Entanglements as Pedagogy and Method: Tracing Entangled Histories to Imagine Educational Futures

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 11:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Pedagogies of Power, Community, and Freedom

Abstract

This ethnographic study of FREE LA High School, where I served as an educator, conceptualizes "entanglements" as a crucial pedagogical praxis and critical methodology in social justice education/research. FREE LA is a police-free, punishment-free alternative school in South Central Los Angeles created by and for youth of color excluded from traditional schooling. Focusing on an interview with FREE LA’s two gardening teachers, I show how these educators weave together seemingly disconnected histories – across time, space, and struggle – to articulate the pedagogical significance of FREE LA’s rebel garden for abolitionist education. By probing these connections, I demonstrate how "entanglements"—following and tracing the interconnections between diverse histories—offers a compelling methodology for exploring contemporary educational landscape(s) and imagining new educational futures.

Author

• Margaret Goldman, Rutgers University - Newark