A Primer on Paulo Freire

1. +
Pedagogy of the
Oppressed
Paulo Freire

2. +
Who is Paulo Freire?
 Take a look at this
brief biography on
Freire
 How did his life
experiences influence
his thinking and ideas
that we see in
Pedagogy of the
Oppressed?

3. +
Critical Pedagogy
 Freire was a critical pedagogy theorist – but
what does that mean? Click here to find out
more about it
 Our old friend John Dewey was also
influential in the field of critical pedagogy,
but perhaps some of the other authors
we‟ve read would agree with these ideas as
well – what do you think?

4. +
Methods of Education
Check out this video for a quick review on
what Freire wrote about the banking
concept of education vs. the problem-
posing method

5. +
Banking or Problem-Posing?
 Freire makes a strong case for the problem-posing method of
education. Teachers can certainly learn from their students, and
dialogue is very important in the classroom.
 How do you feel about his transfer of oppression to the school
setting? This can be looked at in a couple ways…
 Oppression of minorities
 Oppression of student by teacher (regardless of race, culture,
gender, age, etc.)

6. +
With which method would the
other authors we have studied
agree? PROBLEM-POSING METHOD
BANKING CONCEPT

7. +
Banned
 Freire‟s Pedagogy of the Oppressed was banned from schools
in Tucson, Arizona earlier this year, along side the suspension
controversy of Tucson‟s Mexican American Studies program.
 The ban on Freire is based on his political leanings toward
socialism, but the developers of the MAS program simply liked
his ideas about education.
 As Julio Cammarota said, “„Why aren‟t they talking about Jack
London? Why aren‟t they talking about Steinbeck or Orwell? All of
them were open socialists.‟”
 What do you think? Is this ban Freire‟s oppression at work?

8. +
The Oppressed: Who Are They?
 There are different ways that people can be oppressed – just
think of all the types of prejudices that exist in our society
 Social relations are dynamic and contextual
 How about “adultism”, that is, the “overbearing domination of
adults” over children? Here, Freire‟s ideas are applied to Maria
Montessori‟s

9. +
Overcoming Injustice
 Watch this interview with Freire
 He supported multicultural education, which is apparent in his
discussion about tolerance of other languages
 He also says people need to learn the dominant syntax to
overcome injustice
 What do you make of this in terms of what he said about the
oppressed enabling their situation by buying into the conditions
set forth by the oppressed?

10. +
The Complexity of the Issue
 We‟ve already discussed the delicate and elaborate nature of
education‟s role in this country
 Even after his death, Freire‟s work lives on
 “Democracy is a fragile entity…Understanding these diverse
dimensions and structures that shape schooling and the knowledge
it conveys is necessary…to the very survival of democratic
schooling – not to mention the continued existence of democracy
itself.”
 Do you think critical pedagogy can account for the complexity
of improving education? If so, how? If not, why?

11. +
References
About paulo friere. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2012, from
http://www.pedagogyoftheoppressed.com/author/
Education as human liberation (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2012, from
http://www.csupomona.edu/~plin/ls201/montess_freire2.html
Kincheloe, J. L. (n.d.) Retrieved November 18, 2012, from
http://www.freireproject.org/Freire_Critical_Pedagogy_Project_Description
Kylarayen. (2012, March 13). Freire‟s banking concept of education [Video file]. Retrieved
from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoxHpNYFg5E
LiteracyDotOrg. (2009, December 30). Paulo freire – an incredible conversation [Video
file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFWjnkFypFA
Planas, R. (2012, April 19). Neither banned nor allowed: Mexican american studies in
limbo in arizona. Retrieved from
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/04/19/neither-banned-nor-allowed-mexican-
american-studies-in-limbo-in-arizona/
What is critical pedagogy? (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2012 from
http://www.21stcenturyschools.com/What_is_Critical_Pedagogy.htm