exciting discovery

For all you activist educators I realize that this person is not a *new* discovery but she is for me. I've just discovered bell hooks. Actually, I've ordered several of her books & am going to pick up some others at the library tomorrow. This was prompted by an assignment in my mentoring class - I have to read a text/journal that addresses education in my field. I don't know that there are specifically texts about teaching in the CR field but I've also ordered some other stuff that seems similarly themed.

For some reason, I'm really excited by this particular piece of my education. Learning about teaching methodologies and philosophies appeals to me in such a fundamental way it's almost impossible to convey how strongly I'm drawn towards it. I suppose I've considered myself a teacher for a while now but never with any formal training. Now, I'm finding out that many of the more progressive and liberating philosophies are describing the things I've always felt about teaching and learning.

It's a wonderful validation to hear my thoughts and ideas around teaching reflected back to me, clarified and amplified. I love it! It's good to know that my personal philosophy is so in tune with that of progressive educators. Finding out about these newer ideas around learning is causing me to do some rethinking around my ideas of being an educator. I'm not ruling it out entirely, although it's not my focus...