Hooks, B. (2010). Teaching critical thinking: Practical wisdom. New York, NY: Routledge.

bell hooks invites readers to engage in critical thinking in her latest teaching trilogy entitled Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom. The contents of the book are broken down into 32 mini-chapters which hooks calls teachings (p. 5). Her commentaries in each teaching draw from her experiences as an educator. She has gathered her own standpoint as well as others to cover topics relating to race, sex, and class.

Steeped in Freireian thought, hooks provokes readers to look at pedagogical encounters from a critical perspective. She reminds us that “thinking is an action” (p. 7) and advocates for new kinds of thinking that empower oppressed races, classes, and sexes. Growing up as a Black female has significantly influenced her perspective and her examples of oppressive conditions. Despite the fact that all her examples focus mainly on the oppression of Blacks in the United States, hooks’ commentaries offer clear examples of acts of oppression which can then be transferred to other oppressed groups.

Freire advocates for “praxis” in teaching, which he defines in his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed as “the reflection and action which truly transform reality, and are the source of knowledge and creation” (pp. 100-101). What this means is that unlike animals, human beings are capable of changing their life circumstances by reflecting on actions and, as a result, bringing about change. hooks’ book could be considered a praxis-in-motion whereby she reflects on her experiences and discusses how her transgressions challenge the educational norms that benefit some yet oppress others. For example, she talks about how many teachers play “a major role in enforcing, promoting, and maintaining biases” (p. 31). She gives an example of how a White male professor declared that he would not entertain race or gender inquiries in his class, which was focused on the construction of class. By doing this, the professor did not provoke critical thinking or allow students to ponder how race and gender affect the construction of class. Thus, the practice of praxis was hindered and, as a result, patriarchal biases were maintained. Students in his class were not able to critically engage in what ways gender and race affect class constructions. hooks discusses this professor’s actions and allows readers to explore the ways in which a typical teaching moment can be the root of maintaining oppressive norms. Throughout the book, hooks draws on many other experiences that demonstrate praxis.

Hawkins and Norton’s work (2009) argue that there are three key heuristics in critical language teacher education: critical awareness; critical self-reflection; and critical pedagogical relations. I think that hooks successfully attempts to engage readers in the above three criteria. She consistently uses examples to demonstrate awareness, reflects on oppressive situations, and critically discusses how race, class, and gender are entwined in social constructions.

Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom can benefit adult ESL teachers who are looking for critical approaches to teaching because hooks bases her ideas on Freire, who is recognized to be a key thinker in critical pedagogy. The ideas subscribed by Freire are clearly expressed in this book and hooks writes clearly and eloquently. At times, one may feel like one is reading an autobiography rather than a book meant for academia. Nevertheless, this book offers its readers the opportunity to learn about critical pedagogical practices that are grounded in a brilliant educator’s challenging experiences.

REFERENCES

Freire, P. Pedagogy of the oppressed. (1970). New York, NY: Continuum International.

Hawkins, M., & Norton, B. (2009). Critical language teacher education. In A. Burns & J. Richards (Eds.), Cambridge guide to second language teacher education (pp. 30-39). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Christine Smart-Wiseman is currently pursuing her PhD at York University and teaches in a government-funded ESL program. She advocates for facilitating empowerment and social justice in ESL classrooms.