"If the dream comes close to the dreamers, it happens because they have been
organizing themselves according to their dreams; they have been acting with
the dream on hand.  A dreamer joins another dreamer, and, at that time, they
close the distance between the dream and the dreamed life.  For the same
reason day-by-day we have been inventing the popular education."

Paulo Freire

I think that is what we all do every day - for ourselves, for those we teach
and those who teach us.

Lisa

On 1/8/07, Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net> wrote:

>

> 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 toUSA 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 aresupposed to fosterpolitically 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

> > adulteducation, 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 makingany references, However,

> >>> the work is influenced byFreire,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 distinctlyFreireian, 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, thiscan betrue 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 amechanism 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

> >>> byinitiating 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 intohis approach, which evolvedinto 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 theOppressed and

> >>> Educationas 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.comwrote:

> >>> David-IthinkthatProjectHopeinDorchester,MAtakesapopular

> >>> educationapproachintheirprogram.

> >>>

> >>> Esther

> >>> __________________________________

> >>> EstherD.Leonelli

> >>>

> >>>

> >>> -----OriginalMessage-----

> >>> From:djrosen at comcast.net

> >>> Sent:Sat,6Jan200711:14AM

> >>> Subject:[PovertyRaceWomen194]Re:GEDprogramswithapopular

> >>> educationapproach

> >>>

> >>> HiAndrea,

> >>>

> >>> Thanks.IhaveemailedLorna.

> >>>

> >>> Allthebest,

> >>>

> >>> David

> >>>

> >>> OnJan5,2007,at1:37PM,AndreaWilderwrote:

> >>>

> >>> >David,

> >>> >

> >>> >Thankyouforthelist,itmakesmefeelveryhappytohaveallthe

> >>> se

> >>> >valuesinteachingspelledout.Whatacomprehensivelist!Lorna

> >>> >RiveraIbelieveusedtheterm"populareducation"inher

> >>> >dissertation.PerhapsyouhavealreadyaskedheraboutGED

> >>> >programs--sheisatUMASSBoston.SheisthebestsourceIcan

> >>> >thinkof

> >>> >rightatthemoment.

> >>> >

> >>> >Andrea

> >>> >

> >>> >OnJan5,2007,at11:25AM,DavidRosenwrote:

> >>> >

> >>> >>HiAndrea,

> >>> >>

> >>> >>Supposeweusetheterm"populareducation"approach.Thissugges

> >>> ts

> >>> >>tome:

> >>> >>

> >>> >>1.alackofhierarchy,thatteacherstreatstudentsastheirequa

> >>> ls

> >>> >>instatusandpoweralthoughtheyhavedifferentroles,andthe

> >>> >>programorschoolincorporatesdemocraticdecision-

> >>> makingpractices.

> >>> >>Studentsandteachers,notjustadministratorsandtheboard,pla

> >>> ya

> >>> >>centralroleinthedecision-makingprocess;

> >>> >>2.abeliefthatthecentralpurposeofeducationistobringabou

> >>> t

> >>> >>theconditionsforsocialandeconomicjusticeanddemocracy;

> >>> >>3.acommitmenttoraisingtheconsciousnessofstudentsand

> >>> >>teachers,andhelpingthemtobecomecriticallyawareofhowtheir

> >>> >>individualpersonalexperiencesareconnectedtolargersocial

> >>> >>problems;

> >>> >>4.acommitmenttosocialchange,oftenatthecommunitylevel;

> >>> >>5.learninghistoryandothersocialsciencesfromavarietyof

> >>> >>perspectives,forexamplefromtheperspectivesof:women,people

> >>> of

> >>> >>color,immigrants,andworkers;

> >>> >>6.knowledgeandskillslearnedinthecontextofissueswhichaff

> >>> ect

> >>> >>studentsintheirlivesandintheircommunities;and

> >>> >>7.aneducationprocesscharacterizedbydiscussionanddebate,no

> >>> t

> >>> >>justmemorizingfactsorlearningskills.

> >>> >>

> >>> >>Idoubtthatthisdefinitioniscomplete,andsomewouldsaythat

> >>> >>someelementsaremoreimportantthanothers.ButwhenIusethe

> >>> >>term,thosearetheingredientsIhaveinmind.

> >>> >>

> >>> >>Icanthinkofacoupleofcommunity-basedprogramsinBoston,an

> >>> >>ESOLprogramandanABE/

> >>> adultdiplomaprogramwhich--currentlyor

> >>> >>inthepast--fitmostofthesecriteria,butthesearenotGED

> >>> >>programs.AnyoneknowofaGEDprogramthathastheseingredients

> >>> ?

