Anarchist Pedagogies : Collective Actions, Theories, and Critical Reflections on Education

Notes
The author would like to extend his thanks all those who supported the writing and research of this essay: the friendly and helpful staff at the Northern Studies Resource Center at Lakehead University; Gary Kaunonen, who took the time to give a number of insightful comments and suggestions on an earlier draft, helping to greatly improve the rigor and quality of this work; and Harry Siitonen, who generously provided his personal lecture notes, a number of difficult-to-find sources on the Work People’s College, and his encyclopedic knowledge of the IWW and Finnish North American labor movements. Last, but not least, the author would like to thank the Twin Cities General Membership Branch of the IWW, and specifically, Jeff Pilacinski, Erik W. Davis, and Kieran Knutson for their support and the information they gave about their efforts to revive the Work People’s College. All translations from original Finnish sources in this chapter are b... (From : TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)

Section 3 : Philosophical Perspectives and Theoretical Frameworks
SECTION III. Philosophical Perspectives and Theoretical Frameworks DIALOGUE 3. (On a mountaintop, between two who are in fact one) Alejandro de Acosta A: See, there are movements. They issue calls, call out to each other, too. B: Yes, other self, and I hear, in their distant calls, discourses, stories. A: Look, somewhere someone finds or loses a self, as if one of us were to vanish to the other. B: Yes, and look, somewhere, a political act, one or more, unfolds, unfold. Already here, on this mountaintop, you and I, other self … A: I am not so sure. From up here all of this might come to seem strange, unlikely, incomprehensible. B: Fragile, at least. A: No homogenous spa... (From : TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)

Section 2 : Anarchist Pedagogies in the "Here and Now"
SECTION II. Anarchist Pedagogies in the “Here and Now” DIALOGUE 2. (In a crowded place, between strangers) Alejandro de Acosta A: Do you, stranger, have the sense that what is foremost in your concerns is echoed in an experiment that is unfolding right now? An experiment in freedom? B: In this crowd, everyone speaks at once, stories cross, become confused. It is difficult to stay focused on you, stranger, let alone my own concerns. But, yes, it is as if I had heard a tale of origins, forgotten, then remembered. If we grasp this experiment from the story of its origin … A: … or any other story about it with sufficient curiosity … B: … if we accept the challenge of a new problem under exploration … A:... (From : TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)

Section 1 : Anarchism & Education: Learning from Historical Experimentations
SECTION I. Anarchism & Education: Learning from Historical Experimentations DIALOGUE 1 (On a desert island, between friends) Alejandro de Acosta A: Even in the strangeness of our isolation, you want to discuss something you call anarchist pedagogy? Haven’t we been circling around this topic for some time now? Well, if I understand your expression, it is already underway. B: Yes, it has been underway for centuries. A: And yet, here in our isolation, we feel the need to talk it over again. What’s more, if I know you, you will want to narrate a myth of origin … B: Remember, always, that it is just that, a myth, a story. A: So maybe I am the one who is inclined to fabulate here. We agree that it is underway,... (From : TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)

Introduction
Introduction Robert H. Haworth As I sit to write this introduction I am reminded of a particular teaching experience I had almost a decade ago. During class, I was passing out the dreaded federal standardized test when one of my students who considered himself an anarcho-punk yelled out, “Hey … Mr. Haworth, you are a fucking sellout!” I couldn’t help but think about the two decades I had been involved in punk and hardcore, as well as the intense collective work many (including myself) had participated in throughout those years. How could I be a sellout? I stopped everything and asked him what it meant to be a “punk,” and how he identified and acted as an anarchist within the overwhelming functions of the state and capitalism? I went on to ask the rest of the class specifically, “If I don’t have a certain punk esthetic and work as a teacher in the public schools, is that considered selli... (From : TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)