EDU 111—Perspectives on American Education: 10/22/10

Friday, October 22, 2010

Freedom, decisions, consequences. . .and education

"Freedom becomes mature in confrontation with other freedoms, defending its rights in relation to parental authority, the authority of teachers, and the authority of the state. . . .It's in making decisions that we learn to decide. . . .Consequences are what make decision making a responsible process" (Freire, 1998, pp. 96-97).

“Arts of the Possible,” Adrienne Rich (2001)

Universal public education has two possible—and contradictory—missions. One is the development of a literate, articulate, and well-informed citizenry so that the democratic process can continue to evolve and the promise of radical equality can be brought closer to realization. The other is the perpetuation of a class system dividing an elite, nominally “gifted” few, tracked from an early age, from a very large underclass essentially to be written off as alienated from language and science, from poetry and politics, from history and hope—toward low-wage temporary jobs. The second is the direction our society has taken. The results are devastating in terms of the betrayal of a generation of youth. The loss to the whole of society is incalculable. (p. 162)

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Friday, October 22, 2010

Freedom, decisions, consequences. . .and education