A Humanizing Pedagogy

Abstract

I went to school with all of my treasures, including my Spanish language, Mexican culture, familia (family), and ways of knowing. I abandoned my treasures at the classroom door in exchange for English and the U.S. culture; consequently, my assimilation into U.S. society was agonizing. One of my earliest memories is of wishing away my dark skin; I wanted desperately to be White, and I abhorred being la morena, the dark-skinned girl. I came to associate whiteness with success and brownness with failure. I was overwhelmed with feelings of shame over the most essential elements of my humanness. As a result, my experience in the U.S. educational system was marked by endless struggles to preserve my humanity.-María del Carmen Salazar

Why the “Struggling Reader” Label Is Harmful (and What Educators Can Do About It)

“…Instead of labeling readers, we argue that the focus must shift to understanding the conditions under which a reader might be more (or less) successful and to where and how that reader might benefit from meaningful support. Moreover, we argue that such support must occur within humanizing pedagogies that respect and build on readers' cultural, linguistic, and experiential resources-resources that are not acknowledged in deficit narratives (Gonzalez et al, 1995;Ladson-Billings, 2014;Paris, 2012;Salazar, 2013).…”

Applying a humanistic pedagogy to advance and integrate humane values in a medical school environment

“…Astin, Astin and Lindholm, (2011) are of the opinion that institutions have emphasised "outer" aspects such as courses, grades and honours earned, and persistence towards a degree, but neglected "inner" aspects such as values, beliefs, emotional maturity, moral development, spirituality and self-understanding. In particular, Salazar (2013) believes that it is a moral duty and responsibility of educators to understand and enact a humanising pedagogy that is not only grounded in theory and practice, but is shaped by the realities of students and teachers' lives. From a South African perspective, Keet, Zinn and Porteus (2009) assert that a humanising pedagogy is directed by compassion, care, respect and love for students and teachers, and their identities, histories and experiences.…”

“…Educators are responsible for promoting a Jama Applying a humanistic pedagogy to advance and integrate humane values ... more fully developed human world through their pedagogical principles and practices (Salazar, 2013). Hence, the three narratives collected from the teachers in the SoM at UFS reported in this article epitomise Freire's and Salazar's call for reinvention of the humanistic pedagogy and integration of such principles and practices.…”

“…Of note is that Salazar (2013) argues that a humanising pedagogy correlates with literature on care in education stating that it includes respect, trust, reciprocal relationships, listening, mentoring, high expectation and interest in the student's well-being, which are values that Dr A models in his practice.…”

“…DeCavalho (1991) stated that as a paradigm, humanism evolved in the 1960s from the work of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rodgers and became a movement in American psychology, with the crisis in American education continuing because of the failure to introduce Maslow and Rodgers' humanistic dimension in the education system. Salazar (2013) refers to a humanisation of the academic environment and Freire's notion of the humanistic teacher. According to Salazar (2013:127), in his writings, Freire "grapples with the meaning of human existence and the purpose of pedagogy" and envisaged a humanising pedagogy.…”