This Road in These Times
"Make the Road by Walking" is a project that reflects on my teaching work and considers education in terms of liberation in the traditions of theorists-practitioners like Paulo Freire and Myles Horton, and the concepts of critical pedagogy and democratic education. It seeks to challenge the powers that be, the structures of inequality, and the hierarchies that feed into the hyper-capitalist sorting system in society. This is particularly crucial in the face of the outright exploitation and deceit of the Trump administration.
Recently, I spoke with my child about democratic education and the importance of educating for democracy. She intuitively understands, as she observes both school and societal events, that failing to invest in education leads schools to leave kids uninformed, making them susceptible to the dictates of demagogues. I want them to learn to discern what is right and wrong, truth and manipulation. Educated young people vote conscientiously, but popular discourse makes it easy to succumb to the morally bankrupt persuasion of figures like Donald Trump. We elected a bully, so we must teach our kids to fight back against the sweep of ecological mismanagement and environmental abuse that endangers our future; against insidious racial scapegoating and greed-driven extractive colonialist policies; against anti-democratic deceit and demagoguery that sells myths, dismantles institutions, and wages culture wars with the right hand while gladhanding autocrats with the left.
We need clear voices explaining why and how we teach our children. When the awakening of conscience is dismissed as "woke," will they hear a voice of courage and compassion, or the judgment that made them feel unwelcome? Sometimes I'll talk to adults who have set their minds against arguments for equity, whose experiences make them feel unheard, affirming their simplistic worldviews. Many are afraid to be wrong and avoid learning, inadvertently ignoring the pain their ideology causes.
So with young people, I often wonder how to engage them in democratic dialogue, not to indoctrinate but to cultivate the ability to examine evidence, read, listen thoughtfully, and extend empathy. These are traits that seem absent or hidden within the current administration in their pursuit of power. This realization makes me think about our educational responsibilities.
Our job in schools isn't to dictate right and wrong but to nurture a space for dialogue and thought, to teach and support students in discovering their voices. This inquiry should lead to an awakening, and I hope to inspire in them a desire to become scholars and thinkers. "Make the Road by Walking" is my attempt to chronicle this journey, engaging in regular dialogue with friends, texts, and myself to maintain this heart of purpose.
Teaching can be exhausting and routine, so I aspire to remember and stay true to the mission. The purpose of this log and channel is to present ideas about teaching in dialogue with theorists and research, striving for equity, ecology, and emancipatory education.