I truly am excited this morning. I had a very early morning meeting with my favorite Higher Council member – who happens to have special status, thanks to me. Or at least I like to think I had a part in his special status. I sent a message through him that was delivered at his last meeting to tell the members that his vote should weight 51%. There was an ulterior motive to that, namely that I wouldn’t be so likely to get mundane assignments or would at least be allowed to change them up so they better match what I want to be doing on this educational mission we are working on. I’m not sure they give him 51% like I asked, but at least they are listening better.

So my latest news is that I can go ahead and release all of the “insights” I have had since the roses started blooming. Remember, back on May 27 when I wrote the Treasure Hunting: Where Are We Now? blog I had mentioned that my long lost friend had predicted I would have some great insights when the roses bloomed. He was right, but I had to hold back the information for awhile and now it is a green light all of the way. So over the next few days, in addition to doing the review of Joe’s monumental book, I will be providing the information I’ve been holding back. I didn’t like the fact that I had to hold back the information because it makes it sound like I have some superior knowledge or something, and that just is not the case whatsoever. There are many people who already have this knowledge, so I am not at all privileged. It just comes out in different places at different times among different people, repetitively even, but the plan from “mission control” (lol) requires it to be done so with the utmost careful timing so that everything works symbiotically and synergistically for maximum results. That’s all, really that held me up. So now over the next few days, the information will be released. That is, I will be discussing various insights and they mostly relate to Joe’s work.

The only thing I should warn people about is that the information may be provided in various formats and it is up to each individual to interpret what it means to them and how they might benefit from it. Thus, no interpretive services are provided on this one. This is always the best process since everyone has their own reality, is busy living their own lives and having to meet their own needs, which they know better than anyone else how best to do that and what will best serve those purposes. It is paramount to provide knowledge in multiple formats because it has a better chance of serving more people that way – in other words, it is more likely to meet diverse needs and since this is a global project, it becomes important to try and do so as much as possible. I do apologize that I am limited to providing this in only English at the time, but I hope that will change in the future. Anyway,we do not ascribe to ideologically biased knowledges that exert power and control over people such as FIDUROD which Joe discusses in great deal and defines exceptionally well in his book, although, of course the entire way I present everything on this web site is biased and idiosyncratic, which I did state right up front so that there can be no misconceptions. The primary thing that is honored here is that free will is the rule of the universe and choosing one’s own interpretation and meaning is the most important aspect of living out our own lives in the ways we choose. We can construct our own realities, and in my view, which I think Joe would go along with, I prefer multiple realities for the great vision, understanding, freedom, and other positive benefits keeping a flexible perspective provides.

Another thing that was mentioned at the meeting is that it will be up to me to resolve the issue with postformalism. Should we keep that name in spite of a certain amount of negativity that seems to be associated with it? I am not sure that Joe was going to keep the label because I do not recall seeing it mentioned in his last book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction. It appears that he may have transferred all of the qualities and attributes into his complex criticality theories for epistemology and critical pedagogy and if that turns out to be true, that ends the issues with the word “post” being attached to postformalism. This will be my call, though. If I want to, I can stay with postformalism. I have not decided what I want to do yet and I have some more research I want to do before I make this decision. Any input or preferences regarding the use of the word postformalism are welcome. I kind of like the word, myself, but if it is not needed, then it may just add confusion to what are very, very complex ideas.

There are so many things now that I need to convey since I have been holding them back for a while, waiting for the green light. I guess today I will focus on love because love is the very heart of the mission I am working on. Most people know that Paulo Freire stressed the importance of radical love, but I have always wondered, what is radical love? How do we live it? How do we work, play, and learn from a solid grounding in radical love? That is not one of my enlightenments yet, but it is one I hope to learn about soon.

Speaking of love though, I am excited! As I had mentioned, I happened to magically come upon a lovely wedding ring set which I went ahead and bought from this man who was unemployed. You can read about the story here: “Forever Married to Joe’s Work.” It is highly significant to me in that as I work and glance down at my hands while I am typing, I have symbols that remind me of my dedication to moving Joe’s work out into the world. This keeps me focused and motivated, which is important since I do a LOT of writing, including educational research centering on Joe’s bricolage research methodology as I complete my doctorate. I was ecstatic when this diamond ring had been dropped into my hands quite unexpectedly (you will have to read that story). As I also mentioned in the account, I had already sent for a ring that was to serve the purpose of being the reminder of my commitment. I decided I could wear rings on each hand. Well, yesterday the ring got here! It’s beautiful, too! It is an eternity ring with two intertwining bands, and for some reason instead of being engraved with Vanessa Jae, which is my first and middle name, it came out with Vanessa Joe (lol). Oh well, I’m happy!

