Paulo Freire sets the tone for my reflection on authenticity, with this quote from his best know work Pedagogy of the Oppressed .
“Those who authentically commit themselves to the people must re-examine themselves constantly.” – Paulo Freire
As a teacher, as an activist, be it online or in person. This, however, is no easy task. It takes a real commitment of time, of honest self-reflection, of struggle. One of my favorite books in education I have ever read is by Ira Shor: When Students Have Power . In it, he is so honest and consistent in his own self-reflection and to recording the process of his class and his teaching. I have read it three times, and each time I think both “Wow, that’s how I want to be,” and also, “OMG, will I ever be that focused and committed?
All teaching requires thinking and making decisions about how we want to present ourselves, and which parts of ourselves we want, or perhaps don’t want) to reveal. Human beings are relational and we seek connection. Dirx points out, in Authenticity and Imagination, “…because it is fundamentally rooted in relationship, teaching practice is inherently affect- and emotion-laden.” It is from here that he lays out the need for engaging from a level of the imagination is the way to enhance our authenticity as teachers, and how we ultimately must tend to the soul, to work to know ourselves using reflection and journals and symbols, and listening to our inner selves.
In a face-to-face setting we decide what to wear, where to place ourselves in the classroom, how much to lecture, whether or not we stand at the front, or walk around, or sit with our students. The can pick up cues about us and interact, and so a relationship begins to evolve. Online has some different challenges. I appreciated the quote in Cranton 2006. “I question the extent to which deep shifts in the way in which people understand the world can occur in relationships based on personas or stereotypes.” I know for myself that when I encounter what feels like a persona in a professor I struggle – it makes it feel difficult to be genuine, to be honest about seeing my own assumptions, and more likely to operate in a transactional fashion. I’ll do what you ask of me so I can get my grade and move on. But interestingly, in one of the readings a whole other concept emerged about how the online self can be almost more experimental, more free, or even use things like creating an avatar. That definitely challenged me to think about other ways in which authenticity can be played with, and explored, and expressed via online technology.
What can we do to be authentic online? I liked many of the models of engagement that were shared in our webtalk – things like recording a video of yourself, and holding online office hours. Some other thoughts for me are rooted in the ideas of the articles I reference, and my experience as a student in an online class about Authenticity and Imagination in Transformational Learning.
- Keep a journal.
- Explore imaginatively with our students – through metaphors, or auto-biographies, creative writing prompts – or sharing a photograph or an image (or as we do in this class – making and sharing videos!).
- Model curiosity – I think it’s great in an online setting for the teacher to model genuine interest and curiosity through how they interact with students questions and posting, or the posting they do themselves.
I believe is in striving to know yourself that you can be authentic.
Works Cited
Cranton, P. (2006). Fostering authentic relationships in the transformative classroom. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2006(109), 5-13.
Dirkx, J. M. (2006). Authenticity and imagination. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2006(111), 27-39.
Melissa's TC Reflections 