Unschooling Critical Pedagogy, Unfixing Schools

“John E. Petrovic’s Unschooling Critical Pedagogy, Unfixing Schools provides provocative critiques of both liberal and progressive programs of school reform. Providing sharp critiques of mainstream and alternative attempts to transform schools, Petrovic accuses these efforts of trying to ‘fix’ the problem of schools as leaving the institutions intact. He instead suggests ways of ‘unfixing schools’ that will make schooling more open to their communities and making learning a more collaborative project that takes a multiplicity of forms to make schools more flexible and democratic while promoting freedom, criticality, conviviality, cooperation, and community. Petrovic’s provocative analysis requires us to rethink schooling, critical pedagogy, and our own processes of teaching and learning.”—Douglas Kellner, George F. Kneller Philosophy of Education Chair, UCLA
“This is a very interesting and timely contribution to the discussions in the field of education. With the recent worldwide rise of extremism, both of the left and right, this book provides a well-balanced and thought-provoking discussion on the problems of, and need to (un)fix schools. There is a longstanding tradition of both liberal and conservative groups seeking to fix education and thereby applying their too often temporary solution. However, as the author suggests, it is our urge to try to control and fix education that might be the very problem with education; thus education needs to be unfixed. In addition, it also makes credible reference to some stimulating philosophical figures, such as Louis Pierre Althusser, and this adds strongly to the appeal of the volume. The format and general style make it very suitable for both students as well as academics.”—Alex Guilherme, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil