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Labor Of Learning, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

This paper is an attempt to understand learning as labor - not metaphorically, not psychologically, but from the point of view of the political economy of education. Where does learning fit in the great scheme of things in the contemporary economy? How does this affect the theoretical view of schooling? In schools, students are asked to produce numerous things - literary essays, stories, poems, statistical reports, mathematical calculations, graphs, tables, musical performances, scientific research papers, posters, models, theater shows, oral presentations and written reports. I am interested in the things that students produce, and will try to understand them in …