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WHO IS PAULO FREIRE?

Click the picture for his biography.

Freire is considered to have been, “one of the greatest thinkers on education this

century” (Mayo, 2011).

FRIERE’S EXAMINATION OF THE OPPRESSED

When striving for liberation, the oppressed run the risk of becoming the oppressors.

While the oppressed desire freedom, they also fear it.

The oppressed can only change their plight through REFLECTION and ACTION.

Once liberated, they must not slip into the role of the oppressor, or their liberation is meaningless.

Do these arguments apply in any way to the classroom?

According to Freire, “It is only the oppressed

who, by freeing themselves, can free

their oppressors” (2000).

Click here to see a speech from someone who may have agreed with him.

Freire writes, “In order for this struggle to have meaning, the oppressed must not, in seeking to regain their humanity (which is

a way to create it), become in turn oppressors of the oppressors, but rather

restore the humanity of both” (2000).

Nelson Mandela embodied this quote when he became the

President of South Africa in 1994. Click

on the movie poster to see this theory in

practice!

WHAT DOES ALL THIS HAVE TO DO WITH EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES IN

2012?

Freire details, “Narration… turns them (students) into ‘containers,’ into ‘receptacles’ to be ‘filled’ by the teacher” (2000).

Narration

Narrative Education

Before education

After

Education

StudentsHe continues with an argument about the “banking concept of education,” arguing that education is “bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider know nothing” (Freire, 2000).

How do you think students in today’s society view their own education? Are they willfully ignorant or do they perceive themselves as knowledgeable before they enter school?

Narrative Education

BANKING CONCEPT VS. PROCESS OF INQUIRY

It is important to acknowledge the disconnect between “dehumanized” education and “humanized, revolutionary” education. However, what are some concrete ideas we as educators can use to break the traditional approach and get our students to “engages in critical thinking and the quest for mutual humanization?” (Freire, 2000)

“Problem-posing education does not and cannot serve the interests of the oppressor. No oppressive order could permit the oppressed to begin to question: Why?” (Freire, 2000)

“Those who use the banking approach, knowingly or unknowingly… fail to perceive that the deposits themselves contain contradictions about reality” (Freire, 2000).

PROCESS OF INQUIRY IN THE CLASSROOM

Freire does not provide explicit details how to make a classroom focus on the processclick here to see a short video about how inquiry-based learning may look in your classroom.

Below are two examples of the same laboratory. One is a “traditional cookbook lab” that Freire would call narrative. The other is a laboratory investigation focused more on inquiry and problem-based learning. Copy the links and view them. Share your thoughts.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/62095480/Cookbook.lab.Freire.docx

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/62095480/Transformed%20Inquiry.lab.%20Freire.docx

“The teacher is no longer merely the-

one-who-teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also

teach. They become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow” (Freire, 2000).

INCORPORATING PROCESS OF INQUIRY IN OUR CLASSROOMS: IS THIS A

REALISTIC REALITY?

How can we as educators successfully implement a “process of inquiry” within our own classrooms? Do you think this a realistic goal for a first year teacher? A fifth year teacher?

Pedagogy of the Oppressed

mentions none of the following:

• Testing

• Standards

• Curriculum

• Role of Parents

• How to Organize Schools

• How to Best Train Teachers

• Disadvantaged Students

(Stern, 2009)Click picture to read Sol Stern’s critique of Freire.

CRITIQUE OF FREIRE’S PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED

Are Freire’s theories realistic in the classroom, or more based on political and socio-economic ideals?

Click on picture to watch a final interview with Freire.

Freire’s Main Points Include:

• We must think critically

• We must be curious

• We must consider education and literacy

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS

REFERENCESCurtHenniganImpact. (2011, May 13). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speech (I have a

dream) [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V57lotnKGF8

 

Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. In Foundations of Education (pp. 25-67). New York, NY: Continuum.

Getz, A. (2009, December 09). Sports, politics, and Mandela. The Daily Beast, Retrieved from

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/12/09/sports-politics-and-mandela.html

 

LiteracyDotOrg. (2009, December 30). Paulo Freire- an incredible conversation [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFWjnkFypFA

 

Mayo, P. (2011). Paulo Freire bio. Retrieved from http://www.pfi.org.mt/bio.php

REFERENCES CONTINUEDMovieclips. (2011, May 27). Invictus #3 movie clip- this is a time to

build our nation [Video

file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Lb1YpSEic

 

Stern, S. (2009). Pedagogy of the oppressor. City Journal, (19)2, Retrieved from

http://www.city-journal.org/2009/19_2_freirian-pedagogy.html

 

Txafmama. (2010, October 12). Inquiry-based teaching model [Video file]. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLQPXd8BiIA&feature=topics