Me?  Argue against vibrant democracy?  Look back at my writing, you  
won't find  it.  And how many times have I asked about "critical  
literacy?"  Just about a zillion times.  I get it, i get it.  Have I  
ever argued against it?  No.

So blame Freire's translators.

I am basically in favor of Freire, with some modifications;  his  
language was clunky.  Any  disagreement?  Any examples of sparkling  
prose? I wonder what he would have thought of Thoreau...

Andrea


On Jan 8, 2007, at 10:58 AM, Catherine B. King wrote:


> Hello Andrea and all:

>  

> Though in a different way, Freire's work still holds the potential to  

> bring back to USA education what earlier was essentially a "classical"  

> education, which was reserved more for the elite.  To be classically  

> educated (in the very least) was to be politically astute.

>  

> But an education that speaks to the fullness of political  

> awareness--that is essential to Freirian pedagogy--is also essential  

> in a democratic-republican culture (small d-r) which, though we have  

> various sorts of "classes" like the older classical cultures based on  

> fame, wealth, etc., we are supposed to foster politically equality. 

>  

> If the above is true, the implication is that any public education,  

> especially adult education, in a democracy that does NOT address  

> political awareness of our students is in failure mode on that  

> score.   

>  

> Freire was dealing with the illiterate (in its basic meaning of  

> non-readers) and saw the essential connection between literacy and  

> political power.   Though our culture and our needs are quite  

> different from Freire's, the basic tenets of his educational framework  

> still hold in our culture. Whereas he was building a new political  

> framework, we already have one.  Our project then is to maintain what  

> we have--and the best way to lose a vibrant democracy is to lose the  

> political-awareness thread that is essential to adults, and thus to  

> adult education, in a democracy.

>  

> Happy New Year to all,

>  

> Catherine King

>  

>  

> -- Original Message -----

>> From: Andrea Wilder

>> To: The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy Discussion List

>> Sent: Monday, January 08, 2007 7:47 AM

>> Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 200] Re: GED programs with a popular  

>> educationapproach

>>

>> 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 the 

>>> se

>>> > 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 sugges 

>>> ts

>>> >> to me:

>>> >>

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

>>> ls

>>> >> 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,  pla 

>>> y a

>>> >> central role in the decision-making process;

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

>>> t

>>> >> 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 aff 

>>> ect

>>> >> students in their lives and in their communities; and

>>> >> 7. an education process characterized by discussion and debate, no 

>>> t

>>> >> 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

>>> >>>>>

>>> >>>>>

>>> >>>>>

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

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>>> >>>>

>>> >>>>

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>>> >>>

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

>>> >>> National Institute for Literacy

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>>> >>

>>> >> David J. Rosen

>>> >> djrosen at comcast.net

>>> >>

>>> >>

>>> >>

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

>>> >> National Institute for Literacy

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>>> >> PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov

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>>> >

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

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>>> David J. Rosen

>>> djrosen at comcast.net

>>>

>>>

>>>

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