Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire's: abstraction, notions, and hypothesis concerning education

Pedagogy of the Oppressed is a nonfiction political philosophy book written by Paulo Freire that addresses ideas, suggestions, and theories in relation to educational pedagogy. Initially published in Portuguese and later in English, the book addresses sources of oppression, identifies the keys to liberation, and proposes theories for the reform of modern day education. Freire’s method to ideas of education, the connection between both student and teacher and the oppressor and the oppressed, liberation and acquiring freedom, and oppressive techniques can be personally applied to daily life.

Author

Since of his upbringing and beliefs, Paulo Freire’s experiences contributed in the writing of Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Freire states that the book’s content material is a outcome of observations produced throughout his six years of political exile. His potential to relate to the oppressed and to have oppressed citizens uncover understanding in his writing is mutually useful for each parties. For most of his adult life, Freire was devoted to the effectively-being of the impoverished. He was even jailed for teaching Brazilian peasants how to read. Freire’s own experiences of poverty led him to have differing opinions concerning class. “It is the realization of such class borders that led, invariably, to Freire’s radical rejection of a class-primarily based society” (Macedo, 2000, p. 13). His ideas on class and the variables of oppression altered his perspective, which led him to view conditions and create a lot more openly and much more universally.

Summary

A lot of ideas were presented in Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The text began illustrating the why there is even a require for a pedagogy of the oppressed. It explains where oppression stems from, the “contradiction” among the oppressor and the oppressed, and how liberation is a mutual procedure between the oppressor and the oppressed rather than a self-achievement made solely by the oppressed. The book goes on to assess the dynamics of a teacher-student partnership and introduce the thought of the “banking” notion as a kind of oppression in regards to education. This idea establishes a basis of the educated teacher passing on a narration to their uneducated, patient, docile students. Rather than constructing upon the student’s knowledge and prior experiences, the teacher fills or deposits info and information for the student to memorize with no genuinely perceiving. The text later establishes the notion of dialogics, the use of education as a tool for freedom. Freire explains that dialogue is essential in the liberation approach. The text ends with a summary of the opposing theories of cultural action, or oppressive strategies.

Essential Evaluation

Organization

The material presented in the Pedagogy of the Oppressed is organized in 4 sections. The sections explain, in depth, the major concept presented and expand upon the central concept with supporting proof. Freire organizes the information in a coherent manner that tends to make it simple for the reader to connect the various points he’s generating.

Thesis

The argument presented all through is pertinent to the age old saying: “Knowledge is energy.” Freire forms the notion that in order for the oppressed to fully accomplish liberation, they must be educated and that by way of reading can liberation be attained. He states, “Knowledge emerges only by means of invention and reinvention, by means of, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the planet, with the world, and with every single other” (Friere, 2000, p. 72). Freire’s description of attaining information in order to attain liberation is associated with the notion of establishing essential consciousness. Vital consciousness, also known as liberatory consciousness, requires awareness of oppression in society and the understanding required to generate social justice. “With a liberatory consciousness, each person gets a possibility to theorize about issues of equity and social justice, to analyze events associated to equity and social justice, and to act in accountable approaches to transform the society” (Love, 2000, 602). Freire incorporates these suggestions throughout his text.

Goal

It seems that the text had two purposes: to inform and to persuade. Freire appears to intend to inform his audience of why oppression will usually remain relevant, where it stems from, how a group of people can begin the process to really liberate themselves, the different oppressive techniques and how they relate to past and contemporary societies, and how the banking concept affects all people. Even so, he persuades his audience with his tips of how these topics can be addressed and issues of different societies can be solved.

Arguments

Freire makes a number of properly-believed arguments and suggestions for reform. A single of the arguments he tends to make, his ideas concerning the banking idea in education, is germane to the discussion of each contemporary and outdated types of education. Freire notes,

“Narration (with the teacher as the narrator) leads the students to memorize mechanically the narrated content. Worse however, it turns them into ‘containers,’ into ‘receptacles’ to be ‘filled’ by the teacher. The much more totally she fills the receptacles, the better a teacher she is. The more meekly the receptacles permit themselves to be filled, the far better students they are” (Freire, 2000, p. 72).

