Joe Wegwert

EDUCATION • COMMUNICATION " Coming together for what may seem an unlikely collaboration of scholars from Turkey and the United States, each of these teachers of conscience (hocam) grapple with authentic inquiry into forms of teacher authority to ground effective and sustained struggle for freedom. They work within and against the naked instrumentalism of global neoliberalism that seeks to annihilate citizen agency as it transforms all levels of schooling into preparation for a new world order of alternative facts, exponential economic exploitation, and unfettered ravaging of the planet. As these progressive colleagues bear witness, the fire of their passion and the courage of their action inspire a profound sense of urgency that compels readers to take new action. " —CAROLYNE J. WHITE, Rutgers University-Newark " Can teachers save nations? Has democracy really slipped into the abyss in the teaching profession in Turkey and also in the United States? This courageous book, the brainchild of Fatma Mızıkacı and Guy Senese, ushers a brave clarion call in essays for all of us who revere and respect the teaching profession, democratic academic process, and the treasured ultimate outcome: enlightened, caring students. Truly a collection to ponder and use as a basis of action to calibrate the profession. " —FRANKIE HUTTON, NJ State Amistad Commissioner " A Language of Freedom and Teachers Authority seems to be a product of serious effort, especially in its focus on the topics rarely discussed in Turkey. I believe this reading inspires teachers and academics to withstand in defiance of their freedom in the classroom even though they have to teach in a hegemonic system. In this regard this book is a big contribution to the field as it particularly addresses practitioners. " —RIFAT OKÇABOL, Boğaziçi University A Language of Freedom and Teacher's Authority: Case Comparisons from Turkey and the United States explores dimensions of authority that are deeply embedded in the profession of teaching. It examines critical dimensions of the foundations of Turkish and United States public education, both of which are under new pressures due to changes in the relationship between public schooling and current reforms in education. This book invites reader to explore the interrelated and highly-differentiated connections between the Turkish and American senses of state, local, and traditionally cultural notions of the teacher, the teacher's profession, and the shifting notions of teacher autonomy toward conformity and uniformity.