Critical Pedagogy

If you have school-age children, you MUST READ THIS. Excerpt:

Some of the basic tenants of critical pedagogy are:

• ALL education is inherently political…
• A social and educational vision of justice and equality should be the foundation for all education
• Race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, and physical ability are important domains of oppression
• The purpose of education is the alleviation of oppression and human suffering
• Schools must not hurt students–good schools don’t blame students for their failures
• Good schools don’t judge the beliefs students have about their life’s experiences
• Part of the role of any educator involves becoming a researcher into social oppression
• Education must promote emancipatory change

Sixteen of the top educational schools in America are heavily influenced by Critical Pedagogy and are shaping the future leaders of our educational system. This belief system is now spreading out of the colleges into our K-12 systems and being promulgated by radical teachers as its ‘agents of change’. It’s a well-organized, widespread movement, firmly entrenched in many Universities and its advocates are actively seeking to spread it worldwide.

A quick Google on "critical pedagogy" brings up this link from the University of Denver School of Education. Among the "resources" listed, Rethinking Schools, the source of the article that inspired The George Orwell Daycare Center Überpost, and The Frankfurt School which I and reader Phil B. have had some things to say about.

My only quibble with the piece is that I think it's been going on longer - and more "successfully" - than the author seems to believe.

The linked piece was published in December, part II is here. Read both. Understand what it is that's going on in our public schools, and why.

RCOB™ all over again.

Thanks to Neo-neocon for the pointer.