Episode 8: “Connecting Present to Past”: The Impact of Critical Pedagogy

In Episode 8, Alcine and Shane reminisce and dream with two of Shane’s former students, alumni of the BALMA Project featured in Chapter 5 of Street Data. Hip hop artist and journalist Rocky Rivera and auto technician/former paraprofessional Norma Gallegos share tales of growing up in San Francisco’s Excelsior District that are equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming. Looking at their own trajectories as learners, Norma and Rocky help us explore what success really means when we view education as a long game rather than a test-driven shell game. With tears and joy, the conversation explores the features of what Rocky calls “intentional pedagogy”: the kinds of assignments that cultivate deeper learning, the types of instructional experiences that cultivate student agency, and the impact of access to critical literacy and a community where you feel you belong. Don’t sleep on this episode.

 

For Further Learning

• To follow Rocky’s work, subscribe to her Patreon, and/or get a copy of Snakeskin: Essays by Rocky Rivera, click here.
• If you’re interested in watching a 15-minute retrospective video on the BALMA Project in Chapter 5 of Street Data, click here.
• Visit Norma at Pat’s Garage in SF to get your car fixed. (or help her get a job at SFMTA if you got a hook-up!)