This argument can resonate with students and teachers alike, as both sides equally contribute to education. In Freire’s claim, he created it relatively easy to see the faults in education systems that use ineffective forms of finding out. His claim also emphasizes a energy struggle in between student and teacher: one particular that leaves the teacher demanding to remain in power over their students and the student struggling against the teacher to manage their own creativity and have a voice in their education. This argument is beneficial in explaining the roles of oppression in a setting most folks in the modern day globe have faced at 1 point or another. Many of the arguments presented throughout the text offer the reader with a much better understanding of Freire’s logic. None of the arguments or proof presented seemed to deviate from his addressed subjects or appeared ineffective in assisting the reader to perceive his reasoning.

Options

Freire delivers options in the text to the numerous issues he addressed. He explained the remedy to attaining liberation for the oppressed by stating the “solution can't be accomplished in idealistic terms” (Freire, 2000, p. 49). He illustrates that liberation can be substantially altered by view of liberation and the perception of an oppressive state. By viewing oppression as unending, the oppressed have asserted they accept their position of not becoming completely equal to their oppressor. By viewing oppression as a predicament that can't be transformed overnight but more than time, the oppressor accepts that they may not have equality immediately but will have it ultimately.

Audience

Freire’s intended audience is suggested to be for all people, but more exclusively for the oppressed. Freire explicitly dedicates the book to “the oppressed and to those who endure with them and fight at their side. By writing in a way that recognizes sources of oppression, Freire’s text does appear to be aimed toward the understanding of each the oppressed, who can use the identification of these sources to accomplish liberation, and the oppressor, who via reading the text can identify the error of their approaches.

Language and Imagery

The language Freire utilized in the book appeared to be far more advanced. The language seeming to be much more advanced could just be associated to the reality that his concepts have been advanced. Possibly Pedagogy of the Oppressed could possibly be greater understood by somebody with more understanding of the topic. The book wasn’t the sort to be centered about characters, a plot, a setting, or even display types imagery, but minimal examples of imagery were present in passages that Freire was attempting to simplify his concepts.

Relevancy in Education

A single of the book’s principal subjects is centered solely around education. While the banking education notion remains relevant all through, Freire also provides the dilemma-posing notion in accordance with education. He explains that the way to combat banking education is with issue-posing education. By way of dialogue and open discussion, “the teacher-of-the-students and the students-of-the-teacher cease to exist and a new term emerges: teacher-students and student-teachers” (Freire, 2000, p. 80). This idea challenges the extremely connection that students and teachers have with a single one more and emphasizes the difference from which students and teachers are typically anticipated to interact.

Reaction

Initial Reaction

My initial reaction to the book was that the language was very tough to interpret upon initial reading. I had to reread sections and give believed to what was becoming said to truly recognize the book. I don't forget feeling that I could relate scenarios in my personal life with factors the text described the oppressed had seasoned. I also remember feeling angry and thinking about how unfair it is that our society has a history of oppressing several groups of people primarily based on elements such as class, race, religion, and gender, but whilst advancements have been made, the same folks are still being oppressed to this day.

What Resonated

Throughout the book, I was capable to resonate with the side of the oppressor but also with the issues addressed about the education technique. I was surprised to discover that when I viewed education differently than I always had, I was able to see some of the errors of the system and how some teachers I previously had taught in accordance with the banking concept. However, the text produced me appreciate the teachers I had that really invested their time and dedication in my finding out and taught in accordance with the difficulty-posing notion.

Feelings Felt

When reading the book, I felt a variety of distinct emotions. I felt angry for the behavior and tendencies of the oppressor, I felt understanding towards the side of the oppressed, and I felt pessimistic about the future for the oppressed worldwide. Surprisingly enough, towards the end of the book I started to take on a more hopeful outlook. I began to feel somewhat inspired. Reading Pedagogy of the Oppressed created me recognize that if you are not apart of the solution then you are apart of the issue. I quickly realized following reading that if you take on the role of a bystander to oppression and you do not use your voice to fight for liberation, you’re on the side of the oppressor.

