How does Kumashiro define 'commonsense?' Why is it so important to pay attention to the 'commonsense'?
Kumashiro says that “the peace corps relied on a commonsensical definition of good teaching that was informed primarily by how teaching was generally experienced, discussed, and conceptualized in the United States” (pp. XXXI-XXXII). Kumashiro also stated that most of the peace corps volunteers had received little or no preparation to be teachers, and most of them had had very little teaching experience before joining the Peace corps. Yet, they were told they were all capable of serving as resource teachers because they had over sixteen years’ experience as students in the U.S. educational system (pp. XXXII). Kumashiro states “common sense does not tell us that this is what schools could be doing; it tells us that this and only this is what schools should be doing. This moral imperative “should” helps to explain why we often feel social pressure to conform, as when we tell ourselves, “it’s just common sense that schools teach these things and students do those things” (pp. XXXV). Kumashiro is saying that most perspectives that challenge common sense are dismissed because they do not fit the norms of the school. It is important to pay attention to common sense because it varies from place to place. As future educators, we need to be able to understand that our way of doing things is not the only logical way to do things. We need to be open to new ways of teaching, and challenging the norms of society.
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