We Make the Road by Walking: Conversations on Education and Social Change

Two pioneers of education discuss their diverse experiences and ideas

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgments Editors' Introduction 1. Introduction "We make the road by walking" 2. Formative Years "I was always getting in trouble for reading in school" "Reading has to be a loving event" "I couldn't use all this book learning" "I always am in the beginning, as you" "Pockets of hope": Literacy and citizenship 3. Ideas "Without practice there's no knowledge" "Is it possible just to teach biology?" "I've always been ambivalent about charismatic leaders" "The difference between education and organizing" "My expertise is in knowing not to be an expert" "My respect for the soul of the culture" "I learned a lot from being a father" 4. Educational Practice "The more the people become themselves, the better the democracy" "Highlander is a weaving of many colors" "Conflicts are the midwife of consciousness" 5. Education and Social Change "You have to bootleg education" "The people begin to get their history into their hands, and then the role of education changes" 6. Reflections "Peaks and valleys and hills and hollers" "It's necessary to laugh with the people" Epilogue Index

Review :
"We Make the Road by Walking is a book of compelling passion, politics, and hope. The dialogue between Horton and Freire opens up new insights into the meaning of pedagogy, social criticism, and collective struggle. This book offers hope by demonstrating in the voices and practices of two of the great educator-activists of the twentieth century the reason for making pedagogy practical and theoretical in the service of social justice." --Professor Henry A. Giroux, Director, Center for Education and Cultural Studies, Miami University "This book is an inspiration... People interested in learning and social change will find in these pages hope, humor, passion, guidance, and humility. This final conversation between two educator from different continents reveals their common dream of human liberation, their common commitment to love and justice." --Professor Ira Shor, College of Staten Island, CUNY "The Myles Horton-Paulo Freire talks represent one of the most important educational conversations of the twentieth century... This is the first book since Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed that I have said must be read." --Budd L. Hall, Secretary-General, International Council for Adult Education "An indispensable book for anyone who still believes that ordinary men and women can be helped to learn to take control over their own destinies and to create a humane, democratic, and just society." --Professor Jack Mezirow, Teachers College, Columbia University "Horton, the recently deceased founder of the Highland Folk School, and Freire, a Brazilian education leader, were from two different backgrounds, but their shared views on the use of participatory education in bringing about social change are the basis for this thought-provoking, beautifully presented book. Arranged in the form of a written conversation, it provides an intimate view of two men who based their work upon the belief that a good education required three basic elements: love for people, respect for people's abilities to shape their own lives, and the capacity to value others' experiences. This is a book to be read in one sitting, meditated upon, and returned to again for its quiet power and sustenance." --Library Journal "In a volume filled with interesting anecdotes, two leaders in education and social activism discuss their literacy campaigns, the nature of social change, and empowerment through education--shedding light on the problems faced by educators and activists who seek to link participatory education with the practice of social change." --Directions