Oops, I have another meeting to go to. More later . . .

With Love,
Vanessa

TAKE TWO!!! (LOL)

With the last review, we left off with the discussion of the “power of differences” and how, with an “evolving criticality,” we are on a “never-ending search for new ways of seeing, for new social and cultural experiences that provide novel concepts that we can use to better understand and change the world in a progressive way” (p. viii).

Whenever I read that, I think, WOW! This is just so profound, deep, and meaningful. Actually, it may be much more profound than what might come across for some people. Here, Joe is saying so much and it is all condensed down into a single phrase. His work is like that throughout and it amazes me.

First, in trying to uncover the profoundness of that statement, it has to be realized that it comes from a passionate postformal perspective. I would recognize that, given that I have identified myself as a passionate postformal person. And one thing I would like to interject here is that postformal, simply because it has a “post” word in front of it is not something that should be discredited for that reason. I am almost nauseated by how many times I have read condemnations of “post” words as it seems assumptions abound in what that even means, and thus, labels and judgments become attached with no analysis whatsoever, or very little analysis. This just points out how assumptions can cloud our conceptualizations. When someone defines postmodernism for me, then I do listen to what they have to say. And there are those who take the time to do so, or at least to confirm that postmodernism needs to be deconstructed and so they do so in order to state their positions in ways that support the points they are making.  Surprising to me is the number of writers who seem to be on an anti-post mission. From what I have read, there is no single definition of postmodernism, perhaps never can be, and the fact that the word post is attached in front of a word may have nothing do with postmodernism whatsoever. This is something I will be researching further just to clarify for myself what all the fuss is about. And maybe there is a perfectly valid reason for the fuss, and in my ignorance as to the history and concepts surrounding it all, I am simply oblivious to some constructed reality. I will rectify that in the future, Right now, I have more important tasks to accomplish – like reviewing Joe’s book.

So how does one define postformalism? I went through some of the chapters Joe had written for the book, Reading, Writing, and Thinking: Postformal Basics (Thomas & Kincheloe, 2006) and pulled out some of the attributes, ideas, methods, purposes, etc. that we, as postformalists adhere to or believe. This is not complete, but it does give a broad idea and it is an indication of just how condensed the quoted statement above is and why I find it so profound. The statement, in my view, literally compacts all of the ideas below – and more – into just a few words. Hermeneutic analysis, anyone?

In reading over these attributes, are there any you can identify with? Which ones don’t you identify with and why? And how about magnitude in relation to just how far you might push? Are you cautious or daring or somewhere in the middle of the spectrum? Why?

• We believe that the struggle for a rigorous, pragmatic, empowering, transformative education for everyone, the poor in particular, can be won. ~Joe Kincheloe
• We are transgressive. We cross boundaries and borders.
• We believe in a rigorous education and higher order thinking.
• We enjoy an erotic pedagogy that draws on the “jouissance” of learning.
• We seek out difference/diversity (cultures, ontologies, perspectives, etc.)
• We resist colonialism and the “madness” of the world.
• Ambiguity and complexity reign.
• We define postformalism as an advanced approach to cognitive and educational psychology
• We believe that postformalism will move educators to pursue new levels of human possibility.
• We seek deeper understanding.
• We seek criticism, creativity, theorizing, imagination, and meaning making.
• We blur boundaries.
• We are passionate about learning.
• We gain insight from art and aesthetics.
• We seek peace, love, and social justice.
• We recognize multiple realities.
• We believe that knowledge is socially constructed.
• We believe everyone is capable of higher order thinking.
• We resist the ideological fictions produced by dominant power.
• We believe the postformal journey never ends – it is a “perpetual” revolution.
• Words are magic and we make use of polysemy.
• We are multiperspectival and believe there is never one final interpretation (e.g. perspectives change, meanings change, interrelationships change, etc.)
• We are dialectical.
• We are suspicious of monological forms of knowledge and interpretation.
• We are environmentalists, peacemakers, and activists.
• We are radical lovers.   

