Emily Miller Blog Post #3: Freire’s Impact

11/17/15

One of the most striking things about Freire’s work is the timelessness of his ideals. Pedagogy of the Oppressed was first published in 1970 - that’s 45 years ago! Everything he says is right on the mark and is as relevant to education today in NYC as it must have been in rural Brazil in the l960’s. The oppressed/oppressor dynamic that Freire describes is embedded in every sphere of our society. Our nation was founded in opposition to British oppression, but in reality our government has it’s own sordid history of oppression over many populations by those in power. This is relevant because Friere reminds us that all our actions as teachers are political.  I think that Freire is asking us to continually question the underlying power relationships that exist in and outside the classroom.

The “banking” method that Freire describes is something we all need to guard against as we look critically at the dynamic in our classrooms. When the teacher simply feels that he/she has all the knowledge and it’s his/her job to relay that knowledge to the students who know nothing, that’s the “banking” method. That’s also an example of an oppressed/oppressor dynamic at work in the classroom. This ties in with Heath’s and Purcell-Gates’ work as well because if the students have nothing to offer then there is no need to consider students’ literacy backgrounds or styles when designing and implementing curricula. There’s no room for Adam Banks’ suggestions in the “banking” method (no pun intended!) The opposite of the “banking” method is what Freire calls “problem-posing” education. As Freire says, “Problem-posing education affirms men and women as beings in the process of becoming –as unifinished, uncompleted beings in and with a likewise unfinished reality.” (84)

Every Freirian concept is worthy of lengthy scholarly discussion and I am excited to hear everyone’s commentary on Freire’s work. I think that Pedagogy of the Oppressed should be required reading in every teacher-education program. I went to school in the 1970’s and 80’s and I never heard of Paulo Freire until my daughter brought his work to my attention two years ago. I am grateful for the opportunity to study Freire in this context and I hpe to apply his principles to my interaction with my students.

Emily