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31 On Critical Thinking, Indigenous Knowledge and Raisins Floating in Soda Water 359
In particular, this chapter focuses on Malawi and the James Bay Cree communities
of Canada and a conversation I had with the late Joe Kincheloe (influential critical
pedagogy scholar, prolific author, and Canada Research Chair of McGill University’s
Department of Integrated Studies in Education). While in the James Bay Cree
village of Mistissini, I spoke with Joe about a science experiment I had carried out
in a preservice teacher education course on curriculum development, also related to
his work. The experiment, which will be described in greater detail at the end of this
chapter, was developed by the University of Alabama’s Integrated Science Program
(1991) with the intention to teach young students about the importance of careful
observation through an authoritative yet exuberant demonstration of “water lice”
actively cleaning polluted water. Although developed for elementary-aged children,
this experiment is carried out with preservice teachers in connection with the ideas
of “Teacher as Researcher” (Kincheloe 2003), “Ideology and Curriculum” (Apple 2004)
and “Student as Researcher” (Steinberg and Kincheloe 2005) to demonstrate the
depth that we tend not to engage in critical thinking when faced with figures and
institutions with authority capital – even in contexts promoted as critical and/or
constructivist. I hope the conversation detailed here with Joe will add some depth to
two areas of concern that we often discussed regarding critical pedagogy: Critical
thinking, indigenous knowledge, and their place within all schools.
Talking About Critical Thinking and an Ice Box Full of Neutral
Knowledge
“Christopher, what’s that?” Joe asked while pointing to a cooler that I pulled out of
my car. Joe was obviously not confused by an ice box chest, rather it was the large
warning pasted on the top of the cooler that he referred to. In large bold letters it
read:
Caution: Contains Benign Live Animals
Keep at room temperature (18°C (64°F) to 23°C (73°F))
For Laboratory Observation only: Do not release
Dispose of through standard “Hazardous Waste” process
Canada Post markings suggested that this box had made some kind of journey
and indicated that its origins were from a university in the United States. The cooler
in the back of my car, belying the warning, had actually contained drinks for the
10-h drive to the James Bay Cree community of Mistissini in Northern Quebec. Joe,
his wife Shirley Steinberg (a professor, critical pedagogy scholar and prolific author
as well), and I were in the community in the fall of 2008 to begin our community-
based research on the nature and function of schools in the community and the
manner in which, if at all, indigenous knowledge influences curriculum.
“That …” I responded to Joe, “… is how I attempt to get students to get a
better understanding of the works of Michael Apple, Shirley Steinberg, and Joe
Kincheloe!”