Abstract
Abstract This article contrasts the reading pedagogy inspired by the “talking book” and the reading pedagogy described by Frederick Douglass. The talking book offers literacy as a thing to be acquired that can be traded for freedom. “Literacy as a gift” inculcates in students a view of education as a commodity in the marketplace. This promise, education as a gift of freedom, fails—it fails to speak to students today, fails to remedy racial and gendered disparities, and fails by giving students tests to pass that fail to make them think. Douglass, by contrast, sees literacy and freedom as practices, learning to read not as a gift but as theft, and education not inculcating social values but orienting students to resist social structures that would oppress them.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