(As excerpted & adapted from Joe's chapters in Thomas & Kincheloe, 2006).

Postformalists work to achieve a profane enlightenment in relation to the social construction of mind and ways we can unite with others from diverse backgrounds and orientations to expand the nature of our consciousness in ways that lead to transformative social action. In this context postformalists seek connection with a variety of phenomena – other humans, the natural world, a diversity of insights from cultural traditions, both ancient and contemporary, both Western and non-Western.  ~ Joe Kincheloe (2006, p. 17)

Next Time: Joe Kincheloe's Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: Preface Review, Part 3

You will truly be amazed!

Peace & Love,

Vanessa

References

Kincheloe, J. L. (2008). Knowledge and critical pedagogy: An Introduction. Amsterdam: Springer.

Thomas, P. L. & Kincheloe, J. L. (2006). Reading, writing, and thinking: Postformal basics. The Netherlands: Sense.

Image courtesy of Blogspot

It is so amazing! I had another interesting revelation, but I am going to have to, once again, hold off on relaying it here because the time is not right. Most people are not ready for it. They truly are not. If you are ready to hear it, I do apologize and I promise I will post the information as soon as I can. I have a feeling it relates directly to the postformal treasures that are revealed as I review Joe's book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction. I will just know when the time is right.

What I learned, however, is related to today’s blog in that we will be reviewing some more of Joe’s work – the remaining pages of the preface – which, incidentally, I will be posting a little later today. I am still having problems getting up early enough to write a blog and get it posted by 6 AM. The ironic thing about that is, I have a number of blogs written already, but like this revelation, it is the wrong time to post them, so here I am, rushing to get another blog written and posted this morning.

The latest revelation, as I was saying, is related to analyzing Joe’s work. I was reading over something that he had written and suddenly I “got” it and it just cracked me up. You see, postformalists just love words. I know, because I am a true and passionate postformalist. We love polysemy. Joe talks about it in his books. It’s where words have more than one meaning, so that when you read something Joe wrote, you have to ask yourself – did he mean this or that – or this and that? I think we like polysemy because it makes people really think when they read something, plus we know that there is never one “true” interpretation and often many interpretations. Or interpretations may change because perspectives change, meanings change, interrelationships change, etc. In this way, we can say multiple things at a time, or we can say something today and we know it will mean something else tomorrow. Words are like “magic” as Joe puts it, and with him, they truly were. And so, I came across something he had written that suddenly was enormously funny, but very sweet, but it was funny because it was sweet (LOL).

I know, I shouldn’t keep secrets from my readers, but I promise it will come out, soon. I guess for those who are really interested, all I can say is, check back and read my blog. I know this is likely to get readers a little upset – but I have to wait. It will be worth the wait, I promise!

Check back a little later today; I will have part 2 of the review of the Preface. Be sure to keep the MAGIC of polysemy in mind when you read!

Peace,
Vanessa

Well! My long lost friend is still up to his tricks and I am beginning to think he is “bad to the bone” (LOL)…I was very suspicious when he sent me out on another wild trek to follow up on the missed treasure on Old Fort Road. For those of you who have read my last treasure hunting blog, “Treasure Hunting: Where Are We Now?” you know how I sorta “got screwed” trying to find the special treasure on Old Fort Road (LOL).

Well, it turned out that it was quite a joke, although my friend assured me that going to the wrong spot on the wrong road and finding an old rusty screw for treasure will prepare me for the upcoming Project work (which starts right after our kick-off on April 3, 2010).

I wish I could tell you more about what that is all about, but quite frankly, I am going on pure faith cuz I know nothing’. I do have a feeling though, that it will have something to do with the Appalachian Mountains since we are going to be so close to them. Anyway, my friend reminded me that I had not yet recovered the treasure that was left for me on the REAL Old Fort Road – as in my last report I indicated that I had misinterpreted his instructions and had thought he meant the road that went up to the Old Fort, which is a different road, but is where I found the old rusty screw and washer. Then when I was on my way home from my 80-mile trek, I saw zipping by me a road called “Old Fort Road.” And so I figured I needed to go back and check there for the treasure. Sure enough, when I asked, my friend sent me a message, saying, “Yes, you should follow through on the Old Fort Road treasure hunt. There is something of value there just at the edge of the road before turning right at the end of Old Fort Road.”

