Gender in TFA Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gender in TFA - Research Paper Example His father’s lack of courage and financial insecurity stirs his obsession for masculinity and he is motivated to become a chivalrous warrior and a man of great wealth, who could provide everything his family needs. Thus, Okonkwo’s character thrives on the notion of filling a vacuum in the realms of masculinity that his father so cowardly left. On the other hand, he remains concerned about his son Nwoye of 12 years of age, whom he perceives as lazy. This causes the anguish in Okonkwo that his son will grow up to become an ‘efukfu’, a worthless loser like his father. Consequent to a settlement, Okonkwo acquires a virgin and a 15 year old boy named Ikemefuna as reward from another tribe and he envisions an ideal son in the latter. However, despite his love for Ikemefuna, he kills him just to save himself from appearing weak in front of others. Thus, through each thread in the fabric of TFA’s plot, Achebe emphasizes Okonkwo’s yearning for recognit ion as a manly hero in the patriarchal society that values masculinity as the most honored trait. Right from the beginning of the story, Achebe illustrates the significance of masculinity in the Umuofian society by referring to the fact that at the age of 18, Okonkwo has earned honor in the village by winning a wrestling contest with ‘Amalinze the Cat’ who has been the unbeaten champion for over seven years. Even while describing the fight, the author strives to accentuate the masculinity of both warriors by showing how every vein and â€Å"every muscle† on their arms, back and thighs stands out (Achebe Ch.1). Thus, the audience receives a clear idea of the pivotal role of masculinity in the Nigerian culture and how male characters in the story cherish the notion of manliness. On the other hand, Achebe also distinctly depicts the motivation of the male protagonist by orienting the readers about his father’s lack of masculinity by portraying Unoka,

Critical Pedagogy Perspective of Education Essay

Critical Pedagogy Perspective of Education - Essay Example â€Å"Habits of thought, reading, writing, and speaking which go beneath surface meaning, first impressions, dominant myths, official pronouncements, traditional cliches, received wisdom, and mere opinions, to understand the deep meaning, root causes, social context, ideology, and personal consequences of any action, event, object, process, organization, experience, text, subject matter, policy, mass media, or discourse"(Wink 2011, p. 128). This is an implication that in critical pedagogy approach of schooling the learner is not mandated to conform to the conventional schooling system. The paper access the appropriateness of critical pedagogy of schooling and its key elements. Paulo Freire was the first person to describe critical pedagogy approach of schooling. His initial interest was to address adult literacy, â€Å"†¦Paulo Freire, writing originally within the specific context of promoting adult literacy within Latin American peasant communities, but whose work has taken o n an increasingly international interest and appeal in the past three decades†(Macrine 2009, p. 67). ... (1984, 1988) critical pedagogy approach of schooling is concerned with the relationship that should exist between, school and the socio- political aspects of living. In his explanation, Stanley (1992) indicates that Freire’s critical pedagogy is based on critical consciousness. Stanley (1992, p. 56) continues to deduce that according to Freire, â€Å"Freedom, for Freire, begins with the recognition of a system of oppressive relations, and one’s own place in that system. The task of Critical Pedagogy is to bring members of an oppressed group to a critical consciousness of their situation as a beginning point of their liberatory praxis.† This is an implication that the learner should be the centre of schooling not schooling being the centre of learning. Purmensky (2009, p. 96) states that, â€Å"Freire goes further than arguing that educators must constantly discover and rediscover ways to help the learner view knowledge as problematic.† Arguably, an implica tion that teachers should employ a learning approach that enables the learner to learn and unlearn. The idea behind critical pedagogy approach of education is attributed to neo-Marxian literature concerning Critical Theory. Critical theorist argued that the Frankfurt school, whose founder was Marxism, had underrated the significant role played by media and cultural influences in addressing issues pertaining capitalism (Malott 2010; Sleeter 1995). critical pedagogy generally refers to the effort that is need to work in an educational institution as well in other aspects of life such as the media and have the audacity to question any form of power inequality that results to groups as well as individuals abandoning what is meaningful and will value to their lives. To install such crucial virtues, learners’ in school