How is queer pedagogy different from critical pedagogy? What delineates a queer pedagogue from a critical one? Are the categories mutually exclusive?
Queer pedagogy combats this prevalent discouragement of critical thought. In queering, there is no closing – and arguably, there is never closure. To queer is to venture into controversial, intellectually complicated, nuanced terrain with students. It requires faith that middle school students in a public school such as mine not only can, but must, learn to grapple with complexity if their education is going to provide opportunities, rather than impose insurmountable limitations (Krywanczyk, 2009).
At the heart of Krywanczyk’s description of queer pedagogy is the requirement that it teaches students to grapple with complexity. While this is foundational to understandings of critical pedagogy and queer pedagogy, I am interested in what the buildings on top of these bases might look like to adolescents. Krywanczyk brings focus to the role that outing and public identity claiming can have in one’s own self-reflection as well as one’s interactions with adolescents. In communities where queerness is not understood in the ways we would hope, outing oneself (let alone another) can be devastating. I have witnessed disgusting behaviors from children (and their parents) toward teachers who are openly queer and/or trans*. At the same time, I have witnessed the power that a public declaration of identity can have for so many children struggling to identify themselves, and the behaviors and performances they develop. As we discussed in class last week, visibility has been proven over and over to change people’s minds.
That doesn’t mean visibility is easy. Or always worth it. Krywanczyk points these problems out several times in the article. From an adolescent’s perspective, though, the idea and performance of an adult naming and living an identity fully can be inspiring and perspective-shaking. In this way, openly queer pedagogues begin to build on top of the foundation of critical pedagogy with identity production and constant emergence embedded into their curriculum and presence.
Hi Clare,
While reading this article I asked myself the same question, what is the difference between queer and critical pedagogy? From Krywanczyk’s description of queer pedagogy, I understood it to be a synonym to critical teaching, the only difference being the name (an inspiration from his own experiences). I also asked myself (like you mentioned) how parents would react to a teacher who has this kind of approach. Many parents, depending on their upbringing, place of residence (the belief of their community), religion, and many other factors may take offense to specific teachings. However, the only way to combat ignorance and intolerance it to reach individuals at a young age. But how is one to face the parentals?