Instead of working on my thesis....
I want to get this framed so I can put it up in my classroom someday.
I am a teacher who stands up for what is right against what is indecent, who is in favor of freedom against authoritarianism, who is a supporter of authority against freedom with no limits, and who is a defender of democracy against the dictatorship of right or left.
I am a teacher who favors the permanent struggle against every form of bigotry and against the economic domination of individuals and social classes.
I am a teacher who rejects the present system of capitalism, responsible for the aberration of misery in the midst of plenty.
I am a teacher full of the spirit of hope, in spite of all signs to the contrary.
I am a teacher who refuses the disillusionment that consumes and immobilizes.
I am a teacher proud of the beauty of my teaching practice, a fragile beauty that may disappear if I do not care for the struggle and knowledge that I ought to teach.
It's from Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of Freedom. Frankly, I think Freire (any of his works) should be mandatory reading for anyone even considering the teaching profession. He critiques both idealism and cynicism, and in no uncertain terms. He states quite clearly the "right way of thinking," and he says that to believe elsewise is to offend human decency. People should read his pedagogies, if only to have an opinion on his rhetoric. I'd love to have a conversation with someone who has read what he's written, understood it, and can coherently disagree.