Page 395 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

370 C.D. Stonebanks

school teachers work in classrooms with a ratio of 1:108 (Director– Education
Methods Advisory Services 2005), working as hard as humanly possible, but in, what
Nsapato (2005) refers to as a “sick education system” (p. 3). In defining that public
education should be a fundamental right of children, public education should be able
to provide to its stakeholders, as Nsapato writes, an opportunity where they are able to
“live a reasonably useful and beneficial life” (p. 1). During a meeting with distin-
guished scholar, historian Dr. D. D. Phiri commented quite sadly that globally, a few
people in power are critical of education as a fundamental system for children; espe-
cially when the system is obviously not working in some parts of the world (in terms
of economic improvement).
Recognizing the limited ability for affordable education to the majority of
Malawians, Phiri created the Aggrey Memorial School, to pursue his passion to
provide education for as many people as possible. Whether Livingstone’s intention
or not, his appeal at various British universities, in which he said, “I go back to
Africa to try to make an open path for commerce and Christianity. Do you carry on
this work, which I have begun? I leave it to you” (Phiri 2004, p. 115) must also
mean that the legacy of his work set the wheels in motion for a system of education,
which does not function to fulfill the most basic of needs for the majority of those
in Malawi.
Consider the following quote: “What? Post-colonialism? Have they left?” (as cited
in Tuhwai Smith 1999). This quote connects with Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s analysis of
education systems in Kenya as a bridge to develop people who will continue to serve
a colonial system. This prophecy is fulfilled with the young preservice teacher in my
presence who states that his people need to be civilized. What, in turn, can be said of
our own “eurowestern” powerbloc dominated system that continues to influence with
so much authority? Are these “eurowestern” powerbloc (Malawian) schools the
bastions of critical thought that is so often professed by visitors, or a tacit accomplice
to the global education system of hegemonic reproduction?

Critical Pedagogy and “Business as Usual”

(O)ne of the greatest failures of critical pedagogy at this juncture of its history involves the
inability to engage people of African, Asian, and indigenous backgrounds in our tradition.
I call for intense efforts in the coming years to bring more diversity into our ranks for two
purposes: (1) Critical pedagogy has profound insight to pass along to all peoples; and (2)
Critical pedagogy has much to learn from the often subjugated knowledge of African,
African American, Asian, and indigenous people. (Kincheloe 2007, p. 11)

The “our” tradition that Kincheloe refers to is that of critical pedagogy, stem-
ming from the emancipatory work of Paulo Freire (2005). And if, in the context and
purposes of this chapter at least, some of the central hallmarks of critical pedagogy
are defined as developing an awareness of the political nature of education, which
is grounded in social justice and equity with the ultimate desire to alleviate human
suffering (Kincheloe 2008), then, much needs to be done both home and abroad. I