Teaching As a Subversive Activity

As an educator and administrator, this book challenges and inspires my perspectives on “teaching” and “learning.” Parts are dated, and they are not afraid to venture into extremes, but there are pieces throughout this book that are nothing less than genius (in the original, unexaggerated sense of that word). Well worth the read for any educator or aspiring educator.

Some disciplines (like geology) are inherently geared towards teaching in such a way as to get the students thinking for themselves. Not knowing how to think for yourself has real repercussions if you are out in the field and can’t find your way out of or avert a dangerous situation. Critical thinking and getting students to find their own sense of reasoning is a must in teaching. I realize the term subversive may stir negative connotations, but the author does not mean it in a negative, mean, or harmful way. Rather it comes across as intended to question the teaching style of lecturing without interruption, questions, or feedback from students. A good read for instructors and evaluating how one’s teaching style could be more effective.

See my blog review (also on Goodreads) at bit (dot) ly / 10uErbT [use a period for (dot) and no spaces). Very good book that teachers ought to read. Very stimulating, and though I disagree with some of its emphases and don’t agree with everything it says, particularly on merely “survival” and on being critical of everything because you must be right and authority must be distrusted, I do see that it is a good balance, for many follow blindly a failing curriculum/education paradigm. But for those already hyper-critical of any kind of tradition, one should, naturally be critical of being critical. However, the questions-based approach(es) in the book were well worth the price of admission. The last few chapters were good, though I was not as impressed with the last chapter, where Postman & Weingartner talk about survival as an end in itself, almost in a “Walking Dead” kind of way. We got to do whatever we can to survive, and while that is understandable, life is not just about “mere survival” but we must also address larger questions of purpose, value, morality, right and wrong (though of course, things are not always black and white, as Postman & Weingartner remind us – we don’t live in a binary world). I appreciate Postman & Weingartner’s practical approach, but we must not forget that pragmatics cannot be the only thing that governs how we live, learn, or teach. But to end on a positive note, Postman & Weingartner are right to insist that if students aren’t learning, then the teacher isn’t teaching. There is no such thing as “teaching” in a way that others cannot learn. The student should be the center/focus, not a syllabus or curriculum. And grading is just terrible. Teachers ought to read this and try the practical suggestions that Postman & Weingartner suggest at the end of the book.

This is a very well written (as are all of Postman;'s books) and thought out and worth a look if you wish to understand some of the weaknesses in our educational system. The examples are a bit dated though.

An excellent critique of and solution for our industrialized educational institutions. It takes the reader/"student" through rediscovering involvement and survival in the "modern" world by asking questions and more questions and seeking answers/information together rather than passively accepting the "lessons" others prepare and then trying to regurgitate the acceptable "answers" on demand. This book proposes a different way to learn - a more natural, interactive and "student" centered approach that promises big results if the instutions are willing to let go of their centralized control and metrics. Following this path will take real courage because it does not fit with any of the popular "solutions" to our longstanding educational crisis, be it in public, private or parochial school systems.

This is a wonderful book for the transformation of life as we know it, on all levels. It should be read with Jon Kabat-Zinn's work on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, and with the works of the Buddha, the Dalai Lama and Lao Tzu. It belongs with the grounding, guiding, orienting, foundational works of humankind. It is a book to be read again and again. Slowly. With underlining and comments in the margins. Seriously.

This is one of the best books I've read on teaching. Required reading by those who would praise Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell focuses a lot on the future but teaching can often be about the past. If one is to improve teaching, one needs to grasp how the past affects our current state of mind. Any of Neil Postman's books are well written, cogent and worthwhile reading, but this one has a special place in my heart because of how it explains so much of current culture.

This seems as fresh today as when it was written way back in 1968. It's about letting students take control of their learning, because if you try and force people to do things they don't want to, or don't find useful, it's a continual uphill struggle. Instead, work with them. It's people in authority who stop this happening though. They're scared to give people power.

En los años 70, este lilbro que cuestionaba la utilidad de lo que nos enseñan en las aulas, y proponía un currículum alternativo basado en conocimientos y habilidades que tuvieran un valor real para la vida de los ciudadanos, fue rompedor. Y su originalidad sigue vigente. Toda ministra de educación que se precie debería leerlo y reflexionar sobre lo que propone. Que la palabra "subversivo" no llame a error, en la época el concepto, incluso el mismo cuestionamiento del sistema educativo establecido, era, en efecto, muy subversivo.

Very good read and as always very relevant even today after years

It is a great read for all those who want to know what is wrong with our modern education system, even though it was published more than 40 years ago.

This book is rather America-centric. Surely what is being proposed is good for the world not just the USA. This was an irritation. I was only partially convinced by some of the main arguments in it and perhaps this is as well - students should think for themselves rather than just accept what is told them, as the book suggests. True too that change is rapid - perhaps even more rapid today than even when the book was written in 1968. I believe that critical thinking is the most important gift we can offer learners. All else follows. This book seems to agree. It was refreshing to see someone using a Socratic approach. Yet surely some things must be taught - how to read, number bonds, times tables (best learnt by rote actually) and certain life skills. Clearly as suggested these thing may almost learn themselves if a student is properly motivated.