So I and my faithful assistant, who is in training for future treasure hunts this summer with the children, traversed on up there Sunday night, just before dusk sank in too heavily and sure enough the treasure was right where he said it was! I could not see the value in the nail we found whatsoever! We did scan the entire area with the metal detector and did not find any other treasures, so our hopes for finding something valuable were extinguished. I was highly disappointed as I was expecting a nice ring or a watch – something that could be cashed in. Oh well, given my soul brother, Keenan had such a bad experience when he had gone in to cash in a $1600 diamond ring – they would have given him $25 is all – maybe this will turn out better in the symbiotic scheme of things. You can review that story here, at the blog entitled, “Forever Married to Joe’s Work” and read about how this related to my yard treasure hunt for a diamond ring. It turned out I had no hunting to do at all, since the ring was delivered right to my door! And it all worked out for Keenan, because he ended up with much more than $25.

In relation to driving 20 miles just to find a nail, I tried to keep a positive perspective. So then I thought, well, maybe by us removing the nail from the edge of the road, we have prevented someone from getting a flat tire. Now, that would be valuable to that person, saving them from being stuck out in the middle of nowhere and having to try and change a flat and then taking the tire in and having to pay to fix it. And maybe that person was a doctor on the way to the hospital. By not getting a flat tire, maybe this doctor would be on time to the hospital, and by being on time, perhaps this doctor could save someone’s life. Now that is highly valuable! Things work symbiotically in ways we do not understand, so I decided I could accept that for now. We had done a good deed by removing the nail from that exact spot.

This concept of symbiosis is actually tightly wound up in Joe's educational theory. He states, "The ecologcial consciousness produced by an awareness of the infinite ways phenomena are connected rests at the heart of symbiotic hermeneutics" and he takes this concept and applies it to rigorous learning, stating, "Disciplines cannot remain the same when finding generative relationships is viewed as a basic dimension of knowledge work. This pursuit of relationality becomes a central effort to engage in rigorous scholarship in the ruins of traditional disciplinarity" (Kincheloe & Berry, 2006, p. 63). Thus, it becomes a central feature of all learning and life experiences in general to realize that everything happens for a purpose, everything is interrelated, and it becomes so exciting to actually get in there and explore what amazing interrelationships and interconnections there are! These can lead to blissful postformal treasure hunts through research, learning, writing, teaching, and when other people get involved, the "dancing" becomes ever more enjoyable, exciting, and as Joe sometimes described it, intoxicating (Thomas & Kincheloe, 2006). Once you start dancing, you never want to stop!

My long lost friend has since meekly apologized for giving me the assignment and told me that, yes, the treasure hunt had been designed as a training activity, but that I have passed so many of these initiations to the project with such great faith and cooperation, that I will likely not be assigned any more – you see, he is now working with me full time on the mission, but because he has been around much longer than I have been, he gets the classified stuff about the mission and the joy of handing out training assignments. He did reveal to me that when my assistant and I finish up the yard search, we will then get a “very valuable reward.” So, it’s all good.

I will keep you updated on the treasure hunt; we have many exciting excursions yet ahead of us. Tomorrow: Continuing with the book review of the most monumental education book ever written, Joe L. Kincheloe’s Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction. Don’t miss it! There are sure to be some exciting revelations. Be sure to read yesterday’s review and the rest of the Preface. I am spending extra time on it because the Preface is so important to laying the foundation for the book.

Have a great day!
Vanessa

References

Kincheloe, J. L. & Berry, K. S. (2004). Rigour and Complexity in Educational Research: Conceptualizing the Bricolage. New York: Open University Press.

Thomas, P. L. & Kincheloe, J. L. (2006). Reading, writing, and thinking: Postformal basics. The Netherlands: Sense.  

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

The title of this blog may not exactly fit today, but I kinda love that expression. Joe used it a lot, I think. In fact, he used it in his book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction for Chapter 6, “Down and Dirty: Outlining the FIDUROD.” The reason I am using it here is because I will be taking that very sort of diversion that he took in Chapter 6. I am just so reluctant to begin the deep discussion of Joe’s work without first conveying a deep analysis of this particular book. I am thinking that what I have to say may be too revolutionary and have nothing to connect to unless people really come to understand at least some of the things he discussed and analyzed in this book, perhaps some of the frustrations he, himself may have been experiencing surrounding conveying his knowledge, and where he was going to head next with his future work. So, during this diversion I will review the book chapter by chapter and pose some questions, speculations, reflections, and such. I am hoping that readers will also be reading the book and will be thinking about these things along with their own reflections and questions.

