Primer on

1. Paulo Freire Oppressed
The Pedagogy of the

2. Meet Freire
Click here for a biography of Paulo Freire

3. Pedagogy of the Oppressed: The Nature
of the Oppressed and Oppressor
Freire describes the relationship that exists between the oppressor and the
oppressed and the systems that are inherently perpetuated by the nature of
these relationships. Freire argues that the oppressed can only become free
when they recognize their oppressed state and let go of the fear of being truly
free. This struggle to become free takes place through a deep and intrinsically
motivated desire to be human.
“This struggle [to be human] is possible only because dehumanization, although a
concrete historical fact, is not a given destiny but the result of an unjust order that
engenders violence in the oppressors, which in turn dehumanizes the oppressed.”
(Freire, p. 26)
Freire argues that the oppressed and the oppressor work within a cyclical
relationship wherein the oppressed may become the oppressor upon gaining
their freedom. The struggle is to find and maintain humanity:
“…the oppressed must not, in seeking to regain their humanity, become in turn
oppressors of the oppressor, but rather restorers of the humanity of both.” (Freire,
p.26)
Yet Freire also recognizes the fear that freedom can engender. Indeed, to be
free means to shed what is known and what is comfortable.
“The oppressed, having internalized the image of the oppressor and adopted his
guidelines are fearful of freedom. Freedom would require them to eject this image
and replace it with autonomy and responsibility. Freedom is acquired by conquest,
not by gift.” (Freire, p. 29)
“The oppressed suffer from the duality which has established itself in their
innermost being. They discover that without freedom they cannot exist
authentically. Yet, although they desire authentic existence, they fear it. They

4. Pedagogy of the
Oppressed:
“The pedagogy of the oppressed is anArgue?their
What does Freire instrument for
critical discovery that both they and their oppressor are
manifestations of dehumanization.” (Freire, p. 30)
Freire argues that the oppressed must recognize and
then fight against their oppression.
“As long as the oppressed remain unaware of the causes of
their condition, they fatalistically “accept” their exploitation.”
(Freire, p. 46)
“The pedagogy of the oppressed, as a humanist and
libertarian pedagogy has two distinct states. In the first,
the oppressed unveil the world of oppression and through
the praxis commit themselves to its transformation. In the
second stage, in which the reality of oppression has
already been transformed, this pedagogy ceases to
belong to the oppressed and becomes a pedagogy of all
people in the process of permanent liberation.” (Freire, p.
37)

5. Are we the Oppressors?
Read THIS article and consider the structures of
the Charter School Movement. Do some Charter
Schools maintain oppressive practices and
contribute to the cycle of the oppressed,
oppressor dichotomy within the U.S.?

6. Are we the Oppressors?
Take a moment to consider the following
questions:
Thinking about the ways in which our education
system works within hierarchies of power and the
ways in which our education system views
students, are we the oppressors?
Does our participation in the education system
maintain oppressive policies?
How do we, as educators working within a rigid
bureaucracy, work to change this within our
classroom without losing our jobs?
Are we afraid of freedom in the ways
that Freire argues the oppressed fear
freedom?

7. The Banking Concept of
Education
The banking system describes a form of education based on the
assumptions that educators “deposit” knowledge into our students,
the depositories. The system relies on the following assumptions:
The teacher teaches and the students are taught
The teacher knows everything and the students know nothing
The teacher thinks and the students are thought about
The teacher talks and the students listen--meekly
The teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined
The teacher chooses and enforces his choice and the
students comply
The teacher acts and the students have the illusion of
acting through the action of the teacher
The teacher chooses the program content and the students
(who were not consulted) adapt to it
The teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his or her own
profession authority which he or she sets in opposition to the freedom of
students
The teacher is the subject of the learning process while the pupils are mere
objects.

8. Inquiry Based Learning
Freire claims that the banking approach to
education dehumanizes students as well as
teachers as both parties participate in an
oppressive system.
Freire would argue that rather than treat our
students as deposits for our knowledge, we
engage them in their education so as to free them
from the oppression of the banking system.

