A Primer on Paulo Freiee

1. PAULO FREIRE
By Cait, Jonathan, and Angela

2. Paulo Reglus Neves Freire, Ph.D was a Brazilian educator and
philosopher who was a leading advocate of critical pedagogy
“Paulo Freire, dialogue, praxis and education. Perhaps the most influential thinker about
education in the late twentieth century, Paulo Freire has been particularly popular with
informal educators with his emphasis on dialogue and his concern for the oppressed.”
Infed.org
WHO WAS HE?

3. REFLECTION
•What do you think the purpose of education is? Draw from the readings from this course, in
addition to your own experiences.
•Think about your relationship with your students. How do you perceive your role in your
students‟ education? How do you perceive their role in their education?
•Think about your work in the classroom (reality). How does this match up (or not) to your ideals
surrounding your philosophy of education? What factors (if any) lead to this discrepancy
between your ideals vs. reality (e.g. structure of school, limited resources, etc.)?

4. 1. Emphasis on dialogue. Informal education requires dialogue
between people working together. Too much education,” Freire
argues, “involves „banking‟ – the educator making „deposits‟ in the
educatee.”
2. Dialogue is a way of making a difference in the world. This
dialogue can be seen as a way of improving society.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION

5. 3. Freire‟s attention to naming the world has been of great
significance to those educators who have traditionally worked
with those who do not have a voice, and who are oppressed. The
idea of building a „pedagogy of the oppressed‟ or a „pedagogy of
hope‟ and how this may be carried forward has formed a
significant impetus to work. An important element of this was his
concern with conscientization – developing consciousness, but
consciousness that is understood to have the power to transform
reality‟ (Taylor 1993: 52).
CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION (CONT’D)

6. 4. Freire believes educational activities must relate to real world experiences.
This gives more value to informal education.
5. Several supporters of informal education have connected with Paulo
Freire‟s use of metaphors drawn from Christian sources.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION (CONT’D)

7. Click here to watch the last public interview with Freire
“I would say to you that I am a curious being…”
“The virtue of tolerance it is through the exercise of tolerance that I discover
the rich possibility of doing things and learning different things with different
people.”
THE MAN HIMSELF

8. •Freire talks about the word tolerance. What does this word mean for you
in the context the classroom and your students? What does this mean
for you in the context of the world? How do you teach tolerance?
•How is power defined in your classroom? Who defines the culture of power?
REFLECTION ON VIDEO

9. “Who are better prepared than the oppressed to understand the terrible significance of an
oppressive society?”
They must recognize the need to fight for this.
It is a rare peasant, who then becomes promoted, who does not become a tyrant.
The oppressed fear freedom.
It would require them to replace their image with autonomy and responsibility. Freedom is
acquired by “conquest, not by gift. It must be pursued constantly and responsibly.”
“Violence is initiated by those who oppress, who exploit, who fail to recognize others as persons
– not by those who are oppressed, exploited, and unrecognized.”
Oppressors feel that the oppressed are the violent ones.
“It is only the oppressed who, by freeing themselves, can free their oppressors.”
FOCUS ARTICLE:
PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED CH. 1

10. The “banking” concept of education – “The scope of actions allowed to the
students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and story the deposits.”
** Teachers deposit information into students whom “they consider to know
nothing.”
This approach dehumanizes students and teachers alike. Students and
teachers must use education to shape a person.
No oppressive society would want the oppressed to question. Yet that is what
education must do.
Conscientization – Education should consciously shape both people, and
society.
FOCUS ARTICLE:
PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED CH. 2

11. In his work Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire writes:
“No pedagogy which is truly liberating can remain distant from the oppressed
by treating them as unfortunates and by presenting for their emulation models
from among the oppressors. The oppressed must be their own example in the
struggle for their redemption” (Freire, 1970, p. 54).
**QUESTION - How do you think the oppressed can be their own example
in the struggle for their redemption? That is, what does this look like?
WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

12. http://www.thefreireschool.org/
This new charter school is named after the educator, Paulo Freire, because his ideas are
inspirational. Paulo Freire believed in the value of a classical education (liberal arts and sciences)
yet argued that most schools failed to provide such learning in an effective manner. In his mind,
most schools instead promoted the values of the dominant class, creating a “culture of silence”
where underserved individuals were deprived the means to think critically about their place in the
world.
Freire pushed teachers and administrators to reconsider their role in learning. Are students
vessels, needing only to be passively filled with facts and numbers to achieve competency? Or, are
they active participants in a process built on equality, diversity, and critical thought? It was, and is,
novel to consider students as learners and teachers.
“At Freire Charter School, we believe students have much to learn and experience but, also, much
to teach – to each other and our educators. This growth begins in the classroom and continues
through the hallways and into our community. The students of FCS carry the responsibility of
their scholarship along with administrators, teachers, support staff, and parents. We believe this
holistic approach, which values autonomy, equity, and community, honors the legacy of Paulo
Freire.”
THE FREIRE CHARTER SCHOOL

13. Click here to read one student‟s response to Freire‟s Pedagogy of the
Oppressed
“Your words are an inspiration to me as I constantly reflect on my teaching
and struggle to be a teacher who facilitates problem posing education rather
than propagating an educational system that values the “bank- clerk”
mode…‟”
RECEPTION

14. Freire, P. (1972) Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Harmondsworth: Penguin. Important
exploration of dialogue and the possibilities for liberatory practice. Freire
provides a rationale for a pedagogy of the oppressed; introduces the highly
influential notion of banking education; highlights the contrasts between
education forms that treat people as objects rather than subjects; and explores
education as cultural action. See, also:
Freire, P. (1995) Pedagogy of Hope. Reliving Pedagogy of the Oppressed, New York:
Continuum. This book began as a new preface to his classic work, but grew
into a book. It‟s importance lies in Freire‟s reflection on the text and how it
was received, and on the development of policy and practice subsequently.
Written in a direct and engaging way.
PAULO FREIRE’S KEY TEXTS

15. •Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed, Inc. – a non-profit that works to
challenge oppressive systems by promoting critical thinking and social justice,
as put forth by Freire. They host an annual conference. They also recently
started publishing research journals.
ANOTHER RESOURCE…

16. Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. [New York]: Herder and Herder, 1970
Gibson, Richard. Paulo Freire and Revolutionary Pedagogy for Social Justice. (nd).
http://www.pipeline.com/~rougeforum/freirecriticaledu.htm
The Encyclopedia of Informal Education. Paulo Freire: Dialogue, Praxis and
Education. www.infed.org
Taylor, P. (1993) The Texts of Paulo Freire, Buckingham: Open University Press.
WORKS CITED