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Introduction

This semester has been rich in conversations of understanding the ways in which knowledge production happens within academia and the ways in which we might be able to change it. Alternative ways of learning are important for recognizing the individual differences we all have and to ensure that learning is as in depth as possible. Changing the ways in which we produce knowledge does not just have to be within the university, this course has brought an abundance of ways that we can all learn inside and outside the classroom. It has me questioning the ways in which I see a successful learning environment and what it means to be involved in academia. It is a relief to see that it is not solely students that question the academic system and working alongside professors to create a community that does not follow along with the status quo is rewarding. I have had many conversations with peers throughout the years about how we found the Western education system to possess many flaws and being able to critique it within an academic setting is valuable to the way I engage with the university.

I will use my portfolio to show the ways in which my critique of the Canadian education institutions has developed. I want to express the emphasis I put on ensuring that there is a decolonial aspect throughout my portfolio. As someone who comes from Jewish decent and has family and friends who have experienced the horrors of genocide, I am more capable to empathize with Indigenous people and the cultural and literal genocide that occurred and continues to occur in Canada. It is important to recognize and engage with Indigenous ideas when we are living on land that has been stolen from them, decolonization is not a practice that can be checked off and completed at the beginning of a presentation. Decolonization needs to be engaged throughout all forms of education and recognized in our daily lives, it is a continuous action that privileged folks, along with marginalized people, need to engage with. Although the act of decolonization requires voices and perspectives of Indigenous and marginalized people, it is unfair to place the burden completely on them. Knowledge and education are a part of every culture and way of living and we all need to question the ways in which it interacts with society.

Throughout the course I have learned through different mediums and alternative methods. Instead of having readings supplementary to course learning and then a full class of lectures barely related to the readings, we were able to have discussion that engaged with the learnings and the perspectives of the authors. Having student facilitators of discussions and presentations broadened the learning in the class. It is too often that we have formal learning on different ideas and topics without any practical examples or experiences. This class not only taught through the readings and course content, but through the ways in which the class was formatted. When the barriers between student and teacher are broken down and the whole class is willing to take place in a learning community, the first step towards decolonizing education is underway. Having each of us discuss and learn from each other with comfort and safety was a beautiful sight to see, I was engaged every week with the abundance of experiences and knowledges I was being exposed to. In class discussions we were able to build off of each other and grow our understandings of topics through the diverse points each student would bring up. In other classes I find it more difficult to connect to the singular teacher, it is less of a learning community and I am unable to build my knowledge effectively and think up points quickly because there are less opinions and viewpoints to play off. Sometimes in our class I would find someone said something that I would connect closely with and I was able to understand the concept of that week much more through the connection with another student, that is unable to happen in the common lecture format of many classes at UBC.

Each week brought us closer to having a well-rounded approach to critiquing the university and the mainstream and acceptable methods of learning. Although I have informally questioned the ways in which the academic system functions in society, it was a new experience to have a full course constructed around the critique of Western education. To truly critique the ways in which the Western education system fails, we need to understand and engage with alternative education and look to the margins for change. As Kuokkanen says we need to shift “from the arrogance of “knowing the other” to “learning from below”” (2007, 121) to fully participate in a decolonial and interconnected education. It is not enough to check the box of inclusion and diversity, the Western education system needs to change the institution itself to allow for alternative learnings and diverse backgrounds of both students and teacher.

Alternative learnings do not have to stay within the classroom, through my research in my group presentation on Accessibility and Wellness at UBC, research into my object presentation on Feminist Thought and preparation and activeness each week, I was able to dive into different modes of knowledge. Knowledge and education are not supposed to be kept in the classroom, they need to sometimes be informal and practical. Learning is not always about facts, formulas, and data. Learning is about developing who we are as people and engaging with the world on a more in-depth level and being more active in our own lives. To ensure that we have a well-functioning and extensive education, we need to reframe the way we view education and success in the world. Rather than focusing on capitalism and using education as a tool to become the perfect active citizen, using education as a tool for self-growth and ensuring that it is something that happens everyday in our lives can broaden Western education. The academic system does not recognize learning that happens outside of the class, such as: work, traditions, religion, family, relationships, friendships, interactions with other people, dealing with money, and any other type of experience that we could learn from. Extending the scope of the Western education system would include different cultures’ experiences and include a marginal experience that is not always prioritizing academia. Moving on from the rigid, traditional way of learning can not only benefit children from a young age, but all those who have a extensive understanding of learning.