New Details

he information concerning oppression presented in the book wasn’t fully foreign to me. I knew previously that for as lengthy as man has been around, the struggle with oppression has existed. Nonetheless, the way the topics had been presented throughout the book was new to me. Freire introduces his theories in a way that I hadn’t been exposed to prior to. His concepts about education had been new to me since I had by no means questioned the state of education systems.

Transformation

I cannot necessarily say that I knowledgeable an extreme transformation from reading Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The book triggered me to enter a state of pondering to query items that I hadn’t prior. It made me reflect on my previous behaviors, attitudes, and general actions. It triggered me to consider about what kind of teacher I want to be and how I need to treat folks in general. The most considerable transformation I encountered was that of no longer getting a bystander. Since I study this book, I believe in the future I’ll be much more adamant in discussions that pertain to my function as a minority. “Taking responsibility means not waiting for other folks to inform you what to do, to point out what’s going on, or to recognize alternatives” (Johnson, 2006, 614). The book and the points it produced allowed me to recognize what taking duty for social justice truly implies.

Application to Life

I feel that Pedagogy of the Oppressed has lessons that can be applied to each personal and professional life. Personally, reading the book can aid an individual struggling with their own oppression change the perception they have about things and even encourage them to have a usually much more constructive outlook. I believe the text can assist everybody not be “bystanders” of oppression. Pedagogy of the Oppressed can encourage these who really feel offended by oppression to voice their opinions in hope for a adjust. Professionally, reading the book could support avert an oppressive circumstance from happening in the workplace. For an individual who would be in charge of or presiding over a group of men and women professionally, the book could aid them recognize the repercussions of even the simplest words or actions and aid them establish what variety of leader they want to be. Surprisingly sufficient, the book could even bring those in a skilled workplace closer with each other. “Building bridges among people from distinct social backgrounds becomes increasingly critical as our society becomes more diverse and stratified” (Zúñiga, 2003, 635). The book can help those from a privileged background recognize the oppression of other folks.

Resolution

By introducing topics of oppression, oppressive behaviors, and even diversity into schools, youngsters can understand at an age throughout which they are nonetheless impressionable the troubles with oppression and why liberation for groups of individuals inside their own society is essential. Acknowledging that oppression exists in a lot of societies and establishing a difference amongst what it means to have privilege and to have power can let younger men and women to break the cycle of oppressive behavior. “A crucial to the continued existence of every method of privilege is unawareness, due to the fact privilege contradicts so a lot of basic human values that it invariably arouses opposition when men and women know about it…” (Johnson, 2006, 613). Parents are entitled to raise their youngsters how they see fit, but by supplying an unbiased universal education in schools, children are in a position to have a a lot more open-minded outlook that can decide how they interact with and treat men and women. By setting a greater common for education and the way diverse educational and teaching tools are implemented, teachers can garner an improved thought of how they ought to interact with their students.

Conclusion

Pedagogy of the Oppressed has content that can be applied to anyone’s every day life. Simply because of the universal strategy Freire takes explaining concepts of education, teacher-student and oppressor-oppressee relationships, acquisition of liberation and freedom, and oppressive strategies, several people can relate these topics to their personal personal experiences. If topics presented in the book or just the book itself had been published in a way for all ages, regardless of their education level, to realize, conceivably the message Freire intended to put across could have been understood by a lot more folks. Overall, I would advise the book. Particularly I would encourage these struggling with the concept of oppression in modern day society to study the book. I really feel far more ready to enter a field where my actions can influence a tremendous amount of impressionable, young students. Pedagogy of the Oppressed is a book that could monumentally influence the teaching globe and offer contemporary citizens with the sources and knowledge to place an end to the continuing cycle of oppression.