May 3...Teaching Toward Freedom (again)

Some complain that this book is too philosophical and too full of literature, poetry, movies, etc. to be of much use--in essence it's to abstract. I‘ve come to see it as providing great descriptions of classrooms where kids are getting taken seriously as people. In some ways it is a guide for how to teach in a way that overcomes Johnson’s problems of privilege and power and even the whole standardized culture of public school today. Try to find some evidence in the book that I am not crazy and that this is the case (or feel free to disagree and provide some critique of my use of this text).

April 19...Teaching Toward Freedom

Ayers claims that education is always “for something and against something else” (p. 10). He also talks about how education tends to be humanizing or dehumanizing and that it’s surprisingly hard to know which you are working toward (p. 16). Discuss some of what you’ve seen out in schools (via practicum or through other experiences) and what it might’ve been “for” or “against” and whether it was humanizing or dehumanizing.

April 12… Privilege Power and Difference, pt. 2 (no class but please post by the 12th)

Weigh in on what Johnson’s ideas (both his description of the problems of privilege and his proposed solutions) might have to do with being an educator? Do you think he accomplished his goal of trying to get those in privileged groups in dialogue in a way that doesn’t make them defensive?