[AAACE-NLA] GED programs with a popular education approach

[Peter MacMonagle]

Colleagues,

In some graduate education classes, especially those concerned with Critical Pedagogy and newer approaches to composition and rhetoric, the GED is simply Reproductive Education. It's purpose is liberation only in the sense that it grants a certificate that the student can read, write (marginally), and can do mid-high-school math for an entry level job. Witness the perpetuation of the five paragraph essay, a product that is so far from writing for the real world that it is merely a flimsy pretext for being able to write for an academic audience or corporate America.

My currrent work in a degree program in Urban Education and Literacy makes use of research that clearly shows that for a segment of the population, the GED works fine for preparing students to get out of the educational rut they are in and allow them to show up at an interview educated somewhere in the middle of high school. Currently I would call it a "school to work" remediation program.

But education as Freire saw it is not anywhere near the target. Critical pedagogy, like liberation theology (the roots of Paolo Freiere's work), requires working for social change at the grass roots level. I doubt the powers-that-be will fund any education that seeks to overturn the current reliance on the College Board monopoly on what constitutes education in this country.

This is probably why you see so few, if any, funded programs that advocate social change and individual empowerment outside of the present educational system. There are too many kingdoms (read school boards and state and federal agencies) that will not allow that to happen. If we want that to happen, we will have to do it without their help.

Wm. Peter MacMonagle, M.Ed. 
Central Piedmont Community College 
Community Development/Workplace Basic Skills 
West Campus 2219 
704-330-4668 

"I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world 
that truly makes living worthwhile?"
Death thought about it.
"Cats," he said eventually. "Cats are nice." 
Terry Pratchett, Sourcery



-----Original Message-----
From: aaace-nla-bounces at lists.literacytent.org on behalf of David Rosen
Sent: Thu 1/4/2007 6:18 PM
To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by AAACE
Subject: Re: [AAACE-NLA] GED programs with a popular education approach
 
Colleagues,

I have received several e-mail replies to my positing below, but have  
still not identified a GED preparation program that could be  
described as using a popular education approach.  A couple of people  
said they had the greatest respect for the theme-based program at  
CUNY I cited but said that it does not use a popular education/ 
Freirean/participatory approach. One person said GED preparation and  
a popular education approach are a contradiction.

If you know of a GED program that you believe uses a popular  
education approach, please e-mail me the name and give me a contact  
if you can.

Thanks,

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net


On Jan 4, 2007, at 7:19 AM, David Rosen wrote:
> Colleagues,
>
> In a conversation yesterday I was asked if I know of good examples  
> of GED preparation programs which use a popular education, or  
> participatory (Freirean) approach.  I am only aware of one, a theme- 
> based approach that the City University of New York adult literacy  
> GED program has used for over a decade.  If you have others to  
> suggest I would be pleased to hear about them.  Thanks.
>
> David J. Rosen
> djrosen at comcast.net


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