Throughout my life I have always valued the education system as the pathway to having success. The readings and discussions in the course have me critiquing the ways in which I see education and success in our society. The discipline of GRSJ has always caused me to question the ways in which university (especially UBC) propels us into capitalism, but this course has allowed me to critique that within a formal setting with a classroom full of like-minded people. The soundscape/walking tours were the most explicit ways of questioning knowledge and the university throughout the semester, each group looked at the ways that capitalism and the ideas of success damage the learning process. It was a profound discovery that every aspect of the university is capitalist/image driven and capitalism is a system engrained in Western education. Unfortunately it was upsetting to see how prolific capitalism is in the university and how it changes the ways in which knowledge is produced and shared. Instead of having a sense of practicality to the learning, the studies are elitist in nature and exclude those on the margins of society. Capitalism is a tool that universities use to produce active citizens for the world.

The portfolio to follow will show a diverse way of looking at the course materials, each project, discussion, and reading had something else to bring to the ways in which knowledge is produced in academia. I hope to show that each instance of learning had me questioning my own knowledge and how it came to be. The posts I have included in my portfolio are the ways in which my knowledge of Western academia has developed throughout the semester.

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Conclusion

The portfolio has included materials from the two projects this semester: the Soundscape Tour and the Object Presentation, discussions I have participated in on canvas, and my favourite quotes from the course readings. Each of these different ways of knowledge production has developed the ways in which I question and exist in the university. The amount of free-reign in the class has allowed me to express the topics and opinions that I find most relevant and interesting. Instead of following a strict prompt, I was able to come to a place of producing my own knowledge and finding ideas that I am passionate about.

Learning has changed over the years from something beautiful that generations pass on to the next and communities that grow and learn together to an individualistic attempt at gaining knowledge to reach capitalistic success. The neoliberal environment of the university has corrupted the engaging and collective way of learning. I often hear from professors that we are unable to edit or assist our peers with classwork and essays as it is a form of plagiarism, this is unfortunate because the simple act of peer-editing can enhance knowledge sevenfold. Having even just one other perspective on an idea or piece of writing is a way for people to have a strong argument and idea behind the paper. I find that I am often unable to come up with a thesis without some form of discussion, or even rant, with another person. Being able to verbalize my thinking and path of knowledge is beneficial to the finished product.

The individualistic approach to learning in the Western system has created a feel of competition in all aspects of life, capitalism is to blame for this. Each person is trying to increase their own economic capital, education is a tool for us to move up in the world and reach ‘success.’ Since elementary school we have been in constant competition with our classmates, to who can draw the best to who can finish the math equation the quickest. Encouraging competition in children is beneficial in the capitalist system and forces children to focus on the task at hand to ensure they do the best they can. Yet this pressure to succeed is discouraging the collective nature in children and adults, instead of having a united community of learners, we have individuals who will not aid their friends in learning. I remember in high school feeling conflicted in whether I wanted to help my friends with their homework, I knew if I did not help it would bring me closer to the top of the class. I thankfully chose to help them because I valued our friendship over having the top grade for assignments but the conflict in myself was difficult to deal with.

Moving into university I have realized that the classroom has become even more separated, each student barely even wants to acknowledge others in the room let alone help them. Knowledge has become a trait that we hold dear and do not share with our peers, yet this is not the purpose of knowledge. We should feel the freedom and the urge to combine our knowledges with one another and create a collective knowledge that involves a significant amount of perspectives and opinions. This semester has taught me that we can still have university level education and merge our knowledges together. Through discussions, group projects, and having autonomy over the content of our projects we are able to move from the individual education towards collective. We were encouraged to converse with one another and share our ideas, this is out of character for a university classroom.

If we are hoping to change the ways in which knowledge is viewed in our society, we need to move away from the capitalist society we live in. Instead of valuing people only on their production value at work, we need to look at valuing each person for their contribution to society on a whole. Valuing all school, work, home life, relationships, etc as equally important to society will move towards creating a system that encourages holistic learning. We need to move away from education creating the active citizen who engages in work and production and move towards education assisting us all reach our goals and passions.

The ideal school system for me would be holistic in its approach. Instead of solely being in the school, learning would take place in all aspects of life and be recognized as equally important. This is not to say that learning does not already take place in every facet of life, but valuing them as equal would ensure a just education system. Education would follow passions and the course of someone’s life, not be limited to the beginning of a career. Since we are constantly learning, formal education would be accessible at every point in life. Employers would be accepting of education being an important part of life and would allocate a certain amount of time for each person to participate in formal education. Stretching to the ideal would be to make all forms of education accessible to anyone, whether its financial, timing, or disability related, education should be within reach to anyone. I think all forms of education can either be free if we lived in a socialist society that was supported by the government or for the time being could be placed on a sliding scale that would attempt to make in accessible to the lower class without putting them in further debt.

