Critical Consciousness – Spirit of Paulo Friere

Esta semana ha aparecido en diversos medios, una noticia que llama la atención “Los jesuitas eliminan las asignaturas, exámenes y horarios de sus colegios” (el diario.es, 5/03/2015).

La noticia nos pone en evidencia que algo está cambiando en el sistema educativo y que se está empezando a adaptar a la realidad actual. La idea del cambio en el sistema educativo la sostiene desde hace tiempo el escritor y educador británico Ken Robinson que defiende la necesidad de cambiar el sistema educativo actual que se creó en la época de la revolución industrial y de crear un sistema educativo que fomente los talentos naturales de cada uno de nosotros.

Ken Robinson dice en su libro titulado “El Elemento” lo siguiente: «Viajo mucho y me relaciono con personas de todas partes del mundo. Trabajo con instituciones educativas, con empresas y con organizaciones sin ánimo de lucro. En todas partes me encuentro con…

This is one of the most powerful articles I have read in a long time.

Robert Putnam describes life in his home town of Port Clinton, Ohio, population 6,059, as he was growing up in the 50s.

Port Clinton was “ a passable embodiment of the American dream, a place that offered decent opportunity for the children of bankers and factory workers alike.”

But today, “wealthy kids park BMW convertibles in the Port Clinton High School lot next to decrepit “junkers” in which homeless classmates live. The American dream has morphed into a split-screen American nightmare. And the story of this small town, and the divergent destinies of its children, turns out to be sadly representative of America.

“Growing up, almost all my classmates lived with two parents in homes their parents owned and in neighborhoods where everyone knew everyone else’s first name. Some dads worked in the local…

I recall reading Robert Putnam’s previous book, Bowling Alone, about the decline of civic life in America. It caused quite a stir. I am looking forward to reading his new book, Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis. It seems certain to upset the “reformers,” as it blows away their assumptions that the schools are failing our children. As I read this review in Education Week, our society is failing our children, and we are not funding our schools in ways that help the neediest kids.

Sarah D. Sparks writes that Putnam “gathers a flood of research on the unraveling web of formal and informal supports that help students in poverty succeed academically and in life.

“If it takes a village to raise a child, the prognosis for America’s children isn’t good: In recent years, villages all over America, rich and poor, have deteriorated as we’ve shirked collective responsibility…