Discipline and freedom in teaching: preliminary notes for a critique to the criticism of the pedagogical sponteneism spontaneity from a Gramscian Gramsci’s perspective

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze, in the light of Antonio Gramsci's thought, the often established dichotomy between freedom and discipline in teaching. In order to do that, the following material is are examined: a letter to his brother Carlo, written in 1930; two short journalistic articles published in 1917; and some notes from the Prison Notebooks. The analysis demonstrates: the influence of out-of-school sources in students’ formation; the associating off between formation and education; and the pedagogical value of coercion and discipline, when experienced in an affective and loving way, in achieving students’ autonomy. Thus, it is made evident both the illusory nature of the spontaneity intended by that pedagogy and the essentiality of the directive role of the teacher.