Reclaiming Education: Moving Beyond the Culture of Reform (New Frontiers in Education, Culture, and Politics)

This book is an appeal to those directly and indirectly involved in education reform to reconsider the very nature of education as a process of transformation and not, as the neoliberal corporate model insists upon, as a “product.” By using Paulo Freire’s fundamental principle of understanding “education as the practice of freedom,” and expanding upon it with bell hooks’ own spiritual understanding of that principle, this book offers readers the opportunity to rethink what education is, and what it is not. Utilizing the work of diverse thinkers and critics, the book lays out a criticism of neoliberalism’s profound influence on education reform and our culture generally. It reaffirms the political and ethical import of education for individuals and for our nation as a whole. "Contents"--"Chapter 1: Introduction: Reclaiming Education"--"Reclaiming Education" -- "Notes" -- "Chapter 2: The Culture of Reform" -- "Notes" -- "Chapter 3: Getting Down To Business" -- "Notes" -- "Chapter 4: The Product: Education" -- "Notes" -- "Chapter 5: More Than Competition, More Than Information" -- "Notes" -- "Chapter 6: Becoming Knowledgeable and the Search for Wisdom" -- "Notes" -- "Chapter 7: Politics and Education" -- "Notes" -- "Chapter 8: Education as the Practice of Freedom" -- "Notes" -- "Appendix" -- "They Skools: The Anti-Urban Bias in Urban Education" -- "Notes" -- "Bibliography" Front Matter....Pages i-v Introduction: Reclaiming Education....Pages 1-19 The Culture of Reform....Pages 21-34 Getting Down To Business....Pages 35-49 The Product: Education....Pages 51-65 More Than Competition, More Than Information....Pages 67-87 Becoming Knowledgeable and the Search for Wisdom....Pages 89-104 Politics and Education....Pages 105-126 Education as the Practice of Freedom....Pages 127-149 Back Matter....Pages 151-172