Dan Royer: Leading Adult Educators Paper

Educational Leaders

Dan W. Royer

Ball State University

Booker T Washington

Background

Booker Taliafaro Washington is one of the most powerful and influential African American educators of his time whose efforts promoted practical and technical education to former slaves.  He was active in education from the time he graduated the Hampton Institute in 1875 (Booker Taliaferro Washington, 2011).  Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Virginia.  His mother was a mulatto slave while his father was a white man who was never known to him.  Being born into slavery meant that his heritage would not necessarily be known to him (Booker Taliaferro Washington, 2011).  However, following the end of slavery and the Civil War, he found himself working menial labor and attending school part time.  From these very humble beginnings, Washington moves forward to lead the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, focused on educating African Americans and emphasizing practical education.  Antonio Bly (2008) said, “His was a real life Horatio Alger rags-to-riches story.  In an era defined by graft and industry, the former Virginia slave overcame to the challenges of slavery, Reconstruction, and southern prejudice.” (p. 192)

Contributions

Washington’s contribution as an African American was extraordinary in a period when the bulk of former slaves were struggling to subsist.  Education had been officially restricted through the use of state specific slave codes, but following the conclusion of the Civil War, there was a change in the way education was viewed for former slaves.  Dennis (2001) reflects the general view of the period, “Morally and intellectually stunted by slavery, blacks were only capable of racial improvement under the guidance of liberal minded Southerners.” (p. 115)  Washington’s contribution was influenced no doubt by his education at the Hampton Institute (Booker Taliaferro Washington, 2011).  Washington developed an outlook very similar to the outlook of the institute and leaders where he was educated.

For example, Dennis (2001) observes that Charles Dabney president of the University of Tennessee argued that to “. . . neglect black education would lead to the debasement of whites.” (p. 118)  While some have understood Washington to be an accommodator to those who would use higher education to manipulate African Americans, there is an alternative viewpoint offered by Antonio T. Bly (2008) “He manipulated platitudes as though they were checkers in the game of life, sometimes crowning platitude on platitude to increase their force.  His aim was not intellectual clarity, but power.  His genius was that of stratagem.” (p. 191)  Washington’s contributions came through his work at both the Hampton and Tuskegee Institutes where he helped to train multitudes of African American educators.

Some took issue with Washington’s willingness to work within a system which was clearly based upon the racism which allowed slavery to exist, and sought to maintain white supremacy through the control of higher education for blacks (Dennis, 2001).  Washington was product of his era and one who personally experienced the deprivations of slavery.  He arrived at the Hampton Institute with fifty cents in his pocket and tuition was paid by friend of the principle (Booker Taliaferro Washington, 2011).

Washington was a product of his time which meant that his approach was viewed as too accommodating in a system which sought to maintain racial domination.  Washington focused attention on the ability of education to improve the economic condition of former slaves within the White dominated culture of the south.  His efforts included recruiting the funding of wealthy northerners such as Carnegie and Rockefeller, who funded Tuskegee and Hampton for a combined $4.6 million compared to $700,000 for Lincoln University a black liberal arts university (Dennis, 2001).

As an educator from Alabama, Washington took advantage of his position to address many of the social issues and injustices being experienced by African Americans in the south.  In his open letter to the Louisiana State Constitutional Convention, he (in diplomatic terms) protested against the proposals to disenfranchise African American voters through the use of restrictive literacy tests (Bly, 2008). 

Washington further addressed the social justice issue in his letter to the southern press, written in response to the lynching of Sam Hose in 1899 (Bly, 2008).  Lynching was the practice of executing those suspected of perpetrating sexual assaults against white women without the due process of law.  The bulk of those lynched were African Americans.  He cites the disproportionate share of executions of black men (102) out of the total reported lynchings (127) of the total he observes that only 24 were suspected of rape (Bly, 2008, p. 208) While Washington was not harshly critical of the system which allowed these injustices to exist he did not ignore them either.  Washington was more concerned with the practical application of education to advance the lives of former slaves.

Impact

Washington had an enormous impact and was considered an influential leader in the education of African Americans until his death in 1915.  He continued to serve as a spokesperson for a more accommodating and diplomatic approach to African American education.  His Tuskegee Institute educated hundreds of African American educators.

Washington was also influential through his influence as a speaker and is noted for his attempts to speak out against the social injustices of disenfranchising African American voters, lynching of African Americans in the south, and what he called the ‘cancer of racism’.  His diplomatic approach often led others to assume he was too accommodating and not outspoken enough against social injustice.

Implications

Washington’s contribution and the influence of the Hampton philosophy lives on today and is often witnessed in the mission of the community college.  Cohen and Brawer (2008) observe that “The community colleges’ diligence in recruiting students from segments of the population that had not previously attended college yielded sizable increases in the college attendance of ethnic minorities.” (p. 53)   In many ways the modern community college movement carries on the philosophy of the earlier Hampton and Tuskegee institutes for their students.  As the community college movement grows, an emphasis on education customized to the needs of the community in which they serve.  The curricula they teach focus on developmental, vocational and technical education leading toward employment of students to enhance their economic well-being.  According to Cohen and Brawer (2008), “The public’s view of community colleges as agents of upward mobility for individuals seems to be shifting toward a view of the institutions as occupational training centers (p. 279)

Paulo Freire

Background

Paulo Freire was born in 1921 in Brazil.  He began working with adult illiterate students in northwest Brazil in the 1940’s (Freire Insitute, 2012).  He continued to work with these adult learners developing a massive effort to dramatically reduce illiteracy.  In 1964, following a coup d’etat he was imprisoned for what the new regime considered to be subversive elements in his teaching (Freire Insitute, 2012).  Following his release he served in a variety of capacities, joining the Worker’s party and heading up its efforts to reduce adult illiteracy.  He finally was appointed Secretary of Education in 1988, finally passing away in 1997 (Freire Insitute, 2012).