> >>> >>

> >>> >>DavidJ.Rosen

> >>> >>djrosen at comcast.net

> >>> >>

> >>> >>

> >>> >>OnJan5,2007,at10:05AM,AndreaWilderwrote:

> >>> >>

> >>> >>>HiDavid,

> >>> >>>

> >>> >>>IwouldbeinterestedtoknowwhataFreirianapproachadult

> >>> >>>literacy

> >>> >>>programmightlooklike.Inyouropinion,whatmightbethe

> >>> >>>ingredients?

> >>> >>>thanks.

> >>> >>>

> >>> >>>Andrea

> >>> >>>

> >>> >>>OnJan5,2007,at3:13AM,UjwalaSamantwrote:

> >>> >>>

> >>> >>>>DearDavid,

> >>> >>>>

> >>> >>>>ThisisonequestionthatIhavebeenwonderingabout

> >>> >>>>foryears.Asidefromthe'glorydays'inthe70s/80s

> >>> >>>>whichcolleaguesofmineatNCSALLtoldmeaboutand

> >>> >>>>oneinNY,IcouldfindnoFreireianapproachesto

> >>> >>>>adultliteracy.Ihavestudiedthe70s-80sclassics,

> >>> >>>>andIhavebeencuriousastowhathappenedsince

> >>> >>>>then.

> >>> >>>>

> >>> >>>>Thanksforraisingthisquestion,

> >>> >>>>Warmregards,

> >>> >>>>Ujwala

> >>> >>>>

> >>> >>>>---DavidRosen<djrosen at comcast.net>wrote:

> >>> >>>>

> >>> >>>>>Colleagues,

> >>> >>>>>

> >>> >>>>>InaconversationyesterdayIwasaskedifIknowof

> >>> >>>>>goodexamplesof

> >>> >>>>>GEDpreparationprogramswhichuseapopular

> >>> >>>>>education,or

> >>> >>>>>participatory(Freirean)approach.Iamonlyaware

> >>> >>>>>ofone,atheme-

> >>> >>>>>basedapproachthattheCityUniversityofNewYork

> >>> >>>>>adultliteracy

> >>> >>>>>GEDprogramhasusedforoveradecade.Ifyouhave

> >>> >>>>>othersto

> >>> >>>>>suggestIwouldbepleasedtohearaboutthem.

> >>> >>>>>Thanks.

> >>> >>>>>

> >>> >>>>>DavidJ.Rosen

> >>> >>>>>djrosen at comcast.net

> >>> >>>>>

> >>> >>>>>

> >>> >>>>>

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

> >>> >>>>>NationalInstituteforLiteracy

> >>> >>>>>Poverty,Race,WomenandLiteracymailinglist

> >>> >>>>>PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov

> >>> >>>>>Tounsubscribeorchangeyoursubscriptionsettings,

> >>> >>>>>pleasegoto

> >>> >>>>>

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

> >>> >>>>>

> >>> >>>>

> >>> >>>>

> >>> >>>>__________________________________________________

> >>> >>>>DoYouYahoo!?

> >>> >>>>Tiredofspam?Yahoo!Mailhasthebestspamprotectionaround

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

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

> >>> >>>>NationalInstituteforLiteracy

> >>> >>>>Poverty,Race,WomenandLiteracymailinglist

> >>> >>>>PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov

> >>> >>>>Tounsubscribeorchangeyoursubscriptionsettings,pleasegot

> >>> o

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> >>> >>>>

> >>> >>>

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

> >>> >>>NationalInstituteforLiteracy

> >>> >>>Poverty,Race,WomenandLiteracymailinglist

> >>> >>>PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov

> >>> >>>Tounsubscribeorchangeyoursubscriptionsettings,pleasegoto

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> >>> >>

> >>> >>DavidJ.Rosen

> >>> >>djrosen at comcast.net

> >>> >>

> >>> >>

> >>> >>

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

> >>> >>NationalInstituteforLiteracy

> >>> >>Poverty,Race,WomenandLiteracymailinglist

> >>> >>PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov

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

> >>> >NationalInstituteforLiteracy

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> >>> >Tounsubscribeorchangeyoursubscriptionsettings,pleasegoto

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> >>> DavidJ.Rosen

> >>> djrosen at comcast.net

> >>>

> >>>

> >>>

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

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>



-- 
Lisa Bernstein
Executive Director
The What To Expect Foundation
144 W. 80th Street
New York, NY 10024
212-712-9764
www.whattoexpect.org

Providing prenatal health and literacy support so that women in need know
what to expect when expecting.
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