Assignment 1b

Paulo Freire is thought of as one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century. He is a Brazilian educator and theorist. He has brought about ideas of change, inspired many critical educators, and enlightened many to the sufferings of mankind brought about by oppression. He is notoriously known for his book “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”, where he expresses his believe “that education could improve the human condition, counteracting the effects of a psychology of oppression, and ultimately contributing to what he considered the ontological vocation of humankind: humanization”.
Freire is well known for his disagreement of the “banking” concept of education, which is the idea that a student is representative of an empty account in which the teacher is responsible for filling. Paulo’s idea of the student-teacher relationship was that the student should not only learn but teach the teacher and the teacher should not only teach but also learn from the student.
In the 1960’s Paulo worked in Portuguese adult schools where he educated and trained the illiterate. He became the first Director of the Department of Cultural Extension at the University of Recife, where he brought literacy programs to the poor. It was here in this new role that he was able to put his believes into action. He taught 300 workers to read and write in only 45 days.

References:

http://mingo.info-science.uiowa.edu/~stevens/critped/freire.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Freire
http://www3.nl.edu/academics/cas/ace/resources/Documents/FreireHomage.cfm