Paulo Freire: Pedagogue

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Throughout history, many men and women have made important contributions to the world of education. Amongst these is the Brazilian scholar Paulo Freire, whose influences on the world have been both broad and deep. A true believer in Marxist theory, his central ideas regarding education revolve around the concept that the experience and learning process of education are more important than the "facts" or concepts that are being taught. Consequently, traditional teaching methods (known as "Banking") train students to be passive, unthinking, and subservient to their superiors; instead, teachers should "free" their students by employing "problem-posing" techniques, where teachers not only present concepts for students to analyse, but actually become "students" themselves ("Oppressed").

Paulo Freire's radical theories are best understood in the context of his upbringing amongst the Brazilian poor. Although his family was not a member of the absolute lowest classes, they were forced to live in a poor laborers' community due to the impact of the Great Depression. He realized that many "of his day-to-day companions…ate less [than him] and some…hardly ever ate", causing him to realize that "‘…a lot of things in the world were not going well'" (Lownd). These experiences would prove to be amongst the most influential of his life, as he obtained a unique familiarity with their lives and status, and how this status affected their education. As an adult, his work at SESI further demonstrated the gaps between the education that the schools offered and the real needs of the working-class people (Bentley). These experiences with the impoverished peoples of Brazil led him to the So...

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...sed. Continuum Publishing Company, 1970

28 Oct 2004 http://www.marxists.org/subject/education/freire/pedagogy/

Williams, Laurie Rage & Hope: Paulo Freire — Educational Banking. 26 Nov 1999

28 Oct 2004 http://www.edb.utexas.edu/faculty/scheurich/proj3/freire3.html

Gibson, Rich Paulo Freire and Pedagogy for Social Justice. Spring 1999.

28 Oct 2004 http://www.pipeline.com/~rgibson/freireTRSSE.htm

Bentley, Leslie Paulo Freire — A Brief Biography. Dec 1999. 28 Oct 2004

http://www.unomaha.edu/~pto/paulo.htm

Yoo, Sung-Sang Paulo Freire — Freirean Pedagogy 28 Oct 2004

http://paulofreireinstitute.org/Documents/PF-Freirean_Pedagogy.html

Lownd, Richard Freire's Life and Work. 28 Oct 2004

http://paulofreireinstitute.org/Documents/PF-life_and_work_by_Peter.html

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