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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).

FRIERES 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?

Narrative
Education
Freire details, Narration turns them (students) into
containers, into receptacles to be filled by the
teacher (2000).
Narration
Before
education

After

Students

Narrative
Education

He continues with an
argument about the
banking concept of
education, arguing
Education 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 todays society view their own

education? Are they willfully ignorant or do they perceive
themselves as knowledgeable before they enter school?

BANKING CONCEPT VS. PROCESS OF

INQUIRY
Those who use the
banking approach,
knowingly or
unknowingly fail to
perceive that the
deposits themselves
contain contradictions
about reality (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)

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

PROCESS OF INQUIRY IN THE

CLASSROOM
Freire does not provide explicit details how to make a classroom focus on
the process
click 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.F
reire.docx

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

INCORPORATING PROCESS OF INQUIRY

IN OUR CLASSROOMS: IS THIS A
REALISTIC REALITY?
The teacher is no
longer merely theone-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).

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?

CRITIQUE OF FREIRES PEDAGOGY OF

THE OPPRESSED
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

Sterns critique of Freire.

Are Freires theories realistic

in the classroom, or more
based on political and socioeconomic ideals?

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS

Click on picture to watch a
final interview with Freire.

Freires Main Points

Include:
We must think
critically
We must be curious
We must consider
education and literacy

REFERENCES
CurtHenniganImpact. (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. 2567). 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 CONTINUED
Movieclips. (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