Extending the Dialogue: Author’s Reply to Alan Singer and Michael Pezone

Abstract

The purpose of my article is not to privilege the work of educational theorists over that of practitioners. It is to contribute to the work of building stronger conceptual connections between them. In much of the literature and in many high schools, there are few well-conceived analytical tools that teachers can use to achieve praxis. I sought to fill the void by constructing ideal types for liberal and radical praxis that may be applied (or modified or rejected) in the facilitation of democratic dialogues. My intent is not to endorse or condemn either approach, but to promote the use of ideal types as analytical tools for linking the theories educators might embrace with the practices they could adopt within the contexts of their instruction. Democratic educators (and I use this phrase in the most inclusive sense) do share the same goals. We all acknowledge democratic dialogues as critical for the realization of a just, equitable, caring, and free society. Most of us value the need for carefully structured lessons that teach students how to participate in democratic processes. We differ in how we select and develop content, use language, manage social relations, and handle other essential components of classroom dialogue. These components, the stuff of dialogue, are colored by our political orientations as well as by our beliefs about what and how students ought to learn. It is the stuff of dialogue that makes or breaks connections between theory and practice in different educational contexts. I certainly do not dismiss Dewey's, Freire's or anyone else's proposals for structuring or organizing practice. But I do call attention to those components of democratic exchange that directly influence the political and pedagogical outcomes of instruction. As democratic educators, we need to value and promote the tested methods of good practice. But we also need to analyze content, language, and social relations in our considerations of what is good for students and society. I am familiar with, and a great admirer of, the accomplishments of teachers at Central Park East High and other members of their network. It was interesting, and heartening, to read about how these practitioners find