A list of incredible humans who know what real education looks like

Posted in DemEd in Real Life Philosophy of Education Social Justice Students on Nov 01, 2011 - 11:59 AM

Late last week, I was in a conversation with Sheryl Petty where she graciously encouraged me to look at just how much IDEA and my own thinking is impacted by other humans who have put their ideas and love into words.

In support of #blog4idec and today's theme of "Human", I thought I'd try to brainstorm off the cuff (no help from Google) the names of the people whose writing has profoundly shaped my thinking about what real education looks like at the most human level.

Feel free to add your own incredible humans in the comments box.

And yes, I am inviting several moments of, "how could I forget ________, and _____________, and __________ . . ."

Here's my list of incredible humans:

Eugenia María de Hostos, Grace Lee Boggs, Paulo Freire, Martin Buber, bell hooks, Seth Godin, Ken Wilber, Greg Smith, Dr. Vincent Harding, George Dennison, Riane Eisler, Daniel Quinn, Krishnamurti, Rachel Kessler, Paul Goodman, Maria Montessori, Paul Hawken, Ron Miller, Thoreau, Tolstoy, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Myles Horton, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Parker Palmer, Vaclav Ha'vel, Arundahti Roy, Theodore Sizer, Jonathan Kozol, John Goodlad, Deborah Meier, Dr. Angela Valenzuela, Ivan Illich, Kirsten Olson, John Holt, Susan Sontag, Margaret Atwood, Dalton Trumbo, Randy Shilts, Herman Hesse, Carlos Castaneda, Bruce Scott, Thomas Merton, Arnold Mindell, Jane Addams, Bill Ayers, Dr. Cornel West, Joanna Macy, Karen Armstrong, Wendell Berry, Bill McKibbon, Courtney Martin, Thich Naht Hanh, Barbara Kingsolver, Wangari Maathai, Terry Tempest Williams, Thom Hartmann . . .

While IDEC 2012 won't bring all of these people together (though that would make for one interesting gathering) it will having some amazing folks present. I hope you are one of them.

Tags for this entry:
democratic education, human, real education, blog4idec, idec2012

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Scott Nine

Scott Nine is the Executive Director of IDEA. A dynamic public speaker and organizer, he enjoys teaching and learning about leadership, social justice, community, educational reform, environmental sanity, personal growth, entrepreneurship, and how we get along with one another. Scott has a Masters Degree in Social Work from Arizona State University. He has experience teaching, advising, and creating learning communities for people ages 5 to 95. Raised by two public school educators, Scott fell in love with his partner Hollie while growing up in Apache Junction, Arizona. He lives in Portland, Oregon where Kristofer, KD, and Ellanore teach him new lessons on an almost daily basis.

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