The humiliated began to sing: How teachers on strike tried to teach society

Piotr Kowzan

doi:10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4207

Authors

Piotr Kowzan University of Gdansk, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6506-8327

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4207

Keywords:

protest songs, teachers’ strike, social media pedagogy, popular education, radical education

Abstract

In this article, the protest songs of teachers on strike were analysed as a traditional pedagogical tool of popular education, social movements, and trade unions. An important context for this was the commodification of the entertainment market, expectations towards the teaching profession, and the state of musical competencies in the population. By identifying what the essence of teaching in the teachers' protest songs was, recommendations for making these activities more educational and politically more effective have been presented. The songs might have played a role in the demise of the strike, in the specific political context, described in the paper. Using the comparisons of teachers to animals by the teachers themselves was a common, but risky tactic.

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Author Biography

Piotr Kowzan, University of Gdansk, Poland

Piotr Kowzan is an assistant professor at the Department of Didactics and Education of Adults, at the Institute of Pedagogy, University of Gdansk. His research interests centre on education of adults and consist of pedagogy of debt, social movement learning and children participation in protests.

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