In this unique book on education, Shor develops teaching theory side-by-side with a political analysis of schooling. Drawing on the work of Paulo Freire, he offers the first practical and theoretical guide to Freirean methods for American classrooms. Central to his method is a commitment to learning through dialogue and to exploring themes from everyday life. He poses alienation and mass culture as key obstacles to learning, and establishes critical literacy as a foundation for studying any subject.
Preface
Part One - Problematic Schooling
1. The Working Class Goes to College
2. Interferences to Critical Thought: Consciousness in School and Daily Life
Part Two - Reconstructed Learning
3. Extraordinarily Re-experiencing the Ordinary: Theory of Critical Teaching
4. Monday Morning: Critical Literacy and the Themes of Work
5. Learning How to Learn: Conceptual Thought in a Utopia Course
6. Social Inquiry: Daily Life and Language Projects
7. Questioning Sexism: Poetry and Marriage Contracts
8. Culture Against Itself: Reflection Through Drama
Conclusion: Critical Teaching and a Liberatory Future
Ira Shor, an English professor at Staten Island College, City University of New York, has been teaching and writing about education for fifteen years.
