In the Spirit of Struggle: A Barrio Pedagogy Compass of Love, Care, and Compassion

• In Event: Latina/o/x Criminology Panel 1: Pedagogy, Curriculum, Representation, and Reflections

Abstract

Scholars show how community cultural wealth exists for students of color in educational institutions where some knowledge is devalued yet serve as a tool to thrive. Although critical pedagogy scholars and criminal justice education independently offer a rich body of work, there has been little connection between criminal justice and pedagogical practices of love, care, and compassion. This article introduces the concept of barrio pedagogy through a trauma stewardship framework which provides a compass of five sacred directions to engage with
radical teaching in times of social injustice. The compass guides how to teach within a context of punishment through 1. visualization with intentional love, 2. plans/solutions for the context struggle, 3. change through service and loving carework, 4. bodymindspirit rest, and 5. daily practices for balance. By utilizing this compass, scholars, educators, students, organizers, and practitioners can be informed when facilitating knowledge for the purposes of humanizing and enacting social change in contemporary criminalized spaces.

Author

• Katherine Maldonado, University of California, Santa Barbara