jdizzle's review
5.0
This was quite a wonderful read, a suggestion from a professor a year ago I finally got around to reading and I am very glad I did. I really enjoyed the sections on Vygotsky, Lenin, and the zone of proximal development, I had previously never heard of that (though being a Marxist, I understood the importance of it in some regards), so it was very cool to see it in writing and grounded in a theorist. I am super glad I read this before starting teaching as I feel it will inform a lot if not all of my practice. I loved how the author very clearly knew what he was talking about yet never failed to lay out these complex ideas in easy to understand ways. Overall very much recommend!!
boithorn's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
A two-pronged introduction to Marxist philosophy and its applications in classrooms. Au's strength comes from being able to make connections between seemingly disconnected concepts in Marxist thinking and how they can actually be utilized by practicing teachers. I'm honestly going to pass my copy around to fellow radical teachers.
donifaber's review against another edition
3.0
An excellent book for those unfamiliar with the concepts; a good update for those who are. The ideas that stood out to me the most are that:
*Marxism is not inherently racist.
*Dialectical materialism is necessarily bi-directional, and thus does not merely focus on material as the cause for systems of oppression.
*Bill Gates does not subject his son the schools he is funding that are supposedly intended to level the playing field.
*Critiques of Freire tend to be not particularly cogent, particularly Ellsworth's description of his strategies reinscribing oppression.
*Introduction to standpoint theory.
*Marxism is not inherently racist.
*Dialectical materialism is necessarily bi-directional, and thus does not merely focus on material as the cause for systems of oppression.
*Bill Gates does not subject his son the schools he is funding that are supposedly intended to level the playing field.
*Critiques of Freire tend to be not particularly cogent, particularly Ellsworth's description of his strategies reinscribing oppression.
*Introduction to standpoint theory.
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