So, rather than just sitting down to write a review and posting it, I will be constructing the review piece by piece, analyzing each piece as we go. This will happen throughout the months of June and July. When I get through the entire book, I will put it all together and write another review, a summary, that synthesizes everything. This entire document will be freely available on this site for anyone to download and use in their own book discussion groups, individually, and since this is a textbook, hopefully in courses that teach Joe’s work. When I get to the point in the book, wherever that may be – and it may very well be the end of the book, I just don’t know – then, I will reveal more about the major insights I have discovered. I am hoping that using this process will also aid in my explaining them better. Also, I want to be sure and let people know that there are many more insights in Joe’s book that I have not discovered.  As I said, he wrote on multiple levels and I do not even begin to claim I know all of them or have analyzed all of them. There are multiple gifts in this book just waiting for anyone to discover them. And so, today I will begin with the Preface of the book.

Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction by Joe L. Kincheloe

An Online Version of the Book is Available Here

Preface (pp. vii-x).

Joe begins by pointing out that much of what is supposed to pass as “knowledge” today is, in reality, “disinformation” that is distributed by those who have the power and resources to take on such a task in order to serve their own interests in maintaining their power, control, and resources. He cites the Iraq War as an example of how false information was widely disseminated in order to get the buy-in of the masses and gain public support for a war that was waged on false pretenses.

Think back before the war began. What information did you receive at that time about the reasons we needed to go to war. Where did you learn the information? Did you believe it? Who was responsible for distributing misinformation and what appears to be their purpose? If you are a parent or teacher, what did you teach your children/students about bin Laden, the 911 incident, and the Iraq War? What did the children believe about it? Today, do you wish you would have handled it differently and if so, in what way? What were the global perceptions at the time? Were other countries supporting U.S. actions and what effect did this have on your opinion or assessment of the situation?

In the second paragraph, Joe discusses the formation of “ideological consciousness.” What does this mean to you? What is consciousness? What is ideology? Use a dictionary or other resource to define these. How do people in power use ideology to manipulate people or otherwise attempt to mold their consciousness? Think about a work or school situation in which you were manipulated into some sort of behavior against your free will or better judgment. Who was the person (or people) in power?” What “knowledge” did they use to mold your thinking so that you would comply? What were some of the ideological factors interwoven into your example? Did you agree with all of them? Some of them? And how did the situation make you feel as a person? Were you angry, humiliated, happy to comply, feel you were meeting your duty?

How does consciousness relate to our “thirst for knowledge,” which Joe contends is a “central dimension of being alive and active in the world?” (p. vii). Which type of knowledge would make you thirst more – the knowledge that gives you power to construct your own consciousness, or that knowledge that others tell you is important whereby they have the power to construct your consciousness for you? Think about your earliest learning experiences. Did you love learning then? Why? Think about a learning experience that you disliked or made you uncomfortable. Did you love learning then? What type of learning have you experienced most during your lifetime – joyful, engaged, interesting learning, or learning that someone else pushed on you for some purpose outside yourself, perhaps learning that you knew would have no useful purpose in your future?

Joe states, “In the neo-liberal, market-dominated, corporate media saturated, globalized world of the contemporary era, I have never been so parched for the pure water of transformative Information. Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction is a quest for such water” (p. vii). In context of his discussion here, what type of knowledge was Joe thirsty for? Do you have that same sort of thirst? What does this perhaps warn us about all of the vast amounts of information, aka “knowledge,” we have readily available on the Internet? What are some ways we can evaluate that knowledge and determine whether it can quench our thirst, or perhaps is molding our consciousness in ways we would not wish as we read it?

