The politics of similarity within difference: A pedagogy for the other

The cultural political struggles of five female teachers in a heavily populated minority urban school in Southern California depicts bothsimilarity anddifference. Similarly, each teacher struggles to help overcome her own and students' oppression, subordination, and alienation. Through understandingsimilarity, different teacher and student voices make understanding the other easier. It is argued that understanding similarity within difference opens space for a democratic imaginary, that, while not clearly articulated at any one moment, acts to variously challenge the oppressive forces existing within and outside of schools.