. The authors support education research grounded in historical context as well as integrating various methods and fields of knowledge including ethnic studies, sociology, and history, and law (2001).

5. Transformative Resistance Defined: individuals’ and groups’ (students’) challenging of structures that seek to limit their own actions –“confidence” and capacity to act on their own behalf while struggling for social justice –critical of oppression and motivated by social justice

6. Case #1 Chicano/a Student Transformative Resistance 1968 East Los Angeles School walkouts –10,000 Student Walkout from East LA High Schools (population largely Chicana/o) –Protest inferior quality of their own education Boycotts and provided a list of grievances to LAUSD Board of Education –36 demands: bilingual classes, smaller class size, emphasis on Chicano history

7. Case #2 Chicano/a Student Transformative Resistance 1993 UCLA Chicana and Chicano Studies Protests –Protest #1 A group of multi-ethnic students occupied the UCLA Faculty Center Protest Chancellors decision not to expand the Chicano/a Studies Program to become a department Viewed as a sign that the program will be eventually dismantled Ended with the arrest of 100 students –Protest #2 8 students and 1 professor participated in a hunger stroke at the center of the UCLA campus Additional demonstrations on and off UCLA campus Additional demonstrations at other universities, colleges and high schools

8. Types of Resistance Self-defeating Resistance: Behaviors that are an outcome of some type of critique of the school system but ultimately function to socially reproduce the student’s position in society –Ex: MacLeaod’s Hallway Hangers Reactionary Behavior: A student who “act’s out” or resists but does not have a critique of the oppression that contributes to his/her behavior Conformist Resistance: Oppositional behavior of students who are motivated by a need for social justice yet do not articulate a critique of oppression (work within the system) Transformative Resistance: Oppositional behavior of students who are both motivated by need for social justice and articulate critiques of social oppression (work outside of the system)

9. Fears and Risks of Transformation Teachers transforming themselves: –Fear of losing one’s job for using emancipatory pedagogies, engaging in oppositional politics and opposition mainstream ideologies –Fear of awkwardness in relearning one’s craft (challenges ideas of expertise) –Fear of losing control of the class due to the dialogic practices –Fear of making mistakes Connecting fear and risk: –Fear is normal and natural especially when considering the results of such education –Education and teaching are political acts with political repercussions as we call into question the dominant ideologies of our society –To deny one’s fear, is to deny one’s dream of transformation. Do not seek to avoid fear or you will necessarily avoid taking risks. Transformative education is all about taking risks.

10. Managing Fears Positioning our fears within our politics –We must position our fears within our politics. What is more scary: losing one’s job or supporting and recreating an unjust society through our teaching? Picking Battles –One must maintain his/her position within the institution of education in order to continue to engage in transformative education –Maintain one foot within the institution and one foot outside of it

11. Student Resistance to Transformative Education Problem: Even when teachers decide to utilize transformative education, there is a fear that students will reject that type of education in favor of mainstream ideologies of meritocracy and schooling in order to secure jobs. Solution: As educators, it is our duty to prepare students for the world, including teaching the skills necessary to attain jobs. Transformative education is not in opposition to this preparation. Educators must do both: teach the skills necessary for survival and critique the process of doing so.