Peter--

Amartya Sen wrote somewhat on this topic in his book "Development as 
Freedom."  That is, the discipline and focus  needed to master the GED 
is in itself liberating.  I hope you are not just talking about 
dreadful teaching--that can afflict any class.

On another point--I think it is the obligation of a teacher  to make a 
relationship with a student.  I know all the caveats, in fact can trot 
them out myself, but I still think this.

  Why now?  Because i am in the 2nd year of work with my tenant who is 
Japanese teaching Japanese to college and graduate level students, and 
this issue comes up every time we talk--not in the terms of "making a 
relationship," that's pretty clunky, but  the teaching problems ALL 
have this issue at their core.  Same with me when I was a school 
teacher.  Same with many teachers I knew.

Andrea

On Jan 5, 2007, at 12:03 PM, Daphne Greenberg wrote:


> The following message was posted on the AAACE-NLA list and I thought

> that some of you may be interested:

>

> Colleagues,

>

> In some graduate education classes, especially those concerned with

> Critical Pedagogy and newer approaches to composition and rhetoric, the

> GED is simply Reproductive Education. It's purpose is liberation only 

> in

> the sense that it grants a certificate that the student can read, write

> (marginally), and can do mid-high-school math for an entry level job.

> Witness the perpetuation of the five paragraph essay, a product that is

> so far from writing for the real world that it is merely a flimsy

> pretext for being able to write for an academic audience or corporate

> America.

>

> My currrent work in a degree program in Urban Education and Literacy

> makes use of research that clearly shows that for a segment of the

> population, the GED works fine for preparing students to get out of the

> educational rut they are in and allow them to show up at an interview

> educated somewhere in the middle of high school. Currently I would call

> it a "school to work" remediation program.

>

> But education as Freire saw it is not anywhere near the target.

> Critical pedagogy, like liberation theology (the roots of Paolo

> Freiere's work), requires working for social change at the grass roots

> level. I doubt the powers-that-be will fund any education that seeks to

> overturn the current reliance on the College Board monopoly on what

> constitutes education in this country.

>

> This is probably why you see so few, if any, funded programs that

> advocate social change and individual empowerment outside of the 

> present

> educational system. There are too many kingdoms (read school boards and

> state and federal agencies) that will not allow that to happen. If we

> want that to happen, we will have to do it without their help.

>

> Wm. Peter MacMonagle, M.Ed.

> Central Piedmont Community College

> Community Development/Workplace Basic Skills

> West Campus 2219

> 704-330-4668

>

>

>>>> David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net> 1/5/2007 11:25 AM >>>

> Hi Andrea,

>

> Suppose we use the term "popular education" approach.  This suggests

> to me:

>

> 1. a lack of hierarchy, that teachers treat students as their equals

> in status and power although they have different roles, and the

> program or school incorporates democratic decision-making practices.

> Students and teachers, not just administrators and the board,  play a

>

> central role in the decision-making process;

> 2. a belief that the central purpose of education is to bring about

> the conditions for social and economic justice and democracy;

> 3. a commitment to raising the consciousness of students and

> teachers, and helping them to become critically aware of how their

> individual personal experiences are connected to larger social

> problems;

> 4. a commitment to social change, often at the community level;

> 5. learning history and other social sciences from a variety of

> perspectives, for example from the perspectives of: women, people of

> color, immigrants, and workers;

> 6. knowledge and skills learned in the context of issues which affect

>

> students in their lives and in their communities; and

> 7. an education process characterized by discussion and debate, not

> just memorizing facts or learning skills.

>

> I doubt that this definition is complete, and some would say that

> some elements are more important than others.  But when I use the

> term, those are the ingredients I have in mind.

>

> I can think of a couple of community-based programs in Boston, an

> ESOL program and an ABE/adult diploma program which -- currently or

> in the past -- fit most of these criteria, but these are not GED

> programs.  Anyone know of a GED program that has these ingredients?

>

> David J. Rosen

> djrosen at comcast.net

>

>

> On Jan 5, 2007, at 10:05 AM, Andrea Wilder wrote:

>

>> Hi David,

>>

>> I would be interested to know what a Freirian approach adult

> literacy

>> program might look like.  In your opinion, what might be the

>> ingredients?

>> thanks.

>>

>> Andrea

>>

>> On Jan 5, 2007, at 3:13 AM, Ujwala Samant wrote:

>>

>>> Dear David,

>>>

>>> This is one question that I have been wondering about

>>> for years. Aside from the 'glory days' in the 70s/80s

>>> which colleagues of mine at NCSALL told me about and

>>> one in NY, I could find no Freireian approaches to

>>> adult literacy. I have studied the 70s-80s classics,

>>> and I have been curious as to what happened since

>>> then.

>>>

>>> Thanks for raising this question,

>>> Warm regards,

>>> Ujwala

>>>

>>> --- David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net> wrote:

>>>

>>>> Colleagues,

>>>>

>>>> In a conversation yesterday I was asked if I know of

>>>> good examples of

>>>> GED preparation programs which use a popular

>>>> education, or

>>>> participatory (Freirean) approach.  I am only aware

>>>> of one, a theme-

>>>> based approach that the City University of New York

>>>> adult literacy

>>>> GED program has used for over a decade.  If you have

>>>> others to

>>>> suggest I would be pleased to hear about them.

>>>> Thanks.

>>>>

>>>> David J. Rosen

>>>> djrosen at comcast.net

>>>>

>>>>

>>>>

>>>> ----------------------------------------------------

>>>> National Institute for Literacy

>>>> Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing list

>>>> PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov

>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings,

>>>> please go to

>>>>

>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen

>>>>

>>>

>>>

>>> __________________________________________________

>>> Do You Yahoo!?

>>> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around

>>> http://mail.yahoo.com

>>> ----------------------------------------------------

>>> National Institute for Literacy

>>> Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing list

>>> PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov

>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to

>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen

>>>

>>

>> ----------------------------------------------------

>> National Institute for Literacy

>> Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing list

>> PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov

>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to

>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen

>

> David J. Rosen

> djrosen at comcast.net

>

>

>

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

> Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing list

> PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to

> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

> Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing list

> PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 

> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen

>