This issue of Occasional Papers began as a Graduate School seminar honoring Steven Schultz, a much beloved and respected faculty member whose untimely death greatly impacted the Bank Street community. In 1989, Steve’s work was on the cutting edge of attempts to see acts of individual and collective resistance in preschool classrooms as potential precursors of political resistance among adults. The essays in Rethinking Resistance reflect a broad range of experiences and perspectives that prompt us to rethink the meaning and importance of resistance

Silin, Jonathan G

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EDUCATE (Bank Street College of Education)

Occasional Paper Series Volume 2005 Number 14 Rethinking Resistance in Schools: Power, Politics, and Illicit Pleasures Article 1 May 2005 Introduction: Rethinking Resistance in Schools Jonathan G. Silin Bank Street Graduate School Follow this and additional works at: https://educate.bankstreet.edu/occasional-paper-series  Part of the Child Psychology Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Early Childhood Education Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, and the Social Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Silin, J. G. (2005). Introduction: Rethinking Resistance in Schools. Occasional Paper Series, 2005 (14). Retrieved from https://educate.bankstreet.edu/occasional-paper-series/vol2005/iss14/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Educate. It has been accepted for inclusion in Occasional Paper Series by an authorized editor of Educate. For more information, please contact kfreda@bankstreet.edu. occasional paper series silin 3INTRODUCTIONjonathan g. silinThis issue of Occasional Papers began as a Graduate School seminar honoringSteven Schultz, a much beloved and respected faculty member whose untimelydeath from HIV/AIDS-related illnesses left a terrible hole in our lives at BankStreet. The seminar, organized by Associate Dean for Academic Affairs VirginiaCasper, a close friend and colleague of Steve’s, was structured around his paper,“Finding Meaning in the Resistance of Preschool Children: Critical Theory Takesan Interpretive Look” (Schultz, 1989). The provocative discussion following papersby Frank Pignatelli and Peter Taubman attested to the enduring nature of Steve’scontribution to the field.In 1989, Steve’s work was on the cutting edge of attempts to see acts of indi-vidual and collective resistance in preschool classrooms as potential precursors ofpolitical resistance among adults. In a field that made extraordinary efforts to con-vince itself that the care and education of the young was an apolitical practicethrough the codification of developmentally appropriate practices, Steve dared to askabout the lessons in social meaning that children should be taking away from theirexperiences (Cannella, 1997; Silin, 1995). The Stonewall Rebellion of 1977, theMontgomery bus boycott of 1955 were never far from his mind as he looked at therole of early school experiences in helping young children to understand the powerof group action. For Steve it was never too early to lay the groundwork for fosteringactivist-citizens who would stand up for social justice. Nor would he let educatorsabdicate their political responsibilities outside of the classroom in fighting for betterschools and a more equitable society. Only in recent years has resistance become apopular theme in the educational literature (Abowitz, 2000; Britzman, 1998; Schutz,2004).The essays in Rethinking Resistance reflect a broad range of experiences andperspectives. Some of the ideas will be familiar to our readers, and some, we hope,will open new doors into our classroom lives.1 Five of the authors are drawn fromthe immediate Bank Street community: three students of Steve’s (King, Ferris, andLaslocky), a former School for Children teacher (Bevacqua), and a Graduate Schoolfaculty member (Pignatelli). Two of the authors from outside the College (Taubmanand Tobin) are in the forefront of the move to bring new theoretical perspectives tothinking about the early years.Bevacqua and Laslocky write as classroom teachers challenged by differentforms of student resistance to re-examine their own pedagogical authority. Theyboth struggle with how to negotiate a balance that permits children to take controlin the classroom in a manner that is neither patronizing nor leading to chaos orphysical harm. Each in his or her own way documents and beautifully describes, asonly classroom teachers can, the powerful dynamics that can signal the birth andmaturing of community life. Together Bevacqua and Laslocky raise a critical ques-tion: If we value student resistance as part of the process through which a class ofdisparate individual becomes a powerful group, what kinds of adult responses can beoffered so as not to co-opt their agency? Tobin and Taubman’s essays may be viewedas responses to this question, albeit from more theoretical vantage points. WhileSteve’s work is firmly grounded in critical theory, these authors’ work looks to amore diverse group of social thinkers. Tobin introduces the idea of small, everydaytactics of resistance found in the work of de Certeau and the concept of the carniva-lesque employed by Mikhail Bakhtin to illumine moments when social rules arerelaxed, laughter and pleasure reign, and ridicule and parody enter the classroom.Taubman uses Lacan's concept of juissance to unpack the potential pleasures andexcesses involved in resistance. Taubman's paper echoes the work of early childhoodreconceptualists who deploy psychoanalytic concepts, not to treat individual chil-dren, but as alternative tools for diagnosing the curriculum itself (Boldt & Salvio, inpress.) King and Ferris, both former teachers with progressive commitments, nowturned parents with children in traditional schools, poignantly write about anotherdeeply troubling dilemma: How to go against the grain and advocate for progressivepedagogy without risking negative repercussions for their children? Although theyultimately come to different decisions about how to respond to this situation, theyboth find themselves teaching their children critical lessons about resistance. Finally,acknowledging that individual acts of resistance can be enlightening as well as self-defeating, Pignatelli offers critical examples of schools and programs that supportstudent voice and teach strategies for resisting intensified standardization and test-ing.As a group, these essays prompt us to rethink the meaning of resistance.While the majority do not directly address Steve Schultz’s work, they honor it byaptly demonstrating that his teaching and thinking flourish today. Indeed, thebiggest challenge we face in Steve’s loss is how to move forward, while still sustain-ing the powerful connections that bind us to him. How do we do justice to hisideas, while exploring new concepts and responding to a changed educational con-text? Indeed, how do we acknowledge the moments of pleasure that come fromreturning to his work ten years later? We begin, I think, as do the authors includedhere, by resisting the temptation to memorialize the past. Drawing on Steve’s deeppolitical commitments, his canny intellect, and his profound kindness, we generatenew ways of imagining the educational enterprise.4 bank street college of educationoccasional paper series silin 5Endnotes1 I want to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of reviewers from outsidethe Editorial Board who worked on this project, including Bernadette Anand,Chelsea Bailey, Harriet Cuffaro, Helen Freidus, Nancy Gropper, Kathleen Hayes,Ali McKersie, and Edna Shapiro.ReferencesAbowitz, K. (2000). A pragmatist revisioning of resistance theory. AmericanEducational Research Journal, 37 (4), pp. 877-910.Boldt, G. and Salvio, P. (in press). Psychoanalytic theory and early childhood educa-tion: Love’s return. New York: Routledge.Britzman, D. (1998). Lost subjects, contested objects: Toward a psychoanalytic inquiryof learning. Albany: State University of New York.Cannella, G. (1997). Deconstructing early childhood education. New York: PeterLang.Schultz, S. (1989). Finding meaning in the resistance of preschool children; Criticaltheory takes an interpretive look. Thought and Practice, 2 (1), pp. 4-17.Schutz, A (2004). Rethinking domination and resistance: Challenging postmod-ernism. Educational Researcher, 37 (1), pp. 15-23.Silin, J. (1995). Sex, death and the education of children: Our passion for ignorance inthe age of aids. New York: Teachers College Press.

Introduction: Rethinking Resistance in Schools

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