Freire, P. & Horton, M. We Make the Road by Walking, Chapter 3

1. What is Organic Knowledge? In the reading, organic knowledge is described as the knowledge of the people. This is the theory that knowledge starts with the people. We first to understand the way the people think and their syntax.That would create a way for the people to go beyond their state of thinking. The reading goes on to describe the importance of understanding the experience and the practice of people. Paulo states "without practice there is no knowledge."

2. I agree with this statement. In life, we often analyze and understand things based off our own experiences. Our experiences are what shape our being. That is why it is so imperative to understand the experiences of others. Once we open ourselves to knowledge acquired by people other than ourselves, it will create in us a deeper understanding of all knowledge. Practice can be defined as a noun and a verb. Practice as a noun is defined in the dictionary as the actual application of an idea or belief. It is the repeated exercise of an activity or skill to acquire or maintain proficiency. By practicing the people we apply their beliefs to acquire proficiency. For me, this is most evident through relationships. We learn the most about the ourselves and others when we connect to them on a personal level. When we have a relationship with an individual we learn about their past experiences in an attempt to understand who they are now. This practice is the same no matter what knowledge it is we are practicing. It is organic because it is created naturally. In order to understand knowledge of the world, we have to understand the people of the world, for without the people there is no world. We have to practice learning what people and things are composed of, just as we do in relationships. It teaches us, how we view ourselves in relation to the world. By learning other people, we learn ourselves; we learn what we love, what we are afraid of and what we hope to be, or not be. Organic is defined as related to or derived from living matter, and that is what we are. We are the living matter that shapes all knowledge. That is why it is important to study people and their understandings.

3.) How do we connect to people we feel no connection with? Is it possible to earn something form every person we encounter? How much of that shapes our reality? How much of others experiences do we carry with us in our day to day lives? Paulo says in chapter 3 that information can be got through a reading or a conversation. Myles answers this question best by saying "To me, it's essential that you start where people are. But if you're going to start where they are and they don't change, then there's no point in starting because you're not going anywhere. So while I insist on starting where people are, that's the only place they could start. I can start somewhere else." Basically, you attempt to get to know people. Once that occurs, you take what ever knowledge you can and use it to get to a new level.

Freire, P. & Horton, M. We Make the Road by Walking, Chapter 2

1. What is sensualism? Sensualism can be defined in two ways. The wiki definition is a philosophical doctrine of the theory of knowledge, according to which sensations and perceptions are the basic and more most important form of true cognition. Cognition is the process of acquiring knowledge, and understanding it thoroughly through thought, experiences and senses. Sensualism is also defined as excessive pursuit of physical pleasure. In the reading, Paulo explains how reading beyond the texts creates a certain sensualism that links reading, writing, teaching and knowing.

2.) I agree with this statement. Paulo and Myles began this thought by describing how knowledge is endless, or unfinished. There is always more to learn. However, in my experience, there is a difference between reading and understanding. I remember in high school being assigned a reading and having to reread it at least three times because I thought it was so boring that while my eyes were reading the words, my mind was wondering what was for lunch. So I could never quite grasp the information like I would if I was taking lecture notes. I've always been that student that loves to hear a lecture. I loved the way it was like story telling. For some reason I couldn't get that from reading. In the reading the authors explain how it is a teacher's job to direct their students through the knowledge. I also agree with this statement. It wasn't until I got to college that I had a professor teach me the correct way to read; how to acquire knowledge. Once I mastered this skill, reading was a like a new world, like an alternate reality I could escape to. I couldn't read something without wanting to know more, like what happened next or what happened first. Then the craziest thing happened, the things I was reading about began to pour into my regular life. That alternate reality became real. That is the sensualism of reading and understanding; it leaves you vulnerable and thirsty for more. An example would be when I read The Code of Hammurabi for the first time. I was assigned to read it in a history requirement course my sophomore year of college. What made it real for me is that is was real for people that came before me. It was the first known written law code. It was crazy to think that there were people here thousands of years ago way before the world came to be what we know it to be today. And these people dealt with alot of the same things we deal with today, bu their outlook on life was different. It made me question my life today, how much society has developed, and how much it has stayed the same. It fuels my love of history and society. It drives me to want to know more about people and where they come from. This sensualism and drive for knowledge derived from reading one reading.

3.) How important is it to develop a love of reading? Do you have to like to read in order to completely understand the reading? Paulo answers this in chapter 2 by saying "I discovered that reading has a loving event."

Freire, P. & Horton, M. We Make the Road by Walking, Intro and Chapter 1

1. What does it mean to localize something? To localize something, by definition means to constrict or confine something or someone to a certain area. In this text Paulo and Myles are discussing speaking words and questions aloud, and later transcribing them to a book. The idea behind this is to capture the reader with main ideas and questions without localizing them in individual sections and chapters.

2. I agree with Paulo and Myles that this is an effective way to write. In my own experience, I have had trouble describing the depth of my ideas thoroughly through my writing. Often times I write exactly what I am thinking first and then go back and make the necessary corrections. I find that after rereading my material I often think of supporting ideas to thicken the content of my writing. By not localizing factual ideas to chapters, Paulo and Myles create an opportunity for readers to explore their own ideas in relation to theirs without restriction or the notion they could be wrong. Everything is open. Dialogue before writing also is beneficial to this reading because readers get the chance to be open to two perspectives. Having a single author exposes the reader to a single perspective that is specifically influenced by that authors experience. This way, readers can bounce around ideas, as the authors do. Being open to more than one perspective is not only beneficial, but necessary as an educator and a student. While in college I've had experiences where curriculum overlapped, meaning I learned material in one class and that same material was used in a separate class to introduce new material. Every instructor taught what they took from that material, and though the facts where the same, the emphasis is always different. As a student, this variation of emphasis gives me a deeper and stronger understanding of the material because of the objectivity of the viewpoints. An example of this would be the American Revolution. As a history major, I've covered this too many times to count. One of my professors described the war as America's cry for freedom and the beginning of our triumphant country. Whereas, another one of my professors described the war as a necessity Americans (colonist) tried to avoid for as long as they could until it was no longer possible. Both of these are accurate concerning the history of the revolution, the only difference is the viewpoint. That is the beneficial aspect of author to author dialogue, you are not subjected to one way of thinking.

3.)What are the disadvantages of having multiple perspectives in a reading? Can this confuse or misguide the reader in any way? Is it better to localize central ideas in order to create organization? Is material easier to learn when it is organized? I think Paulo best answers these questions by saying " This should give us a duality in the conversation, a certain relaxation, a result of losing seriousness in thinking while talking. The purpose is to have a good conversation but in sort of style that makes it easier to read the words."