School of Education
DEPARTMENTSStudent testimonials
"This program has given me a greater understanding of systematic societal structures and how they interlock and affect people's lives - both globally and locally. Critical pedagogy has taught me to question the root of most educational bodies; popular, informal educatin as well as traditional, formal K-16 structures. This understanding will guide me as I carve a new professional path."
-Kasya Willhite
Student
"The critical pedagogy program helped me realize that I do play a part in what is going on. Things don't just happen to and for me. I have the power to change things - at least I can take part in making a change. The program also caused me to reflect on my identity. What role do I play as an educator? It became very clear to me that education is not just curriculum delivery. It goes far beyond curriculum."
-Teferi Fufa
3rd and 4th grade teacher
Marcy Elementary School
"Participating in Critical Pedagogy has helped me move from the cynicism of reaction to the hopefulness of possibility. As educators and cultural workers, we need to move beyond deconstruction and into construction, to become involved in building something unheard of, something truly different rather than simply complaining about what doesn't work.
Exploring the thinking of many brilliant minds in the fields of social change has given me the opportunity to develop knowledge that helps unmask oppression and provides alternative understandings of what is happending today.
Learning to engage in critical dialogue with the participants in our learning communities helps amplify relationships that are not witnessed by those in power and offer a compelling basis for looking at things in different ways."
-Tim O'Brien
Adult Education Teacher
St. Paul Public Schools
"The critical pedagogy program has been a real eye-opener and has given me hope that change is possible. I'm headed down
the path of empowering myself to make a difference.
Going through a cohort has been an incredible experience; people are there for each other like a family. It's taught me how to live my life better.
As a single mom with three kids and a full-time teacher, the online component has been wonderful. I'm not confined to a
desk---I can digest material better and even come up with responses at 3 o'clock in the morning."
-Patty Smith
AP human geography teacher
Distance Learning Academy
Spring Lake Park School District 16
Spring Lake Park, Minnesota
"There's no other program like this in the world. My thoughts and beliefs were challenged through discussions of the intersections of overlapping oppression, race, class and gender.
The program expanded my knowledge base, helped me hear the voices and perspectives of my cohort members, and taught me how to integrate these new insights. I gained new lenses, new frames of reference through which to view issues in the
disciplines of education and theology."
-Paulette Sankofa
Associate academic dean and
director of the doctor of ministry program
Christian Theological Seminary
Indianapolis, Indiana
"Through the critical, questioning nature of the program, I have become much more comfortable in my role as an educator. I
now feel I have the tools to develop and evaluate my own methods, curriculum and theory within my classroom. Even within
this era of a high level of accountability I have found the courage to throw out a lot of the packaged curriculum and create jointly with my students new lessons that are both academically and culturally appropriate for all members of my classroom."
-Barbara Smith
2nd grade bilingual/E.S.L. teacher
Puesta del Sol Elementary School
Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Cohort students & current positions
Cohort I
Siri Anderson - Director of Curriculum & Instruction MN International Middle School
Adamma Anya
Bach Adele - Member, Archdiocese of Chicago Workshops on Racism & Ethnic Sensitivity (WRES)
Stephanie Clark - 4th &5th Grade Teacher, Webster Elementary
Emma Duren - Community Faculty, Metropolitan State University, Urban Teacher Program
Douglas Knick - Assistant Professor of Education, Luther College
Margo Lloyd - Chair of Elementary Education, North Central University
Mev Miller - Education Consultant, Director and Founder of WE LEARN & Associate Coordinator and Resource Coordinator, SABES
Paul Neufeld Weaver - Assistant Professor of Education, Bluffton University, OH
Deborah Pattee - Assistant Professor in Curriculum & Instruction, University Wisconsin Eau Claire, WI
Karen Shragg - Manager, Wood Lake Nature Center
Patricia Wroten - Principal, Orono Middle School
Neng Yang - President of United Home Healthcare, Inc., MN
Cohort II
Mark Abendroth - Assistant Professor, Adams State College
Martha Boman - Assistant Professor, Director of Kelly Autism Program, Western Kentucky University
Mitzi Beth Curtis
Terence Friedrichs
Nancy Horan
Anne Lucasse
Kirsten Pardun-Johannsen - District Performing Arts Specialist, Orono Public Schools
Janet Peterson-Fischer
Janet Salk - Professor of Special Education, St. Cloud State University
Paulette Eloise Handley Sankofa - Associate Academic Dean & Director of Doctoral Studies, Christian Theological Seminary
Barbara Lynn Smith - Elementary School Teacher in a Bilingual/ESL Classroom, Rio Rancho, NM
Rhea Swinson-Fitzpatrick - Development Education Worker & Communication/Personal Development Instructor, Ireland
Cohort III
Carolyn Bordeaux
Susan Cipolle - Department Chair, Benilde-St.Margaret's High School
Anaceli Cristal Coyoc - Resource Teacher, Emerson Dual Language Immersion School
Teferi Fufa - Teacher, Mpls Public Schools
Alemayehu Habte
Jacinta Higgs
Jeanette Hoffman Johnson - Certification & Accreditation Specialist, North Dakota State University
Jill Klefstad - Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Constance Krocak - Prekindergarten Director & Teacher, Providence Academy
Emily Larsen
Ruth Nyland - Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Timothy O'Brien - Skills Enhancement Center Coordinator, St. Paul Public Schools
Steven Olberg - 5th Grade Teacher, Seven Hills Classical Academy
Michael Postma - High Potential Coordinator, Minnetonka Public Schools
Rachel Singer
Patty Smith
Marie Spoden
Lori Thomas - English Language Learner Teacher, Crossroads Elementary
Kasya Willhite
Barbara Wornson - Coordinator, Zumbro Education District Programs, Area Learning Center & Results
Cohort IV
Chanda Abdul-Quddoos - Teacher, Mpls
Angela Adams - Kindergarten Teacher, Fallcreek, WI
Tracine Asberry - Middle School Teacher, Mpls
Lanise Block
Timothy Benson - Spanish Instructor, Lake Superior College
Susanne Butte - Adjunct Professor, St. Cloud State
Michele Dahl
Caleb Drexler Booth - Curriculum & Staff Development Specialist, ISD 622
Martha James - Teacher, Creative Movement Specialist, Crossroads Elementary
Tania Lyon - English Teacher, ISD 77
Matthew Maruggi - Director, Tutor/Mentor Program, University St. Thomas
Evans Odhiambo
Kim Smolik - Director of Community Service Learning, Catholic Charities
Allison Whittlef - Alternative Education Teacher, Forest Lake Area Learning Center
Sandra Wieser-Matthews - High School Educator, Perham High School
