Suchergebnisse

Examines the experiences of Haitian teachers in Montreal, Quebec, where the large Haitian population has created unique challenges for public schools. Arguments for & against culturally congruent education are discussed, & two programs designed to provide a Haitian-focused learning environment by emphasizing the role of Haitian teachers are described. In-depth interviews conducted in 1995 with 13 Haitian-origin teachers, well informed about issues related to improving the educational experience of Haitian students, indicate that, although these teachers pointed out the harm that can result from misunderstandings of Haitian culture, they did not see mainstream schooling as a racist barrier to minority students. In fact, most respondents favored a universalistic approach to education, but viewed culturally appropriate teaching methods as an integral part of it. They perceived their role with Haitian students as primarily a motivational one aimed at helping students achieve success in mainstream institutions. Struggles involved in trying to balance a sense of communal obligation with a personal identity as a professional educator are examined. 42 References. J. Lindroth

The author explains why & how recent criticism of public education & efforts to marginalize or destroy it are related to assaults on both counter-public spheres & the politics of culture. The campaign against public education endangers the concept of the public sphere as a place for debating important issues as part of the learning process & the role of educators as public intellectuals. Paul Freire's work offers a fervent defense of popular culture as a starting point for developing vocabularies & literacies that enable students & others to negotiate the public sphere. Because Freire does not divorce his methods from his larger vision of freedom & emphasizes the need for an international sense of responsibility, he offers a language of critique & potential that revitalizes the meaning of being a public intellectual constituted across multiple borders. 47 References. A. Funderburg