What is the foundation of Joe’s book? Exactly what is an epistemological curiosity? Why and how is it a complex concept within the context of media and schooling? Does media satisfy a healthy epistemological curiosity? Does school? How so? Provide an example of learning in which the primary focus is learning about an object “in and of itself.” Why is this insufficient and how does it relate to complexity? Is there value, in your view, to understanding objects within contexts of greater complexity vs. learning what Joe refers to as “factoids” or just bits of out of context information that often are asked to be repeated on standardized tests? What might be the benefits of each type of learning? If you were to weight a learning experience, would you want it to lean toward factoids or toward an understanding of the complexities? Why? Provide a concrete example of each type of learning and how they might interrelate.

Should learning encompass the teaching of responsibility, ethics, stewardship, care, and actions that demonstrate these attributes? Joe’s theoretical formulation does call for action – from teachers, students, administrators, parents, the community, etc. How might this fit into your current views and/or of teaching and learning? How might it fit into your curriculum or daily informal learning?

Where does Joe suggest that we look for knowledge? What are some sources of knowledge that are around you which you have not seriously considered previously? What type of knowledge might these new sources provide and how might that knowledge be valuable? Your assignment: Choose any source of knowledge you previously discredited that resides in a low-power place, seek more information from that person or place, and then evaluate your experience. Did you uncover something more valuable than you previously imagined? Or do you already incorporate these practices in your daily life? Perhaps you reside in one of those low-power places. What knowledge do you observe that is discredited by our current educational system? What are the consequences of discrediting this knowledge?

How many years was Joe a teacher, researcher, etc.? What activity did he find led him to some of his greatest and most unique perspectives and insights? How can differences, or what Paulo Freire referred to as “viable novelty” and which Joe has referred to as “power of difference” work to help us “evolve” criticality? In other words, what might our quest be if we wish to continually develop new insights and new ways of seeing? What do we need to keep doing? What is an important demeanor to maintain during our quest? Why?

It should be noted that Joe was a master of humility. I have lost count of the number of times people have commented on what a humble, humble man he was. What does it mean to be humble? What behaviors would you change in yourself to be more humble? Does this change who you are or what your needs might be? I ask this question because from my own experience, humble people tend to also get stepped on. I am fairly humble myself, although I understand that by what I am doing right now, many people will misinterpret it to mean that I want to be noticed. People can think what they wish, but the fact of the matter is I am putting myself out here for Joe – just as I did when he was alive when I helped him with his Freire Project. I see the enormous value of his work and what a great person he was and I am dedicated to seeing that others see it too. If people want to interpret that as a non-humble act, then so be it. Joe’s great work and his greatness as a man is worth my gaining negative labels which can’t harm me.

At any rate, I know what treatment can come to a humble person from people who have no heart -- I have literally been kicked when I was down, so to speak, many times. There are many ways one can be raped. Humbleness is why I identified so much with Joe – well, just one of the reasons; there are many others. He has described in many of his books some of the mistreatment he had been subjected to, and my heart went out to him. At any rate, there seems to be this misconception that Joe did not want attention on him. I think this was true to an extent and that there is no one simplistic answer for why this may have been the case (I also think it was a sacrifice he consciously made for a number of reasons); however, regardless of the reasons why, it in no way meant that he did not want the world to know his work. In fact this very book currently under review was a huge undertaking and is hugely important to education -- and of so course he wanted people to know about it!

As I have noted Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction is, in my view, the most monumental book ever written in the field of education. There is just no possible way I can be convinced that, after Joe spent thousands upon thousands of hours writing for us – leaving us this absolutely beautiful work of his, “a gift to the world” as I told him -- that he would want it all to be shoved into the dustbins of history. He did not write purely for himself. He loved writing, this is true, but he loved people more and he wanted to leave us gifts that can move us to a higher evolutionary phase with an expanded consciousness whereby we can also know and love people, the earth, research, learning, knowledge, and writing as much as he did. He knew this was the key to making the world a better place for us all and his work is a guide for helping us get there. As I have mentioned many times, this does not mean at all that we leave other people’s work out of the equation. Of course, he would not approve of that at all and he had gone out of his way in his extreme generosity to see that even new upcoming scholars’ voices were heard. But this web site is for Joe and his work. My gift to him for the gifts he gave -- and continues to give -- to me.

