|
Food for Thought -- Democratic EducationWholly unlike "selling" or drilling or training, teaching is oriented to provoking persons to care about what they are coming to understand, to attend to their situations with solitude, to be mindful, to be concerned, to be fully present and alive. Democratic education, certainly, involves provoking persons to get up from their seats... to say something in their own voices, against their own biographies and in terms of what they cherish in their shared lives, what they authentically hold dear. It involves getting them to leave their assigned places in the crowds and even in the marches, and to come together freely in their plurality. It means creating an "in between" among them, a space where they can continue appearing as authentic individuals, each with a distinctive perspective on what they have come to hold in common, a space where something new can find expression and be explored and elaborated on, where it can grow. It is when people become challengers, when they take initiatives, that they begin to create the kinds of spaces where dialogue can take place and freedom can appear. (Greene, 1986, p. 72)Greene, M. (1986). Reflection and passion in teaching. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 2 (1), 68-81.
Home Courses Handouts Vision Vita e-mail me
Return to top