Steve

No.  Every poster is not promoting the position that teachers should teach
learners to challenge society.

really.

that is not the case.


From: Steve Kaufmann <steve at thelinguist.com>
Reply-To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
<professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>
Date: Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:04:28 -0700
To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
<professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>
Subject: [PD 4087] Re: Swinging the Sword of Literacy in Iraq

It appears that almost every poster here is in favour of the position that
language and literacy teachers should teach their students to think
critically, and to challenge society.

I believe that teaching "critical thinking" is impossible, and that any
attempt to do so is merely an effort to impose one's own values on others. I
also think that it is arrogant to assume that one's own thinking process is
more "critical" or objective than that of the learner, when in fact most of
our positions are arrived at based on our own experience and feelings that
accumulated over time. I believe that literacy teaching should focus on
helping people read better so that they can form their own opinions by being
able to read from many different sources. The way to get there is to allow
learners to read what interests them and interpret it however they want.

I accept that mine is a minority position here. However, every campaign for
literacy that I have seen, especially fund raising activities focus on
reading, not on critical thinking and social change. If the majority of
literacy practitioners are into social change and teaching critical
thinking, then I think it would only be honest to say so up front in the
fund raising and advocacy campaigns. To not do so is dishonest in my
opinion.


Steve Kaufmann
604-922-8551
 <http://www.lingq.com/?referral=steve>
<http://www.lingq.com/?referral=steve>


--- @ WiseStamp Signature <http://www.wisestamp.com/email-install> . Get it
now <http://www.wisestamp.com/email-install>


On Wed, Oct 28, 2009 at 5:50 AM, Janet Isserlis <Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu>
wrote:
Re: comments about Art's post, education in Iraq and the whole notion of
political literacy.

Just looked up the word politics, but the definition kept using the word
"political"
so then I looked that up:

po·liti·cal (pə lit′i kəl)

adjective

of or concerned with government, the state, or politics
having a definite governmental organization
engaged in or taking sides in politics political parties
of or characteristic of political parties or politicians political pressure

http://www.yourdictionary.com/political


so now, to reply, simply, to those who believe we shouldn't impose a
particular set of political beliefs:
NO ONE here has said we should.  Art has spoken eloquently to addressing the
skills, knowledge and strategies needed to understand how government works
and to enable adults to make choices  (and/or support them in making
choices) that best suit their own interests and beliefs.  NO ONE is
advocating for any one system, or set of beliefs.  No one is using the adult
learning center as a soap box.  Good educators are listening to learners,
living in shared communities, discussing what goes on and using language and
learning skills, critical thinking, healthy debate, use of media and other
resources, to enable everyone to get on as well as they can in the
communities in which they live.

Janet Isserlis 

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-- 
Steve Kaufmann
www.lingq.com <http://www.lingq.com>
604-922-8514 


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