Freirean Echoes

“Th(e) inspiring dialogic space the book lovingly constructs in the multiplicity of voices is truly Freirean. The book does not merely focus on key concepts of Freirean ideas; it fosters communicating and re/living the Freirean ideas of liberation, justice, critical consciousness, critical action, love, and hope in their dialogic praxis...The book, while a profound contribution, beckons us to continue the dialogue, not just within its pages but in the lived experiences of every one of us towards human freedom.”

Teachers College Record, January 2024 review by Ying Ma, Department of Educational Studies at Kwantlen Polytechnic University

“Truth be told, Freirean education is more necessary now than it has ever been. As a critical contemplation for educators to consider when re-imagining, implementing, and evaluating Freirean foundations during these unprecedented times, Freirean Echoes: Scholars and Practitioners Dialogue on Critical Ideas in Education offers contemporary, liberatory, and powerful insights that aim to uplift ideas that might otherwise be silenced by mainstream approaches to reform. This is a must-read anthology for educators and those concerned with humanization and social transformation in society and schools.”

Patrick Camangian, Professor of Teacher Education, University of San Francisco

“This stunning, intergenerational volume of speeches, inspiring vignettes and brilliantly framed questions is perfectly timed for us to celebrate Paulo Freire’s centennial year and to reflectively renew the challenge his life brings to our own praxis. Indeed, this collection lovingly compels us to share Freire’s rare and precious gift of vision that critically views and denounces oppression while inspiring us to continually see and declare the possibilities of freedom for all people. These two aspects of critical consciousness can be metaphorically compared to our physical capacity of sight which holistically unites the field of vision in both eyes into one unified perspective.”

Robert Lake, Professor of Social Foundations and Curriculum Studies, Georgia Southern University

“Freirean Echoes: Scholars and Practitioners Dialogue on Critical Ideas in Education is a magnificent book that expands the boundaries of critical pedagogy. As readers enter the dialogic space created between scholars and educators of past and present, they’ll be challenged to reflect on the power and possibility of Paolo Freire’s vision coming to life. Each chapter inspires a sense of renewal and hope that being human means recognizing that we are unfinished. This collection of essays thoughtfully celebrates what happens when distinguished authors and inquisitive readers share space reimagining education, community, and the world.”

Christopher Lewis, Freirian scholar and K-12school practitioner in the El Monte Union High School District

Dedication to Tom Wilson
Suzanne SooHoo

Acknowledgments

Can Text Be Dialogic? An Introduction
Charlotte Achieng-Evensen, Kevin Stockbridge, and Suzanne SooHoo

Section One

Chapter One
The Presence of Paulo Freire at Chapman University
Ana Maria Araújo Freire

Chapter Two
Untested Feasibility: My Reflection on Paulo and Nita Freire’s Hope for Utopia
Anaida Colón-Muñiz

Chapter Three
Untested Feasibility and the Work of Emancipation in a Social Science Classroom
Edgar Orejel

Section One: Questions and Activity


Section Two

Chapter Four
The 2RA Method: Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy in Formal Classroom Settings
Tom Wilson

Chapter Five
Read, Reflect, Act with Tom Wilson
Suzanne SooHoo

Chapter Six
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Gregory Warren

Section Two: Questions and Activity


Section Three

Chapter Seven
Comrade Jesus, the Dialectic Regained: An Epistolic Manifesto
Peter McLaren

Chapter Eight
Postdigital Gathering
Petar Jandrić

Chapter Nine
In Conversation with Peter: Becoming Teachers and Scholars for Social Change
Charlotte Achieng-Evensen and Kevin Stockbridge

Section Three: Questions and Activity


Section Four

Chapter Ten
Freire and the Politics of Radical Consciousness
Antonia Darder

Chapter Eleven
Revolution as Dialectical, Communal Praxis: A Response to Antonia Darder
Lilia D. Monzó

Chapter Twelve
Liberation Through Love: Things Freire and My Mama Taught Me
Kimberly A. White-Smith

Section Four: Questions and Activity


Section Five

Chapter Thirteen
Re-Inventing Paulo Freire Ethically
Donaldo Macedo

Chapter Fourteen
Freire, Ethics, and Revolutionary Love: A Response to Donaldo Macedo’s “Re-Inventing Paulo Freire Ethically
Cathery Yeh

Chapter Fifteen
A Journey Toward Coherence: Responding to Donaldo Macedo
Christian Alejandro Bracho

Section Five: Questions and Activity

Afterword: A Meditative Breath
Suzanne SooHoo, Kevin Stockbridge, and Charlotte Achieng-Evensen

About the Authors

Index

Charlotte Achieng-Evensen

Charlotte Achieng-Evensen is a K-12 practitioner and academic. Currently, she serves her school district as a Teacher Specialist focusing on research, policy, program coordination, and instructional coaching. At the university level, Dr. Evensen teaches a variety of courses in teacher education. Her scholarly work is centered in the intersections of Indigenous Philosophies and colonization, culturally responsive methodologies, and K-12 teaching praxis.

Kevin Stockbridge

Kevin Stockbridge is an Assistant Professor and Student Affairs Liaison in the Master of Arts in Teaching program at Chapman University. He is a critical educator and researcher dedicated to a radically inclusive world through engagement of democracy in the classroom and beyond. Kevin has co-edited and co-authored with scholars on several works that seek to advance and reframes transformative educational conversations for the sake of social justice.

Suzanne SooHoo

Suzanne SooHoo is the former Endowed Hassinger Chair in Education and the co-director, emerita of the Paulo Freire Democratic Project at Chapman University, Orange, California. She is one of ten Asian American endowed chairs in the U.S. Her current research interests focuses on critical pedagogy, Freirean philosophy and culturally responsive methodologies. As a former school principal and full professor, she has committed a lifetime to understanding and nurturing relationships and engaging dialogically towards the development of a more humane and socially just world.