Think Socially

Radical Progressivism is concerned with the societal impact of education. As Dewey wrote in Democracy & Education (1916, Chapter 7)  "The conception of education as a social process and function has no meaning until we define the kind of society we have in mind".  Without thinking deeply about communities, our needs, and what we want them to look like, education cannot achieve what it should: to enrich the lives of those it is meant to serve.  

We believe that everyone has a stake in education and that it has the power to shape how we think and how we live.  It can also transform communities for the better through active engagement, critical thought, and individual and collaborative innovation.  We advocate education that makes communities stronger and does so through the empowerment of educated global citizens.  

Where do we look to see what education can become?  From what vantage point should we be looking?  Who should be served by education and how can education be tailored to meet the needs of different communities?  What does education look like outside of North America and how is technology being used in some of these contexts?  Charles Leadbeater explores non-traditional approaches to education & technology that could change the world.  

What is the educational legacy that we have inherited? What are some of the faults with traditional education & what can be done?  Paulo Freire is a well known educational visionary who has influenced  many people throughout the world including educational reformers who view educational as a societal tool one that can be manipulated to serve the needs of a small elite or one that can be transformed into a tool for individual and societal growth.

"The teacher talks about reality as if it were motionless, static, compartmentalized, and predictable."

Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, p. 71

"Problem-posing education sets itself the task of demythologizing.  Banking education resists dialogue; problem-posing education regards dialogue as indispensable to the act of cognition which unveils reality.  Banking education treats students as objects of assistance; problem-posing education makes them critical thinkers" 
Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, p. 83

"The banking concept of education, which serves the interests of oppression, is also necrophilic.  Based on mechanistic, static, naturalistic, spatialized view of consciousness, it transforms students into receiving object.  It attempts to control thinking and actions, leads women and men to adjust to the world, and inhibits their creative power" 

Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, p. 77

"The awakening of critical consciousness leads the way to the expression of social discontents precisely because these discontents are real components of an oppressive situation." 

Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, p. 34

What is diversity and what does it mean in the context of education? How should we discuss difference & how active should we be in encouraging educational systems that value all genders, all sexualities, and all ethnicities?  bell hooks is an outspoken political advocate and scholar who promotes equality, she explores domination and the important plight to encourage debate and to challenge oppressive cultural values. 

"My commitment to engaged pedagogy is an expression of political activism.”
bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, 1994, p. 203

“I entered the classroom with the conviction that it was crucial for me and every other student to be an active participant, not a passive consumer...education as the practice of freedom.... education that connects the will to know with the will to become. Learning is a place where paradise can be created.”
bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, 1994

“Many teachers are disturbed by the political implications of a multicultural education because they fear losing control.”
bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, 1994, p. 35

Can educational research impact learning environments in positive ways?  We no longer have impartial observers.  New forms of research are helping pedagogical communities by studying elements of learning, and by improving them socially.  The videos below (produced by Jana Duganzic, Taryn Durrant, Leya Finau, Nicola Firth and Melissa Frank) summarize some of the features of Action Research.