At the deepest, most profound level education is an enterprise dedicated to truth and enlightenment, liberation and freedom, or, conversely, bent inexorably toward dehumanization in one of its many forms, from conformity to oppression. Teaching can be an exalted calling or it can be a degraded practice, but it cannot be both at once.

In Teaching Toward Freedom, William Ayers lays out the fundamental dichotomy of what it means to be a teacher: It can mean the empowering of our students to think for themselves, to learn who they are, and to find ownership of, love for, and responsibility for those selves and their world. Or it can mean oppression, rigidity, attention to rules and stereotypes instead of individuals and minds. To be the former, we must foster thought and creativity over obedience and conformity.

Ayers argues persuasively for several essential ethical commitments of a teacher, including taking the side of our students, creating a safe space for diversity, and acknowledging what is at stake in teaching. We must be forthright with ourselves about what happens to our democracy – is already happening to our democracy – when we fail to teach towards freedom, when we feed our students – children, teenagers, or university students – conformity and rote learning. Most importantly, Ayers argues that we must “feel the weight of the world”. We must recognize and remember that the world could be a better place, and not allow ourselves (as teachers or as humans) to be lulled by the ease of indifference.

A short and easy read, I found Ayers’ perspectives and style refreshing and invigorating. He reminded me why I teach, and also that teaching – and the message he conveys about teaching – isn’t just about what happens in the classroom. We all take care of, and teach, each other. Everything we communicate is a lesson for others, and Ayers’ message is a reminder for us all about the need to see each and every person we encounter as individuals, with lives and values of their own, rather than as labels or stereotypes that fit into the neat little boxes in our minds. Only through Ayers’ 3 R’s can we teach each other how to be free: Respect, Relevance, and Revolution. Recommended for all readers interested in social justice, not just teachers. ( )