ERIC Number: EJ1432274
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2369-8659
EISSN: N/A
Sins of the Father: Exploring Shame as an Ethical Pedagogy to Advance British Columbia's K-12 Settler Students towards Reconciliation
Victor Brar
Philosophical Inquiry in Education, v31 n1 p28-42 2024
This paper reflects my journey, as a racialized settler and K-12 practitioner in British Columbia, Canada, towards developing a pedagogical understanding of how to transform the experience of inherited colonial shame among settler children in my classroom. Canada has a shameful history of colonialism, the progressive revelations of which provoke an iterative cycle of shame among many of the children in our schools. This cycle prevents these children from emerging as responsible agents of reconciliation. I examine the hidden pedagogical potential of shame to function as an ethical catalyst for reconciliatory change. I posit that Aristotle's conception of shame (aidos), when paired with Freire's (1970) critical pedagogy, can provide the means to energize my pedagogical efforts to address the shame of settler students and enable them to pursue respectful mutual relationships with Indigenous Peoples in Canada. By fusing the philosophical horizons of Aristotelian shame with Freire's critical pedagogy, I argue that the future for settler children need not appear as a fait accompli, in which the "sins of father" will be visited upon the children of another generation.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Indigenous Populations, Elementary School Students, High School Students, Middle School Students, Values Education, Colonialism, Social Discrimination, Nondiscriminatory Education, Self Esteem, Self Actualization, Student Attitudes, Restorative Practices
Canadian Philosophy of Education Society. S-FG 6310 Faubourg Ste-Catherine Building, 1610 St. Catherine West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H4B 1R6. Tel: 514-758-7813; Web site: http://journals.sfu.ca/pie/index.php/pie
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Education; High Schools; Secondary Education; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A