Becoming a Critical Educator : Defining a Classroom Indentity, Designing a Critical Pedagogy

Foreword xi Preface xix Acknowledgments xxi PART I BEGINNING THE JOURNEY: THINKING ABOUT OUR THINKING 1 Starting Points: Assumptions and Alternatives 3(20) Why Theory and Philosophy Matter: From the Abstract to the Practical 4(2) Developing a Personal Stance 6(2) Historical Possibilities: Traditional Goals 8(5) An Alternative Agenda: Critical Goals 13(6) The Why and How of Praxis 19(3) Note 22(1) For Further Reading 22(1) 2 Understanding Our Own Thinking: Developing Critical Consciousness 23(24) Issues of Race 26(9) Issues of Gender and Sexual Orientation 35(8) The Complexity of Cultural Conditioning 43(1) For Further Reading 44(3) 3 Expanding Our Thinking: Learning about "Other People's Children" 47(20) Who Are America's Schoolchildren? 49(2) Poverty, Race, and Schoolchildren 51(4) Other People's Children: Educational History and Legacies 55(4) Other People's Children: Current Realities 59(3) Summary and Implications 62(1) Note 63(1) For Further Reading 63(4) PART II CONSIDERING DESTINATIONS: TRUTH, CONSEQUENCES, AND THE CRITICAL VISION 4 In the Interest of Everyone But Kids: The Politics of Contemporary Educational Reform 67(24) Themes in National Political Rhetoric 68(6) Theme 1: Education as Workforce Preparation 68(3) Theme 2: Education Is Failing 71(3) Rhetoric and Realities 74(3) Why Produce a "Manufactured Crisis"? 77(2) Corporations on the Crisis Bandwagon 79(3) Corporations in the Schoolhouse 82(6) Staging for Twenty-First-Century Reforms 88(1) Note 88(1) For Further Reading 88(3) 5 Consequences of Contemporary Educational Reform: Winners and Losers 91(24) Standards and High-Stakes Testing 92(2) The Winners 94(4) The Losers 98(11) Moves Toward Privatization 109(4) The Winners 109(2) The Losers 111(2) Summary 113(1) For Further Reading 114(1) 6 Critical Alternatives for Schools and Teachers 115(26) Critical Alternatives: Redefining Democracy and Democratic Goals 118(4) Critical Alternatives: Schooling for Participative Citizenship 122(5) Education as Critical Inquiry for Social Change 122(3) Education in Service to the Many 125(2) Critical Alternatives: Teachers Pursuing Social Justice 127(11) Teachers Who Understand Social Power Arrangements 128(4) Teachers Who Respect the Other 132(2) Teachers as Public Intellectuals 134(3) Teachers as Risk-Takers 137(1) Parting Thoughts 138(1) For Further Reading 139(2) Appendix: Information and Allies for the Critical Educator 141(16) Bibliography 157(10) Index 167