The ideal system of school is not so far away, moving from an individual system to a collective one would bring life back into education. There are schools and places around the world that have a thorough education system that is inclusive to all perspectives and opinions, bringing that to the Western system would just take reformation. Yet unfortunately, academics are stuck in their traditional and elitist ways and I do not see the academic system changing too drastically in the near future.

We need to look at knowledge and education through an intersectional lens and ensure that the needs of all those involved (and all those who could be involved) are met. Thinking about Indigenous, racialized, gendered, non-binary, queer, disabled, and many more marginalized people and how they would fit into the education can be a good first step. We can begin to decolonize the education system through actively participating in ensuring all needs are met of marginalized folks.

The ways in which we have learned and discussed learning in this course shows that introducing new ways of learning and producing knowledge are not too strenuous. Just taking the time to discuss with those around you to see how they would prefer to learn and show their learning can go a long way to creating a classroom where everyone is on equal footing to engage in learning. Having videos, presentations, audio, different forms of text, etc. are simple ways that classrooms can having alternative educations. Challenging the university is beneficial to not only those who are on the margins of education, but those who are already engaged have a more extensive understanding of the topics they learn.

It is common knowledge that we all learn differently and that learning in one way is not conducive to learning, so why are classrooms usually structured in a lecture style? And why are many of the projects, assignments, and assessments without variety? The capitalist structure only accepts one way of producing knowledge and that needs to change soon. Each act of challenging the norm and critiquing the academic progresses a collective and anti-capitalist approach to knowledge. Reforming education and the way we perceive knowledge in the West is the next step to having a just society where everyone is valued and protected by society. All types of knowledges are important to society.

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These are a selection of the slides used in our soundscape tour. I focused on the Centre for Accessibility and Policy 73. I discussed UBC’s academic and on campus accommodation, and the definition the university uses for a disability. I tended to focus on the logistics of the Centre for Accessibility, whereas Margaret ensured that the case studies and student experiences were covered. Our group worked in harmony throughout the entire process, each person was willing and able to do their section. I took the role of ensuring everyone was on time and keeping the preparation of our tour on track. I also put the handout together and brought it in to class. Each person had their own role and there was, thankfully, no weak link. We all contributed to the powerpoint and research and delegated the work fairly, if someone took up more work in one area we made sure to not give them more extra work later on. The presentation ended up exactly how we wanted it to and the video portion of the tour was funny and creative.

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Handout that I made for our “Accessibility and Wellness at UBC” Soundscape tour. Includes the research question, brief information on each of our stops, discussion questions throughout the tour, and all references we used throughout our presentation (which was a lot). 

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Some of the suggestions for wellness from the class during our “Accessibility and Wellness at UBC” Soundscape Tour. We had an activity that allowed our classmates to post anonymously some tips and tricks for staying healthy and well throughout everyday life.

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This was the video I showed in my object presentation during week 10. I used this to challenge alternative ways of education, especially in elementary school. The school has been closed for a few months as it was not bringing in the income necessary to keep it running. The company is based in San Fransisco and does not come at education with a decolonial lens, instead looks at education as an opportunity to develop and use technology to the best of its ability and give autonomy to the students and their families.  

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Object for presentation in week 10. The textbook is called Feminist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction and is written by Rosemarie Tong, a feminist scholar. The book lacked intersectionality and was came with a high price to purchase. The textbook’s contents became the basis for my feminist knowledge and was overwhelmingly white and privileged, I did not learn about other feminisms and more in-depth intersectionality for a significant amount of time (I read the book in first year, almost 5 years ago).

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Handout from Object Presentation: Week 10

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From week 3 discussions on Canvas.

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From week 5 discussion on Canvas.

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From weeks 8 and 9 discussions (Walking Tour and Soundscape reflections) on Canvas

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From week 10 discussions on Canvas.

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From week 13 discussions on Canvas.

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Historically, educating indigenous people has been established on the premise of “civilizing,” that is, assimilating and eradicating elements that separated and differentiated indigenous peoples from the dominant society, its culture and values.

(Kuokkanen, “What is Hospitality in the Academy” 61)

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Epistemic ignorance is thereby a form of subtle violence.

(Kuokkanen, “What is Hospitality in the Academy” 63)

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In those discourses, African women are victims of poverty, war, or bizarre “traditional” practices.

(Boateng, 401)

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What I am offering here presupposes that all ignorance has the potential to be harmful, but ignorance becomes harmful only in certain circumstances and to the extent that it actually causes harm.

(Dotson, 239)