I'm going to wade in here.  I think Freire's approach is wonderful, his writing dense and intimidating.  I also belong to the PLAINlist serve, which promotes plain, clear writing. 

Many of you have probably heard of Robert Chambers and his participatory approach to development/ sometimes used in participatory approaches to education., which I also admire, but with reservations. After working with someone who was trained in his methods, I was told  his tools are to be used exactly as they are taught with no adaptation even if they don't work in a particular setting.  In addition, there is no effort to outreach to the marginalize or those who might no ordinarily be invited to participate in a local assessment. 
Your supposed to work with whomever the leaders have invited.  In many settings, no women were invited and he felt that was okay.
  
A sociology undergraduate, and now a Ph.D. medical anthropologist, I hate the pompous language used in social science writing.  Yes, it is meant to exclude others.

Bertie Mo



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Today's Topics:

   1. [PovertyRaceWomen 207] Re: GED programs with a
      populareducationa pproach (Andrea Wilder)


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

Message: 1
Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2007 13:45:29 -0500
From: Andrea Wilder 
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 207] Re: GED programs with a
 populareducationa pproach
To: "The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy Discussion List"
 

Message-ID: 
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Andres--

It's the language that is associated with Freire, and that Ditmar used,  
some of it is quotations, I am sincerely grateful for that.  I am also  
grateful for Ditmar embedding  definitions in his text.

But to your point, with or without quotations these  word get my goat  
(obviously):  class consciousness, class struggle, conscientisation,  
critical praxis, codification (which I actually usually do like), and  
pedagogical praxis.

At one point Freire did go around   the bend, my opinion, over  in  
Africa, and started to dictate how his workbooks were to be used. TSK.  
Someone besides me picked this up, I was just reading along and there  
it was.

By the way, I have I think  a CD of Freire talking at Harvard's Ed  
School.  That's ambiguous, I think it is a CD, I know it is at HGSE.

David Rosen's list of attributes in Freirian/popular education teaching  
was  profoundly human and adapted  to a pluralistic American zeitgeist,  
my opinion.

I understand  Thoreau,  I live  near Walden Pond, I know the New  
England woods.  Of course we have somewhat the same background, and  
MAYBE those who come from S.America feel more of a kinship with the  
writing style of Freire.  Over to you, Andres.  (AND WHERE IS THE  
SNOW??  I need snow to fully appreciate Thoreau.)

Andrea





On Jan 8, 2007, at 11:32 AM, Muro, Andres wrote:


>

> 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?thes 

>> e

>> >?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?suggest 

>> s

>> >>?to?me:

>> >>

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

>> s

>> >>?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?o 

>> f

>> >>?color,?immigrants,?and?workers;

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

>> ct

>> >>?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??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

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>> >>>

>> >>>?----------------------------------------------------

>> >>>?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

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>> >>

>> >>?David?J.?Rosen

>> >>?djrosen at comcast.net

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>?----------------------------------------------------

>> >>?National?Institute?for?Literacy

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

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>> ?

>> David?J.?Rosen

>> djrosen at comcast.net

>>

>>

>>

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