Return-Path: <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id e8PI9J915649; Mon, 25 Sep 2000 14:09:19 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 14:09:19 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <LAW2-F132oVPWnOIwQO000035c5@hotmail.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Eileen Eckert" <eileeneckert@hotmail.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:30] another intro and questions X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Status: O Content-Length: 2337 Lines: 38 My name is Eileen Eckert, and I have been an ABE/GED/ESL teacher and program administrator in public school systems and community colleges for about 10 years, most recently in Bremerton, Washington, an economically depressed city across the Puget Sound from Seattle. As I read the introductions, I find it interesting that though this discussion is about race, class, and literacy, none of us are indicating our own race and class. The background I bring to my work is that of a white, middle/working-class suburbanite from a very conservative family whose exposure to the contradictions and hypocrisies of our local, national, and global society was minimal until I went to college in Boston and got involved in progressive student organizations. How many of us came to our commitment to social justice by way of anti-apartheid, Central America solidarity, and other international issues? I know that for me, international social justice issues were the gateway to beginning to look at injustices closer to home. Now, as I re-read Pedagogy of the Oppressed, I am reminded how important it is that those of us in the teaching and administrative roles in adult literacy programs reflect on our own practice and the assumptions and biases we bring to our roles, and that we work on being "co-investigators of reality" with our students. And if this is our aim, how do we do it, especially in this era of standards and accountability, with the standards set by Congress and business interests? How does the increasing pervasiveness of government funding, with its many strings attached, affect the agendas of literacy organizations? More money is always welcome, but at what point do we accept so many mandates that we've been bought out? So, my questions to the group: what roles do we play, as individuals and organizations, in the perpetuation or transformation of oppressive attitudes and institutions? And how can we use our own learning, from, with, and about our students, ourselves, and others in our lives, to transform oppression of all kinds into freedom? _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com.
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