The Flipped Classroom

The Flipped Classroom refers to a radical model of education in which:
- There is no hierarchy in the classroom. 
- In theory, it abandons the idea of the tutor being more intelligent and knowledgable than the student.
- Learning is student centred, explorative. This leads to the development of a deeper knowledge and understanding. 
- Students are empowered and made to feel in control of their own learning

It is argued that a lot of learning that takes place when a teacher is in charge is only surface level and superficial. The Flipped Classroom idea means that learning becomes more deeply embedded. Students are encouraged to create their own answers and organise their own learning.
It is a popular model of teaching in the states.

The concept came about in Paris, mainly put forward by French philosopher Jaques Ranciere.

May 1968 Paris - Revolutionary rupture led by young students against the social order. Workers united with students who were angry for a number of reasons, including:
- Education wasn't about individual development
- Cost of education
- Exclusivity of universities
- Specialisms, which meant that learning wasn't rounded 
- Conservative 'boring' French society.

Students took over art schools and used print rooms to make revolutionary posters

Ranciere was a radical student at this time. His tutor was Althusser; a French Marxist. 
He pondered the question 'Why do people support an unfair capitalist society?' and came up with a theory: Ideological State Apparatus
His argument was that 2 structures maintain the status quo:
Repressive State Apparatus, i.e. Police, army, prison etc
Ideological State Apparatus, i.e. Institutions that reproduce the models of thinking that make people happy to remain in their place in the social order - Mental control. Churches, the media, schools...

In schools, students are taught to measure themselves against other people. The ideas of education being based on personal development are perverted to competing for numbers and grades. It was argued that people should be learning to work together. 

All traditional ways of thinking about teaching are about setting up scenes of power. It's based on the idea that someone knows something and someone else does not. Althusser had to defend the need for professors whilst still arguing for the idea of eliminating a hierarchy, but Ranciere disagreed with this paradox.

Ranciere challenged the social hierarchy and its logic - work, sleep, work...
Can't a worker be a poet, or an artist too? His ideas were about reclaiming the time that's supposed to be spent passively doing nothing. People could be more than just workers in their downtime.
The questions he asked were things like:
- What happens when students don't just play the role of students?
- Why do people only play the allotted roles that society gives them?
- Why can we not think beyond that?

The Distribution of the Sensible
- The world isn't equal to everyone
- People are fixed into layers, class systems, race etc
- People are split up and put into boxes; made to think of themselves as fundamentally different
- Superiority and Inferiority complexes arise
- It determines who can take part in certain activities e.g. certain galleries that only showcase specific pieces of art. 
- Causes divisions which is ultimately negative
- Separated society 
Ranciere wants a community

The Ignorant Schoolmaster
Joseph Jacotot, a French teacher exiled to the Netherlands taught in a school there without knowing a word of Flemish. The students wanted to learn French so he got 2 copies of a book in the 2 languages and essentially left them to figure it out for themselves. After this, the majority of the students developed a firm understanding of the French language and grammatical structure.
- This suggested that teachers can sometimes get in the way of learning. 
- Everybody is equally as intelligent as one another.
- It is the idea of 'Universal Teaching'
- We can teach what we don't know

Ranciere suggested: 
- Education is too reliant on a teacher explaining and giving answers
- Teachers are socialising students into reliance on someone giving answers. 
- This teaches students to accept hierarchies and that they are less intelligent than someone else
- It was argued that perhaps students just need a peer group and some kind of target, and they will learn successfully.
- An educator is not at all necessary.
- We are all equally capable of thinking, learning etc
- Anyone can be anything

Ranciere concluded than Universal Teaching would never catch on, but it must be announced to everyone in an attempt to improve educational institutions, the quality of learning, and our society.

The closest thing to Rancierean philosophy is The School of the Damned in London which is a totally free post grad school that exists in direct political protest to the commodification of education. It aims to stand as a model outside capitalism.

Conclusion
- The philosophy of The Flipped Classroom opposes a problem specific to society but not limited to education
- The world could be a better place with Ranciere's philosophy
- Education shouldn't be about competition, grades and numbers. it should be about a common pursuit to benefit all of society
- Even positive discrimination occurs which still prevents equality
- Self education is the key to our emancipation. It is important to find things out for ourselves without relying on an authority figure.