Freedom and Education

...Without freedom they (the oppressed and oppressor) cannot exist authentically...
Paolo Freire

"A person's freedom of learning is part of his freedom of though, even more basic than his freedom of speech."
John Holt

"Let childhood ripen in chidren...let the germ of his character reveal itself freely."

Man is Free but is everywhere in chains."
Rousseau

Freedom in Education is as urgent as the idea of 'development as freedom,' for without self liberation how can we reflect and then create transformation and action in the world? The above illustration is from the cover of a book about the educational models of Paolo Freire, who is famous for his 'Pedagogy of the Oppressed.' His main ideas are focused around the practice of:

conscientização: learning to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions and to take action agains the oppressive elements of reality...

reflection,
action,
transformation,

humanization

Freire seeks to awaken the people unto themselves, using dialogue and reflection about the state of society and injustice. Furthermore, working to self-liberate and transform dynamics of oppression.


"Those who authentically commit themselves to the people must re-examine themselves constantly." -Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed


Freire's liberation of learning is in dissent to the industrialization approach to education. During the era of industrialization schools began to emulate the supply and demand approach to labor. There was a need for factory workers and so children were trained to be disciplined, to repeat back, and to copy. Rote learning and the structure of standardized testing are indicators of this archaic dynamic in classrooms today. Freire spoke out against oppression, especially of rural, local populations in Brazil. The change which this pedagogue was conjuring was a dialectic that stems from the people themselves. Community circles of sharing were an important way to learn the needs and wants of the village through the use of embodied speech, rather than empty word.
This calls for leaders to step forth and become actors in intercommunication.

Therefore, no change is prescriptive. What works for one group of people in schools, or learning, may not work for another group of people at another time and place.


"The starting point for organizing the program content of political action must be a present, existential, concrete situation reflecting the aspirations of the people."


In terms of education and development this issue of place-based initiative is of paramount importance. All too often western ideals of education are applied haphazardly to other nations around the world, while they are often incongruous to the culture of the place and people. Freire's notion of pedagogy is still revolutionary and inspires many to become masters of their own thinking.