Obama, Ayers, and Education in Amerikkka
“critical pedagogy” - how the “oppressive hegemony” of the capitalist social order “reproduces” itself through the traditional practice of public schooling
With [Hugo] Chavez at his side, Ayers voiced his support for “the political educational reforms under way here in Venezuela under the leadership of President Chavez. We share the belief that education is the motor-force of revolution.. . . I look forward to seeing how . . . all of you continue to overcome the failures of capitalist education as you seek to create something truly new and deeply humane.”
Ayers told the great humanitarian Chavez: “Teaching invites transformations, it urges revolutions large and small. La educacion es revolucion.” It is that form of socialist revolution that Ayers, and Obama, have worked to bring to America.
Here’s other other dot:
In the 1990s, Ayers was instrumental in starting the Annenberg Challenge, securing a $50 million grant to reform the Chicago Public Schools…
Obama was given the Annenberg board chairmanship only months before his first run for office. [Obama] ran the fiscal arm that distributed grants to schools and raised matching funds.
Obama now describes Ayers as,
"somebody who worked on education issues in Chicago that I know."
Somebody who gave you responsibility for $50M to distribute in ways that fit his philosophy. And was, apparently, so stupid as to give that responsibility to some random guy whom he barely knew.
So either Ayers is an utter moron for doing that or Obama is an utter moron for thinking anyone would believe Ayers did that. ...Or we’re all bitter, xenophobic clingers hallucinating shadows on the cave wall.
And Ayers is not just some 15-book academician. He is currently vice-president for curriculum for the 25,000-member American Educational Research Association. AERA already has a Social Justice Division with its own executive director.
One of Ayers’ descriptions for a course called “Improving Learning Environments” says a prospective K-12 teacher needs to “be aware of the social and moral universe we inhabit and . . . be a teacher capable of hope and struggle, outrage and action, teaching for social justice and liberation."
Obama’s own education plan advocates “ ‘zero to five’ - voluntary, universal pre-school” and promises to “provide high-quality child care” but fails to mention at all his experience with the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. Wouldn’t that be rather an important item on his “education” CV?
“Once things were connected,” Ayers’s introduction recollects, “we saw a system at work, we were radicalized, we named that system—imperialism—and forged an idea of how to overthrow it. We were influenced by Marx, but we were formed more closely and precisely by Che, Ho, Malcolm X, Amílcar Cabral, Mandela—the Third World revolutionaries—and we called ourselves small ‘c’ communists to indicate our rejection of what had become of Marx in the Soviet Block [sic]. . . . We were anti-authoritarian, anti-orthodoxy, communist street fighters.”
[from Sing a Battle Song: The Revolutionary Poetry, Statements and Communiqués of the Weather Underground, 1970-1974. ]
Completely. Ironing. Impaired.
So what about that science education Uh-bambi wants to make a National Priority?
In 1997, Ayers and his mentor Maxine Greene persuaded Teachers College Press to launch a series of books on social justice teaching, with Ayers as editor and Greene serving on the editorial board (along with Rashid Khalidi, loyal supporter of the Palestinian cause and the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University). Twelve volumes have appeared so far, including one titled Teaching Science for Social Justice.
“The marriages between capitalism and education and capitalism and science have created a foundation for science education that emphasizes corporate values at the expense of social justice and human dignity.” The alternative? “Science pedagogy framed around social justice concerns can become a medium to transform individuals, schools, communities, the environment, and science itself, in ways that promote equity and social justice. Creating a science education that is transformative implies not only how science is a political activity but also the ways in which students might see and use science and science education in ways transformative of the institutional and interpersonal power structures that play a role in their lives.”... our goal is to create a ‘pedagogy of hope.’
Here’s a prediction: Bill Ayers - Secretary of Education
Highly Recommended - esp for parents, g’parents, aunties ‘n’ uncles, prospective g’parents and anyone who gives a flaming donut for the future of Freedom: *clicky*clicky*
[Obama or not - this is the future of Gubbmint Education.]
I remember a link from a few years ago, about a “PC Math textbook”. Here it is [courtesy of the Wayback Machine]
You’d think that math would be pretty neutral. Not so - they’ve figured out how to get their grubby mitts into that as well.
A clip from the intro:
“The articles in this book provide examples of how to weave social justice issues throughout the mathematics curriculum and how to integrate mathematics into other curricular areas.”
One hair-raising example:
“For example: Let’s say two teachers use word problems to teach double-digit multiplication and problem-solving skills. They each present a problem to their students. The first teacher presents this one:
A group of youth aged 14, 15, and 16 go to the store. Candy bars are on sale for 43¢ each. They buy a total of 12 candy bars. How much do they spend, not including tax?
The second teacher, meanwhile, offers a very different problem:
Factory workers aged 14, 15, and 16 in Honduras make McKids children’s clothing for Wal-Mart. Each worker earns 43 cents an hour and works a 14-hour shift each day. How much does each worker make in one day, excluding fees deducted by employers?
While both problems are valid examples of applying multi-digit multiplication, each has more to say as well. The first example has a subtext of consumerism and unhealthy eating habits; the second has an explicit text of global awareness and empathy. Both are political, in that each highlights important social relations.
...The first example has a subtext of consumerism and unhealthy eating habits; the second has an explicit text of global awareness and empathy.”
--------
Even scarier than that is that the website iswww.rethinkingschools.org
Posted by ZZMike on 10/09/08 at 09:53 AM
Next entry: Here's an idea
Previous entry: Wow. He's right...
