"Empowering Education" Shor quotes

"People are naturally curious. They are born learners. Education can either develop or stifle their inclination to ask why and to learn"

I think the author is trying to point out that we can't just tell people that something is true just because. We need to explain why it's true and if we talking about something that has yet to be proven, we need to teach them how to ask the write questions. The author is saying that everyone is born with the ability to learn but when they enter school, a place that should be encouraging learning, some are being left behind because they learn differently and no one is teaching them differently.

"Empowered students make meaning and act from refelction, instead of memorizing facts and values handed to them"

I think the authour is saying that these are the qualities a teacher should be trying to bring out of their students. If "empowered students" are our future leaders then we should be encouraging all students to think critically and ask why. Teachers shouldn't let them accept "just because" as a reason why. This will teach them what questions to ask and expand their knowledge.

"Empowered education, as I define it here, is a critical-democratic pedagogy for self and social change. It is a student-centered program for multicultural democracy in school and society. It approaches individual growth as an active, cooperative, and social process, because the self and society create each other"

The author argues that students today are the future of society. We need to teach them the past and present while also helping them to develop social skills. In order for them to succeed in life, they will need to have the knowledge and ability to ask the right questions while also having the social skills to work with others. Society can change us but we can also change society.

In class I would like to talk about what we as future teachers can do to further this idea. How are we going to develop a student centered education in our classrooms?

Check out this page with the background on Ira Shor with videos of a keynote address he gave.