A Re-Thinking of Critical Pedagogy: A Review of Critical Theory and Critical Pedagogy Today: Toward a New Critical Language in Education

A Re-Thinking of Critical Pedagogy: A Review of Critical Theory and Critical Pedagogy Today: Toward a New Critical Language in Education Edited by Ilan Gur-Ze'ev Haifa, Israel: University of Haifa Press, 2005 As wheels of change are moving in many aspects of life it seems that Critical Pedagogy needs to review, or even transform, itself towards future. The book Critical Theory and Critical Pedagogy Today: Toward a New Critical Language in Education tries to respond to challenges of changing times in three ways: (1) It presents some of central views of Critical Pedagogy today; (2) It presents a critical view on Critical Pedagogy's current situation; and (3) It presents different attempts to re-think future possibilities of Critical As book includes 19 articles, this review will not be able to encompass all of them, but will give a snapshot of some of ideas presented therein. Although, as mentioned, editor tried to give an arena to different voices in Critical Pedagogy, I see main importance of book not in good collection of a variety of thinkers, but in attempt to look at Critical Pedagogy via critical eyes and in effort that is done by some of these thinkers to re-think Critical As Gur-Ze'ev indicates in his introduction: Regardless to degree of identification with Critical Pedagogy, it seems to me that many Critical Pedagogues are today ready for or actually searching for a new critical language in education that will go beyond achievements and limitations of Critical Pedagogy. (1) Why does Critical Pedagogy need a new critical language? Because, as Gur-Ze'ev claims, so much of Critical pedagogy has become dogmatic, and sometimes anti-intellectual, while on other hand losing its relevance for people it conceived as victims to be emancipated. (3) Other writers in book also criticize Critical Pedagogy's current state, each from their different way of approach. McLaren, who represents a neoMarxistic Critical Pedagogy, claims that the educational left is finding itself without a revolutionary agenda for challenging in classrooms of nation effects and consequences of new capitalism. (3) Anat Rimon-Or, on other hand, criticizes Critical Pedagogy's revolutionary agenda. She brings forward Platonic understanding that critical thinking involves commitment for search for Truth and Good. Therefore, Critical Pedagogy's over materialistic view on social needs contradicts its critical agenda: This educational act (critical education) is revolutionary in itself; although it doesn't cultivate revolutionists in Marxist sense, but vice versa: it betrays antagonistic relation between critical thinking and essential social needs. Critical education stems from critical thinking; hence, it must postpone social needs, including those of revolution. (4) Nigel Tubbs argues that source of crisis is failure of Critical Pedagogy to pursue a philosophical critique of itself and its misinterpretation of Critical Theory. (5) This critical view highlights that by estrangement of Critical Pedagogy from Critical Theory and it's over emphasizing of political struggle, Critical Pedagogy became violent and departed from love of life, which is essential in Critical Theory. (6) Another angle from which to look at Critical Pedagogy with critical eyes is offered by Gert Biestra. He points to utopian nature that Critical Pedagogy embraced. A utopian view that causes it to become oppressive rather than liberating: Critical Pedagogy as a positive educational programme, as something that only needs to be implemented, is problematic. This is first of all because such a programme can only be successful if it would be able to control use of what it aims to achieve. …