What language are you referring to? 

 

________________________________

From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Andrea Wilder
Sent: Monday, January 08, 2007 6:47 AM
To: The Poverty, Race,Women and Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 200] Re: GED programs with a
populareducationa pproach

 

Ditmar and others, 

 

I must put up my small flag here: I absolutely detest the language used
in this educational movement. To me, it seems foreign and laid on with a
trowel. Am I for social empowerment? Of course. Am I for social
movements which try to being about even a modicum of social justice?
Absolutely. 

 

Back to the trenches, 

 

Andrea 

 

On Jan 8, 2007, at 7:33 AM, Muro, Andres wrote: 

	 

	Hi Ujwalla, David, Andrea, Ditmar: 

	  

	We did a project with our students that has strong Freirian
elements. This is an ongoing project with migrant students in which they
write their own stories and we publish them. to see this project please
visit: 

	  

	http://bordersenses.com/memorias 

	  

	While the stories are written in Spanish most of them have been
translated. If you want to read the content, please click on each of the
books. Also, to understand the theoretical foundation you can read my
introduction to both books. They are in English. I kept the
introductions very simple without making any references, However, the
work is influenced by Freire,Dewey, Giroux, etal. You will see in the
intrductions the elements of Freirianism that Ditmar points to. 

	  

	Andres 

	 

	From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of
ditmar0906_inossian at netzero.net 

	Sent: Sat 1/6/2007 4:26 PM 

	To: povertyracewomen at nifl.gov 

	Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 197] Re: GED programs with a popular
educationa pproach 

	 

	Yes, Project Hope's Adult Learners Program uses (or did use) a
popular education approach that is distinctly Freireian, and this
program was the focus of Lorna's dissertation. For what it's worth,
"conscientisation" was the focus of Freire's approach: a process by
which a group (not at all about individual empowerment here [think
"class struggle"]) becomes aware of their oppression and discovers that
they have a popular culture that is both political and social--has a
sociopolitical role in history (as Marx understood history). The group
learners engage in "critical praxis" or dialogue toward the end of
identifying common interests. It's rather like an effort to critique
false consciousness through 1) an investigation of the thematic universe
(identifying themes); 2) identifying those themes that are "generative";
3) codification of those generative themes, and 4) dialogue within the
cultural circle of learners to interpret those themes (i.e. create
meaning). I know this sounds very abstract but one might think of it as
a very Marxist-oriented version of the ideology critique that was
advanced by the Frankfurt School and later by educational theorists who
continue to work in this tradition (e.g. Giroux, Apple, etc.). 

	 

	Freire's goal was social change, not individual empowerment nor
individual transformation. In fact, in my own reading of Freire, he
didn't even think that individual transformation was possible. In other
words, he never intended for his theory to be used as a means for
helping learners function within the given social system. One might
argue that if you change individuals, you will change society (one
person at a time). However, this can be true only from an
anthropological view of history (i.e., the driving force behind history
is human experience/consciousness). From a structuralist (or Marxist)
point of view, the consciousness of the individual makes no difference;
it's class consciousness that matters because one's individual
consciousness is a product of ideology; individuals become subjects only
through their subjection to processes of production (i.e., the
reproduction of production, or more commonly, the reproduction of
inequality). So basically "popular education" becomes a mechanism for
bringing about class struggle. Finally, Freire never specified the end
results of pedagogical praxis because the "solution" or product was not
known, in fact could not be known--it evolved among/through the people.
Social change was then the process of peaceful intervention into the
system by initiating dialogue with the "oppressors" to develop
alternatives. 

	 

	The philosophical foundations are to be found in Catholic
humanism (Catholic Action, Liberation Theology, etc.), orthodox Marxism,
and German philosophy (particularly Hegel). Freire also integrated bits
of critical theory into his approach, which evolved into his "Movement
of Education from the Base" (a take-off on the "Popular Church from the
Base" that evolved during the revolutionary period in Latin America).
See his two major contributions to adult education theory and practice:
Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Education as the Practice of Freedom (both
late 1960s). Lorna's dissertation is a marvelous illustration of how one
GED program puts these principles into practice. 

	 

	Thanks. --Ditmar 

	 

	C. Ditmar Coffield 

	 

	-- eleonelli at aol.com wrote: 

	David - I think that Project Hope in Dorchester, MA takes a
popular  

	education approach in their program. 

	 

	Esther 

	__________________________________ 

	Esther D. Leonelli 

	 

	-----Original Message----- 

	From: djrosen at comcast.net 

	Sent: Sat, 6 Jan 2007 11:14 AM 

	Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 194] Re: GED programs with a popular


	education approach 

	 

	   Hi Andrea, 

	 

	Thanks.  I have emailed Lorna. 

	 

	All the best, 

	 

	David 

	 

	On Jan 5, 2007, at 1:37 PM, Andrea Wilder wrote: 

	 

	> David, 

	> 

	> Thank you for the list, it makes me feel very happy to have
all these 

	> values in teaching spelled out. What a comprehensive list!
Lorna 

	> Rivera I believe used the term "popular education"  in her 

	> dissertation.  Perhaps you have already asked her about GED 

	> programs--she is at UMASS Boston. She is the best source I can


	> think of 

	> right at the moment. 

	> 

	> Andrea 

	> 

	> On Jan 5, 2007, at 11:25 AM, David Rosen wrote: 

	> 

	>> 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 

	 

	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 

	 

	
________________________________________________________________________


	Check out the new AOL.  Most comprehensive set of free safety
and  

	security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos
from  

	across the web, free AOL Mail and more. 

	 

	---------------------------------------------------- 

	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

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/povertyracewomen/attachments/20070108/afd972fe/attachment.html