Dear Paulo: Letters from Those Who Dare Teach

by Sonia Nieto

Dear Paulo: Letters from Those Who Dare Teach is a heartfelt response from teachers, academics, and community workers to the work of the internationally renowned educator and author Paulo Freire. From newly minted teachers terrified of facing their first day in the classroom to seasoned academics whose work has largely been inspired by Freire, this collection, accompanied by photographs of Freire with some of the letter writers, is both a loving memorial and a call to action to work for social justice, praxis, and democracy, ideals envisioned and brilliantly articulated by Paulo.

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2008

About the author

Sonia Nieto is Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy and Culture at the College of Education, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA.

Reviews

[Graham Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic collection of letters to Paulo Freire. For those who love and admire his work, Sonia Nieto has compiled nearly 70 extremely original perspectives regarding Freire, his theories, and his influence. Each letter is preceded by an epigraph from Freire's work -- epigraphs which, alone, would be worthy of their own edited collection. This work includes letters from amazing critical pedagogues and scholars (in their own right) such as Ernest Morrell, Herb Kohl, Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade, Maxine Greene, Tom Wilson, Michelle Fine, and dozens of other less-heralded, but no less important scholars and teachers. For the Freirean scholar, this book is not essential, but lends depth and breadth to the body of work that is Freirean scholarship, along with a sense of intimacy and invitation to the open forum that is critical pedagogy.