ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies the roots and results of common beliefs–or assumptions–about teachers and learners. It provides some assumptions, considers their implications, and also explores how critical pedagogical approaches can influence educational consequences. Key terms introduced and discussed include "tabula rasa," epistemology, colonialism, banking model, Standard Academic English, standards, and culturally sustaining pedagogy. The chapter explores the capacity to do what 18th-century German poet Novalis described as "making the familiar strange". This concept, widely referenced in relation to literature and curriculum, emphasizes the importance of how cultural practices, such as literacy, are socially constructed. The chapter explains how these perspectives connect policy and practice to the lives of teachers and learners. It concludes with a set of guiding questions designed to help readers compare and contrast conceptions of learners and teachers in relation to the beliefs and assumptions that support them.
