ElkeTeaches brought this to my attention and I thought I would share. Public education needs to become public. What this means will require a grand conversation led by courageous people and eloquent questions. It is of concern when you hear that public schools in Michigan are sold to private interests or when Canadian politicians send their children to elite private schools. What are public schools not good enough? If not, what will you do to change that? Fortunately, we do have leaders, not manages, bureaucrats, technocrats, and autocrats, but real leaders who are finding their voices.
In response to today’s ongoing discussion about teaching and specifically what kind of teaching is right for urban students, this comment came from Ira Shor. Shor teaches at the City University of New York. He has written extensively about critical pedagogy. Our discussion began with the proposition that poor kids need a tightly disciplined environment, some would say a “boot camp” or “no-excuses” pedagogy. Others disagreed. Shor gives his view here:
| Many thanks to Diane for for so decently inviting discussion on conundrums of teaching. Conditions for teaching/learning are outcomes of educ and social policy, though not reducible to these enormous factors. In terms of high expectations for kids of all colors and classes regardless of home address, I’d propose that all lessons in all classrooms should be designed for and with the students who are there. The local conditions, language use, cultural themes should be the starting point for… |
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Teacher as Transformer 