9. Inquiry Based Learning
Click here and here for two examples of
inquiry based learning.
What does or would inquiry based learning look
like in your own classroom?
Do you agree with this approach to education or
would you argue that Freire was wrong in his
claim that the banking system dehumanizes our
students?
Is there a middle ground that would better serve
students and maintain both teacher and student
humanity?

10. Critique of Freire
Freire fails to mention many of the larger issues
facing schools
Testing
Standards
Curriculum
Role of Parents
Etc.
Click here to read Sol Sterns critique of
Freire

11. In our Country…
Let‟s explore three topics:
The achievement gap (along both racial and class)
The school to prison pipeline
Is education the civil rights issue of our time?

12. The Achievement Gap
Read the following three articles and consider if
the existing (and ever growing achievement gap)
is the result of a system of oppression:
Black Students face more Discipline
Education Gap Grows
The Achievement Gap (If you want even MORE
background)

13. The School to Prison
Pipeline
Read the following three articles and consider the oppressive
nature of our school system and the cycleof oppression it
engenders:
The New Jim Crow
Michelle Alexander interviewed
Awesome Infographic

14. Is Education the Civil
Rights Issue of our Time?
Read the following articles and consider whether
education is the civil rights issue of our time:
Why Inequality Persists?
Is Education the Civil Rights Issue of our time?

15. References
Alexander, M. (2010, February 8). Michelle Alexander: The new jim crow. The
Huffington Post. Retrieved July 10, 2012, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-alexander/the-new-jim-
crow_b_454469.html
Lewin, T. (2012, June 12). Black students face more harsh discipline, data
shows. The New York Times. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/education/black-students-face-more-
harsh-discipline-data-shows.html?_r=3
Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. In Foundations of Education (pp.
25-67). New York, NY: Continuum.
MrMatthewjherbert. (2009, June 18). The socratic seminar. YouTube -
Broadcast Yourself. . Retrieved July 11, 2012, from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxZMGK6IdEs

16. Noguera, P. (2012, May 24). Opinion: confronting challenges of American
education, „civil rights issue' of our time. In America- You Define America
What Defines You - CNN.com Blogs. Retrieved July 10, 2012, from
http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/24/opinion-confronting-challenges-
of-american-educationcivil-rights-issue-of-our-time/
Sokolower, J. (n.d.). Rethinking schools online. Rethinking Schools. Retrieved
July 10, 2012, from
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/restrict.asp?path=archive/26_02/26_02_s
okolower.shtml
Stern, S. (n.d.). Pedagogy of the oppressor. City Journal. Retrieved July 12,
2012, from http://www.city-journal.org/2009/19_2_freirian-pedagogy.html
Strauss, V. (2012, May 16). Why education inequality persists — and how to fix
it - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post. Washington Post: Breaking
News, World, US, DC News & Analysis. Retrieved July 11, 2012, from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/why-education-
inequality-persists--and-how-to-fix-it/2012/05/15/gIQAXEIeSU_blog.html
Tavernise, S. (2012, February 9). Education gap grows between rich and poor,
studies show - NYTimes.com. The New York Times - Breaking News,
World News & Multimedia. Retrieved July 9, 2012, from

17. Txafmama. (2010, October 12). Inquiry-based teaching model.
Youtuube-Broadcast Yourself. Retrieved July 10, 2012,
fromhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLQPXd8BiIA&feature=
topics
The deceptive promise of charter schools: A New Orleans case
study « education for the 99%. Education for the 99%.
Retrieved July 11, 2012, from
http://education4the99.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/the-
deceptive-promise-of-charter-schools-a-new-orleans-case-
study/
Good Feed Blog. (2012, June 1). Awesome infographic: educate
or incarcerate? The Good Men Project. Retrieved July 10,
2012, from http://goodmenproject.com/good-feed-
blog/awesome-infographic-educate-or-incarcerate/