Paulo Freire
Paulo Freire
Paulo Reglus Neves Freirewas a Brazilian educator and philosopher who was a leading advocate of critical pedagogy. He is best known for his influential work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, considered one of the foundational texts of the critical pedagogy movement...
NationalityBrazilian
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth19 September 1921
CountryBrazil
reality feelings needs
Individuals who were submerged in reality, merely feeling their needs, emerge from reality and perceive the causes of their needs.
character reality ongoing
The unfinished character of human beings and the transformational character of reality necessitate that education be an ongoing activity.
people transformation painful
Transformation is only valid if it is carried out with the people, not for them. Liberation is like a childbirth, and a painful one. The person who emerges is a new person: no longer either oppressor or oppressed, but a person in the process of achieving freedom. It is only the oppressed who, by freeing themselves, can free their oppressors.
guidelines pedagogy-of-the-oppressed adopted
The oppressed, having internalized the image of the oppressor and adopted his guidelines, are fearful of freedom.
men banking pedagogy-of-the-oppressed
It is not suprising that the banking concept of education regards men as adaptable, manageable beings.
teacher teaching taught
Although the teachers or the students are not the same, the person in charge of education is being formed or re-formed as he/she teaches, and the person who is being taught forms him/herself in the process. ...There is, in fact, no teaching without learning.
teacher teaching people
Whether the teacher is authoritarian, undisciplined, competent, incompetent, serious, irresponsible, involved, a lover of people and of life, cold, angry with the world, bureaucratic, excessively rational, or whatever else, he/she will not pass through the classroom without leaving his or her mark on the students.
attitude teaching caring
How can I be an educator if I do not develop in myself a caring and loving attitude toward the student, which is indispensable on the part of one who is committed to teaching and to the education process itself.
burning building treats
Attempting to liberate the oppressed without their reflective participation in the act of liberation is to treat them as objects that must be saved from a burning building.
men becoming problem
Problem-posing education affirms men and women as beings in the process of becoming.
cutting order magic
In order for the oppressed to unite they must first cut the umbilical cord of magic and myth which binds them to the world of oppression; the unity which links them to each other must be of a different nature.
practice revolutionary-leaders invasion
The behavior and reactions of the oppressed, which lead the oppressor to practice cultural invasion, should evoke from the revolutionary a different theory of action. What distinguishes revolutionary leaders from the dominant elite is not only their objectives, but their procedures.
educational philosophy communication
Only through communication can human life hold meaning.
perseverance reading learning
A reader does not suddenly comprehend what is being read or studied, in a snap, miraculously. Comprehension needs to be worked forged, by those who read and study; as subjects of the action, they must seek to employ appropriate instruments in order to carry out the task. For this very reason, reading and studying form a challenging task, one requiring patience and perseverance.