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| Paulo Freire 1921-1997 |
In 2016, when memory is being erased (or not even formed)...
Students (and many others) don't know the difference between the Korean War and the Vietnam War or The Civil War and Reconstruction, John Brown and Nathan Bedford Forrest (I could go on and on and usually do!), or the difference between various political ideologies...or fail to ponder the "humaneness" of drone warfare...or know the historical background of our involvement in worldwide colonialism/ imperialism and its effect on current events...or appreciate the importance of public values/ morality or civic responsibility, etc.
In 2016, when students and teachers (and many others) lack the motivation/ skills to...
Define critical thinking (even though our #1 goal in public education is to develop critical thinking skills...sarcasm mine), or contemplate topics such as Intersectionality/ Matrix of Domination, or foster a social consciousness/ activism mindset, etc.
In 2016, when public schools across the nation...
have sold out/ are under siege of corporate influence, focus mainly on "accountability" and so-called "excellence" geared toward conformity and high-stakes testing (our state is MCA standardized testing today), and have become (IMO) intellectual dead zones and B.F. Skinner-like punishment centers.
Isn't it time that we heed the wisdom of Paulo Freire (he hated menu-like solutions) to...
- govern our choices by principle.
- recognize oppressive and authoritarian tendencies in our society.
- develop agency and voice by connecting knowledge/ truth to power.
- develop agency and voice through "reading the world".
- develop a consciousness of humanity and true democracy.
- challenge the assumptions of "conventional wisdom/ history".
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