  

Contributions

Paulo Freire was noted for his emphasis on dialogue and the fact that dialogue must include mutual respect.  This meant that one person was charged with the responsibility of ‘delivering’ education but that education was a process of the interaction which resulted from people working together (Smith, 2012).

Another major component of Freire’s thought was the way he addressed the subject of oppression and justice.  His Pedagogy of the Oppressed reflected his understanding that most prevailing educational practices actually served to make the dehumanized state resulting from oppression worse (Kumar, 1998)   According to Kumar (1998); “Education is not worthy of being called education, we learn from Freire, if its epistemology does not reflect a critical perspective on injustice and oppression” (p. 2912).  O’Cadiz and Torres (1994) quote Freire as writing:  “We should not call the people to school to receive instructions, postulations, recipes, threats, reprimands and punishments, but rather to participate in the collective construction of knowledge . . .” (p. 210)  They conclude their quote of Freire with the following: “The school should also be a center for the irradiation of popular culture, at the service of the community, not to consume it but to create it.” (O'Cadiz & Torres, 1994, pp. 210, 211)

Another prominent element in Freire’s came from this connection with the community and was labeled as praxis.  For Freire, this is action which is motivated and driven by specific values, which functions to build community and social capital (Smith, 2012).

A fourth element which makes Freire’s theories distinct is labeled as ‘conscienticising.’    Conscienticising is understood to be the development of conscience, but a conscience which can transform and change reality (Smith, 2012).  Additionally, Conscienticising includes an awareness that the oppressed are not only robbed by the oppressors of the products of culture, but also the awareness that the oppressed are authentic representatives of culture (Kumar, 1998).  Additionally, for Freire, pedagogy is not only about the teachable mind, but with changing the world by rethinking our position in history (McLaren, 1999)

Influence

It would be hard to overestimate the influence of Freire’s ideas.  Treating students with respect, conducting education through dialogue and working together in groups to leverage the power of the community in education have all been embraced as methods to become more effective educators.

Perhaps one of the most significant influences of Freire has been the work of Jack Mezirow who through Freire’s influence has developed the understanding of transformational education.  Freire was concerned with the transformation of culture through principled actions.  Mezirow attempted to quantify the experiences which lead to change and transformation and examined the disorientation and reorientation experiences.

Implications

While Freire saw the world in Marxian terms, and understood the oppressed to be the people of a culture who have been denied the access to the fruits of the culture which they helped to create.  He was also someone who saw education as a means of redressing the issues of inequities and oppression.  Kumar (1998) observed:  “For Freire, successful education should present a new situation not merely a sharpened version of people’s common sense” (p. 2914)  Freire was fundamentally committed to taking action based on principle which would lead to change.

Table 1  Leading Adult Educators

Area	Booker T Washington	Paulo Freire
Time Period	1856-1910	1921-1997
Background	Battled for African American Education in a post slavery society	Worked to combat illiteracy in Brazil
Contributions	Led the Tuskegee Institute and educated hundreds of African American educators in the development of practical knowledge and skills	Emphasized dialogue, praxis, pedagogy of the oppressed, situated educational activity in the lived experience, and use of metaphors drawn from Christianity
Impact	As an educational learner he was able to speak out against social injustices, and through his training methods improve the condition of many African Americans	A major influence of other educational thinkers such as Jack Mezirow who devised Transformational education
Implications	The impact of Booker T Washington can be seen today in the mission of the community colleges	Freire’s educational principles require action driven by principle with the goal of change.

References

Booker Taliaferro Washington. (2011, February 17). Retrieved from Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=39039361&site=ehost-live

Freire Insitute. (2012, 02 19). Retrieved from University of Lancashire UCLAN Freire Institute Web Site: http://www.freire.org/paulo-freire

Bly, A. T. (2008). Navigating the Print Line: Shaping Reader's Expectations in Booker T Washington's Autobiographies. The Alabama Review, 190-215.

Cohen, A. M., & Brawer, F. B. (2008). The American Community College. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Dennis, M. (2001). The Skillful Use of Higher Education to Protect White Supremacy. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 115-123.

Kumar, K. (1998). Freire's Legacy. Economic & Political Weekly, 2912-2915.

McLaren, P. (1999). A Pedagogy of Possibility: Reflecting on Paulo Freire's Politics of Education: In Memory of Paulo Freire. Educational Researcher (28), 2, 49-54, 56.

O'Cadiz, M. d., & Torres, C. A. (1994). Literacy, Social Movments, and Class Consciousness: Paths from Freire and the Sao Paulo Experience. Anthropology & Education Quarterly (25), 3, 208-225.

Smith, M. K. (2012, 02 19). infed. Retrieved from Paulo Freire and Informal Education: http://www.infeg.org/thinkers/et-freir.htm