Talkin' bout Liberation

Education for Liberation has hosted an online discussion about teaching current events in the social justice classroom.

talkin' bout is an online discussion series that brings together educators, activists and youth to participate in a public conversation on the network website about timely and important topics in liberatory education. From Monday, May 19 to Tuesday, May 20 a panel will answer questions posted to an online discussion board about what teaching current events in the context of Education for Liberation means. The conversation will take place on the website of the Education for Liberation Network (http://www.edliberation.org/). Please join us by posting questions and comments for the panelists andparticipants. This discussion features panelists from organizations and media outlets that publish current events teaching materials including The Nation magazine,IndyKids, Democracy Now! and World Savvy.

Justice Not-Just-Tests Meeting in NYC

Justice Not-Just-Tests Meeting
Monday, May 12
5:00PM
CUNY Graduate Center, Room 5409
Email jnjt@nycore.org for more information.

More about NYCore here.

Yahoo! New Social Networking Site for Teachers

Yahoo!'s new social networking site for teachers: http://teachers.yahoo.com/.

Reflecting Democracy in Education

Great post on Education Policy Blog: Democracy Is a Learning Theory, informed by John Dewey's perspectives.

It turns out that democratic education is considerably more difficult than a form of education that seeks primarily to induct the young into the ways of the old. Dewey spent considerable efforts during his career to try to outline the principles and methods of democratic education, and remained frustrated that many readers of his works seemed unable to escape the tired dualism of an education that is primarily grounded in tradition and one which is primarily aiming to free the myriad possibilities of each child. The best education, Dewey argued, would take account of both the curriculum—taken from the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of intellectual and social tradition—and the child, with his or her creativity, fresh perspective, and lively imagination.

It is important to understand how Dewey’s concept of democracy connects with this nuanced and hard-to-achieve conception of education. Education cannot be considered apart from the conditions of associated living in the society, and such conditions cannot be considered separate from education. Life rooted in “conjoint communicated experience” is inherently educative; young people in a democracy inevitably grow to become participants in shared activities and shared governance; and schools—as institutions explicitly designed to further education—must necessarily be continuously redesigned to serve—and reflect—democracy.

Worth reading: Dewey'sThe School and Society & The Child and the Curriculum