My focus here on this web site -- my calling, so to speak, is to ensure that Joe’s monumentally important work is promoted, understood and applied, albeit, in my case I take an extremely creative approach, I’ll admit. There is a “method to my madness” (lol). People “have got to come to grips with” (Joe’s words) the fact that education must escape its straitjacket. We are suffocating our children and destroying humanity….can’t you see??? Get a grip. Loosen up. Get off the elite power trips. Lighten up. Have some fun. Forget capitalism – it ain’t gonna work anymore. This is not to say that everyone needs to follow my example, but at least let’s have more freedom and creativity in how we do “schooling.” And if you are not “game,” then at least allow others to have their fun.

And so, like Joe, I am treasure hunting – for people – brilliant treasures who are totally fed up with education as it is practiced today and who want to do something fun, daring, interesting, and something that can take education and people to whole new “mindscapes” (Joe). Joe’s theory allows us to freely dance all around and gather interesting views from all angles, to gather knowledges that ever expands one’s consciousness, and then to synthesize them as we wish to create something totally new and amazing, as his work illustrates. And it is fun! I truly miss him. He knew how to dance well. I wish more people did.

To be continued….

With Love, Peace, & Solidarity,

Vanessa

There is going to be an unstoppable Great Change in Education that radiates outward to affect almost every aspect of people’s personal and professional lives. It will be a wonderful and beautiful thing and everything is in place for it to begin soon. Literally everyone will be working on this together, with the exception of the few at the top who are pushing education in the wrong direction for their own personal gain. Students are fed up with what they are being put through by the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act, which as most of us know by now has no good purpose whatsoever. They are fed up with the stress and pain of being forced to take so many standardized tests which only serve to judge, label, and track them into directions not selected out of their own free will. These students are becoming adults, you know, where they have greater power to impact change.

Teachers are fed up with being made into puppets or as Joe sometimes expresses, “technocrats” who are forced to regurgitate lies and mindless factoids through a scripted curriculum, as if they do not have minds, cannot think for themselves, nor develop a worthy curriculum out of their own creative abilities.  Joe also refers to this as the “deprofesssionalization” of teaching and he talks about all of this in his books, of course. Parents are fed up with being forced to send their children to schools that do not teach real knowledge, but seem to rather prepare children to work as slaves in a collapsing capitalist system and schools and work where zero tolerance policies serve as a form of torture and abuse. People the world over are tired of the injustices that are committed on them at the hands of the U.S. Imperialist and elite classes.

Little children all over the U.S. are crying every morning because they are being forced to go to schools that make them miserable and unhappy and where they are not allowed to learn about the things they are passionate about. Little children the world over are crying because they are not allowed to go to school at all, but instead have to engage in free labor so that the capitalists can increase their profit. There is much more and Joe talks about it in his books, and even better, he has some ingenious answers that could help us work toward solutions for all of these problems.

If I could have any wish I desired, I would wish that people are awakened to just how monumental Joe’s educational work is and that we have truly been handed a gift that will help rescue us from all of this craziness and insanity we must currently confront each day. It would be that people truly realize how his work can do exactly what he says in his books -- make the world a better place -- more democratic, more socially just, and one in which human suffering has been eliminated. In that sense, my wish would be much like living a fairy tale come true -- perhaps of the prince coming down in on his great white horse, slaying all of the dragons, and working his magic across the land. It would be amazing and beautiful.

Wow, the roses are blooming. As I had stated previously, I am supposed to have some sort of enlightenment or major insight at this time, and it really and truly is coming at me fast and furiously. I have already written up several blogs explaining what I have come to realize in detail and of course it centers around Joe’s work, but I also realize that perhaps it would be best if I begin preparing readers for everything that is going to be coming at them before I get too deep into conveying it. All at once would be too much and there is some background work that is essential.  The revelations are quite monumental and there are more are on the way. In fact, I will continue to receive them for quite some time since the roses have only just begun to bloom and I believe that I will be learning much more as more and more roses bloom. Maybe after the roses finally quit blooming, I will have to go into hiatus and rest up.

So I have decided that rather than pour too much out at you at one time, I will just say this for now. Joe’s last book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction is the most monumental book ever written in the discipline of education. I have no doubts about that, whatsoever, especially after the insights about his book began coming in. And so, what I am urging everyone to do is to purchase a copy of the book or check it out of the library and read it as soon as possible. You will need the knowledge in that book for the rapid changes that will be taking place. And when you read it, keep in mind that Joe wrote on multiple levels at once; I have counted as many as nine levels. So try to shift your consciousness in and out of the different possible levels as you read – not nine levels, since that is getting to the super human stage, but if you can manage at least two or three levels as you read it, it will definitely be worth your effort. You will discover a few of Joe’s postformal treasures.

