Liberatory
Education
Schooling
is
not
neutral
(McLaren,
2007)
because
it
distributes
power
and
opportunities
unequally
and
inequitably
to
students
(Kincheloe,
2004).
Evidence
of
this
can
be
seen
at
the
macro-‐level,
such
as
funding
schools
through
property
taxes,
a
practice
that
benefits
students
living
in
affluent
communities.
We
also
see
inequality
at
the
micro-‐level,
such
as
giving
students
who
are
behind
less
to
learn
and
tasks
that
require
more
literal-‐level
understandings
than
understandings
that
require
synthesis
and
evaluation
of
ideas.
Paulo
Freire
(1993)
contrasts
two
types
of
educational
practices:
the
banking
model
and
liberatory
education.
In
a
banking
model,
teachers
hold
the
knowledge
and
decide
when
to
disburse
it
and
to
whom.
This
type
of
pedagogy
is
typically
enacted
in
low-‐level
classes.
In
contrast,
Freire
describes
problem-‐posing
pedagogy.
In
this
type
of
classroom,
teachers
base
their
instruction
on
the
students
–
what
they
know,
who
they
are,
what
their
questions
are
–
for
the
purposes
of
gaining
knowledge
and
power
so
they
can
be
subjects
of
their
lives.
A
liberatory
context
is
a
classroom
that
encourages
students
to
explore
ideas
and
to
both
pose
and
solve
problems
(Freire,
1993).
A
critical
context
is
a
classroom
that
encourages
students
to
ask
critical
questions
(McLaughlin
&
DeVoogd,
2004).
RECONCEPTUALIZING
CONTENT
AREA
LITERACY
STRATEGIES
You
will
likely
recognize
the
content
area
reading
strategies
I
describe
in
the
next
section
of
this
paper.
However,
what
distinguishes
these
from
typical
content
area
reading
strategies
is
that
they
are
framed
in
some
or
all
of
the
theoretical
bases
described
above:
schema
theory,
culturally
relevant
pedagogy,
motivation
to
read,
and
liberatory
education.
In
my
descriptions
of
these
literacy
strategies,
I
have
also
included
the
concepts
or
ideas
that
students
would
be
expected
to
learn.
This
is
to
reinforce
the
notion
that
these
strategies
are
not
means
to
the
end
of
“being
a
better
reader.”
Rather,
these
are
tools
to
contribute
to
students’
understandings
of
important
ideas
in
their
content
area
classes.
I
present
examples
from
academic
courses
since
they
represent
high
stakes
for
students,
though
these
could
also
be
adapted
for
the
arts
and
physical
education.
As
you
read
these
examples,
consider
how
each
builds
on
one
or
more
of
the
four
theoretical
frameworks
described
above:
(a)
encourages
students
to
consider
and
connect
to
their
existing
knowledge
(schema
theory),
(b)
honors
the
experiences
of
marginalized
groups
while
demonstrating
high
expectations
(culturally
relevant
pedagogy),
(c)
sets
up
interesting
or
provocative
questions
to
explore
(motivation
to
read),
and
(d)
provides
multiple
opportunities
for
students
to
engage
in
high-‐level
explorations
of
concepts
and
the
necessary
skills
and
strategies
to
accomplish
this.
Social
Sciences
Examples
These
examples
come
from
various
units
likely
to
be
taught
in
U.S.
History
classes.
One
example
of
a
concept
that
would
guide
all
or
part
of