"A free person recognizes when she or others are being treated as less than fully human. And a free person embraces both her right and her duty to struggle against such treatment and organize with others to do the same as a solidarity community." Preface xvi
"Our schools are designed to prepare our children to take their assumed place in the social order rather than to question and challenge that order. But we youth in the image of capitalism instead a vision of freedom" Preface xvi
"Thus, the withholding of education is a political tool used to maintain and ensure economic and social underclass. This underclass is defined overwhelmingly by race... in this way, schools are deeply implicated in the systematic maintenance of the racialized American caste system. Intro xxix
Reading Shalaby alongside Finn made me keep coming back to one uncomfortable question: what does it actually mean to be “free” if the system you’re in has already decided your place before you even realize you have choices?
Shalaby’s line that “a free person recognizes when she or others are being treated as less than fully human” really stuck with me. It makes freedom feel less like an abstract idea and more like a responsibility. It’s not just about your own independence, it’s about awareness, and what you do with it. That connects so directly to what Finn is arguing about schools. If students aren’t given the space to question, to push back, or even to see injustice clearly, then they’re not being educated for freedom but rather they’re being shaped for compliance.
And that shaping isn’t random. Finn talks about how different kinds of schools prepare students for different futures, and once you see it, it’s hard to unsee. Some students are encouraged to think critically, take risks, and lead. Others are taught to follow directions, stay in line, and not ask too many questions. Shalaby’s point adds another layer to this. Young people aren’t just passive in this system. They’re already imagining something different.
What really hit me, though, was the idea that “the withholding of education is a political tool.” That feels very real. It pushes back against the idea that inequality in schools is accidental or just unfortunate. Instead, it suggests that limiting access to meaningful, engaging education—especially along racial and economic lines—actually serves a purpose. It maintains a system. Finn names this through class; Shalaby names it more explicitly as part of a racialized caste system. Either way, the outcome is the same: some students are given the tools to shape the world, and others are not.
At the same time, I keep thinking about classrooms I’ve been in (and am in now), where this isn’t the full story. There are moments where students push back, where they ask questions that disrupt the script, where they bring in their own experiences in ways that shift the conversation. It makes me wonder how much space we’re actually creating for that and how often school structures shut it down without us even realizing it.
I think that’s where Shalaby’s idea of freedom feels most important. If freedom is about recognizing injustice and acting on it, then education can’t just be about content or standards. It has to be about helping students see themselves as fully human, capable of questioning and changing the world around them.
So the question isn’t just whether schools reproduce inequality (they often do), but whether we’re willing to interrupt that. What would it look like to build classrooms that don’t just prepare students for the roles they’ve been assigned, but actually support them in challenging those roles?
Hi Sam! I really enjoyed your blog. I think how you connected Finn to Shalaby was really interesting. I completely agree with you that we need to teach students how to view themselves as having a power to question authority so that they can be able to change the world around them. Schools definitely reproduce inequality, as seen through Finn, but trying to change the system so we can teach even the low-income schools that they are capable of anything, should be something that we are reaching for.
ReplyDeleteHi Sam! This is such a powerful connection between Shalaby and Finn. I was especially struck by your point that freedom isn't just an abstract concept, but a "responsibility" to recognize when others are being treated as less than human. It’s so sobering to think about how schools might be "withholding education" as a political tool to maintain a social or racialized caste system. It makes those small moments of "push back" you mentioned feel even more vital, they aren't just disruptions; they are actually exercises in reclaiming that humanity. I’m curious, in your own experience, how can we as future educators better protect those disruptive moments instead of accidentally shutting them down in the name of classroom management?
ReplyDeleteHi Sam! I also felt a strong connection between Shalaby and Finn. Empowering students to use their voices is one of the best things I think we as educators can do. In my experience, admin isn't always supportive of teachers taking this stance (especially in charter schools). The charters I've worked with have a heavy focus on 'character skills'. People in the highest levels of leadership in the schools choose what 'good character' looks like and the teachers job is to implement it, even when they don't agree. Building spaces that allow students to challenge the roles/norms requires that students, teachers, and admin be seen on more level playing fields. We've been conditioned to prioritize compliance over authentic expression, and breaking that cycle is incredibly difficult!
ReplyDeleteHi Sam, great post! I think the connection between Shalaby and Finn is very strong, revealing how schools shape students to be compliant workers rather than free thinkers. Students mustn't feel constrained, but rather that their opinions are respected and their voices valued. At the same time, this freedom requires a degree of management to ensure an organized and safe environment. Finding that balance may be difficult, but it's certainly not impossible.
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