What would be ideal is to set up a weekly book discussion group with your friends where you read a chapter and then you get together and discuss your reading. I promise you, you will all be very amazed. Also, I have selected this book for my first book review, so I will be adding my review to the site before the end of the month and I will remind people once again, it is highly important to read this particular book. And don’t worry if you don’t understand it all; I didn’t either. What I have found out is that what I thought I did not understand seeped into my consciousness anyway due to the multiple levels of communication Joe used throughout and I understand more of it than I realized. Then, when I need particular information from the book, it just comes to me, or I know where to find it. So, even if you think you do not understand something, just keep reading. What you are reading is what Joe was thinking, and research has shown that we can advance in our own thinking skills just by reading the works of advanced thinkers and writers.

Please read this book as soon as you can. It will prepare you to have a greater understanding of the things I have learned and will reveal to you over the next few weeks. Again, I could just throw it all out here now, but the problem is it is just too much information already and I know there will be more coming faster than I can assimilate and synthesize into writing to send on to you. This will need to be handled in a more controlled fashion to keep everyone from feeling overwhelmed. It will also provide me a little time since it appears I am going to need to do some research on Einstein to supplement what I am learning.

Just so you know, this is not some capitalist maneuver to sell books. I do not receive any money from the sales of this book; in fact I have no idea who does. I assume his family does and from what I have heard, he has a very loving and deserving family (I have not had the opportunity to know them). I am only pointing out that I have no connection whatsoever with anyone who benefits from the sale of this book since this is a nonprofit site, and I am merely recommending it because it was one of Joe’s most monumental and prescient works, it shows where he was heading with his work, and it is going to have a huge, huge impact on education. So we might as well get started on this now rather than later. You will be ahead of the game if you read it soon. If you wait, you may feel disoriented when things start moving along because from what I understand this change in education is going to be quite fast. Our children are angry with the course of events over the past few years and they are ready for some real action, as are many, many other people who are impacted by education and the way things have been handled recently. Of course, there are also many other books Joe has written that will be essential reading, and we will get to them, but for now we will focus on this particular book and we will tie all of his other books into this down the road and come to understand how they might help those of us who deal with education – virtually all of us – adjust to and even facilitate the changes that will be coming at us.

The book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction can be purchased from Amazon.com or here, at Springer.  I recommend Springer because they are a smaller book publishing firm and I believe we really need to support more small businesses as much as it is possible, and Springer is very fast with delivery. I know, since that is where I ordered my copy of the book immediately after I learned about it last fall. 

Here is a short review of the book for now: Short Review of Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction.

I hope everyone will read it! It will change your life, providing you read the entire book – it changed my life. And it will give you the background information needed to fully understand what I will be discussing over the next few weeks.

But then again, maybe I am only writing a fairy tale here…and wishing that fairy tales could come true. Time will tell. At least I am committed and devoted to getting the word out. Here I am on Sunday, my day off from this work which I do not even get paid for, conveying this information to the world…Joe would just say in a situation such as this, “call me crazy.” And I STILL have to explain what he meant by that. I have learned much more about it now and there is a logical and sane explanation of why he would make such a comment; it is much deeper than trying to be humorous, although he took great pleasure in humor. Have a great Sunday.

With Love,

Vanessa

Lyrics to Great White Horse:

When I was a young girl I used to dream of a lover
To be my shining knight of strength one day
He'd carry me to a castle in the heavens
And battle all my dragons on the way
And he'd ride down on a great white horse
He'd bring me love I was longing for
He'd bring me joy and lasting peace
And on a great white horse he'd ride away with me

When he was a young man he used to dream of a maiden
With long soft hair flowing in the wind
My laughing eyes and loving arms would follow
When he'd sail around the world and back again
And he'd ride down on a great white horse
He'd bring the love I was longing for
He'd bring me laughter and sunny days
And on a great white horse he'd carry me away

References

Kincehloe, J. L. (2008). Knowledge and Critiical Pedagogy: An Introduction. Amsterdam: Springer.

Photo of Dom Pedro I, Brazil, courtesy of Microsoft.