Imagination and Critical Pedagogy

In "In Search of a Critical Pedagogy," Maxine Greene writes, "Poets move us to give play to our imaginations, to enlarge the scope of lived experience and reach beyond from our own grounds. Poets do not give us answers; they do not solve the problems of critical pedagogy. They can, however, if we will them to do so, awaken us to reflectiveness, to a recovery of lost landscapes and and lost spontaneities" (98).

The power of performance, creativity, and narratives of multiple perspectives are key elements to a re-imagining of school spaces. The idea seems to be that performance, art, imagination and narratives exist as a means for individuals to become what they want to become without having to abide by binary notions of identity formation that dehumanize and discount. As teachers, we can create opportunities for our students to draw from their own experiences and "say themselves" before someone else does. Peter McLaren talks about critical narratology in this context, or the importance of "reading personal narratives (our own and those of our students) against society's treasured stock of imperial or magisterial narratives..." (McLaren, Critical Pedagogy: A Look at the Major Concepts").