Critical Literacy in Action : Writing Words, Changing Worlds/A Tribute to the Teachings of Paulo Freire

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Summary: Are we comfortable with a society that has no authority?
Review: In light of the idea that critical literacy is ¡§learning to read and write as part of the process of becoming conscious of one¡¦s experience as historically constructed within specific power relations¡¨, this book, from a practitioner¡¦s perspective, questions how can we, as researchers or teachers or both ¡§use and teach oppositional discourse so as to remake ourselves and our culture¡¨? That is, if we have been shaped by the words we use and encounter, how can we find ¡§words that question a world not yet finished or humane¡¨, and work with the students to develop critical literacy to ¡§question knowledge, experience, and power in society¡¨?
The following chapters then offer certain innovative approaches considering how critical literacy can be ¡§done¡¨ in the classroom. A central belief that connects those chapters is that ¡§teaching is context specific¡¨, and that ¡§critical teaching is not a one-way development, not something done for students or to them for their own good¡K Rather, a critical process is driven and justified by mutuality.¡¨ I am, however, more concerned with the extent to which a teacher is aware of the replacement of status quo. In other words, how can we dismantle the old authority without imposing a new one? ¡§How and when a teacher should use authority and expertise to promote rather than to silence student agency¡¨? Are we comfortable with a society that has no authority anyway?

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Summary: A Cross-Disciplanary Look at Critical Literacy in Classrooms
Review: Overall, I found Shor and Pari's edited edition of articles discussing Critical Litearcy to be a good introduction to the variety of ways educators have chosen to implement and define critical literacy pedagogies. This book primarily looks at critical literacy in college level classes, however some mention of work with high school students is also present. I would describe this book as a thorough, though certainly not exhaustive, presentation of both theory and practice as instructors struggle to bring issues of race, class and gender into classrooms. If you are interested in critical litearcy, and curious to see how others have engaged with this topic, this book is both relevent and insightful.

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Summary: Taking Freire into the 21st Century
Review: The idea of critical pedagogy emerged with Paulo Freire; a Brazilian educator focused on adult education. In light of his untimely passing a few years back, this book constitutes a tribute to his work as it has been read and used in recent decades. Shor and Pari's collection of essays is a foray into the ways in which Freiere's concept of critical literacy has been extended and applied to American classrooms. These essays explore different setting for the usage of critical literacy, but generally concern adults, i.e. at a college level or within different forms of adult education. However, the implications of the ideas are manifold, and there is usage for all levels of education to be extracted from the volume.
Although this is by no means a total coverage of all the issues that critical literacy, it does enter into many nooks and crannies of critical literacy, exploring how the ideas of race, gender and class interact with its ideas, in theory as well as practice. There are also several essays that examine the political implication for the use of critical pedagogy. If you are curious about how critical literacy functions in today's society, and how it has developed beyond Freire, this is definitely a book you want to give a closer look. And even if your interest is just education in general, the ideas of Freire are compelling, and are a fresh batch of ideas, which could be used to breathe life into the American classroom.