POPULAR   EDUCATION

"Education can never be politically neutral: if it does not side with the poorest and marginalised sectors - the 'oppressed' - in an attempt to transform society, then it necessarily sides with the 'oppressors' in maintaining the existing structures of oppression  "   
                                                                                  - Liam Kane
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Folx introducing themselves before linocut workshop with printmaker, Alec Dempster from Canada
In popular education, the learning process starts with identifying and describing everyone's own personal experience, and that knowledge is built upon through various activities done in groups. After the activity, a debriefing process allows us to analyse our situation together; seeing links between our own experience and historical and global processes in order to get the "big picture." 
Through the generation of this new knowledge, we're able to reflect more profoundly about ourselves and how we fit into the world. This new understanding of society is a preparation to actively work towards social change. In popular education, the education process isn't considered to be complete without action on what is learned; whether it be on a personal or political level.

The idea of popular education (often described as "education for critical consciousness") as a teaching methodology came from a Brazilian educator and writer named Paulo Freire. He was writing in the context of literacy education for poor and politically disempowered people in his country.

Popular education is different from formal education (in schools, for example) and informal education (learning by living) in that it is a process which aims to empower people who are marginalized socially and politically to take control of their own learning and to effect social change.
Popular education is a collective effort in which a high degree of participation is expected from everybody. Teachers and learners aren't two distinct groups; rather, everyone teaches and everyone learns. Learners should be able to make decisions about what they are learning, and how the learning process takes place. A facilitator is needed to make sure that new ideas arise, progress, and don't get repetitive, but this isn't at all the same thing as a teacher.
"In popular education we can't teach another person, but we can facilitate another's learning and help each other as we learn, together; there is always something to gain, for everyone."
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Son Jarocho workshop with Café Con Pan from Toronto, Canada and Veracruz, Mexico

Some Popular Education principals:
  • everyone teaches; everyone learns 
  • learning is based on the lived experience of those participating in the learning
  • learning begins where one's own experience grounds them
  • learning is a cyclical experience of knowledge, reflection, action
"a method of education that is specifically concerned with the liberation of the people who are a part of it"

Popular Education is a learning process which:
  • Is inclusive and accessible to people with a variety of education levels; 
  • Addresses the issues people face in their communities; 
  • Moves people toward a place of action; 
  • Develops new grassroots leadership;
  • Embraces many methods of learning, such as poetry, music, visual arts

STITCH   Talleres

STITCH has hosted workshops since the first year we began in 2009. In the beginning they were all poetry workshops, because those were the skills folks offered to share. Since then, our workshop repertoire has grown tremendously. Every summer during our STITCH Open Mic Series we offer workshops during the hour before the open mic begins; these have ranged from poetry to printmaking to civil rights. In addition to these, STITCH hosts workshops throughout the year; spaces for us to learn and share skills; spaces for us to grow our consciousness and be in community with each other.
Past STITCH workshops have included:
  • Linocut
  • Poetry
  • Rap
  • Breakdance Foundations
  • Son Jarocho
  • Zapateado
  • Stenciling
  • Soap-making
  • Zapatismo
Check out photos from our workshops on Flickr!
reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it
If you would like to offer a workshop to share skills and learn from this communal space, please contact us at stitchmilwaukee@gmail.com
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