Pedagogy of the Oppressed: A Critical Book Review
This paper is a report containing a summery and my own opinion of the novel "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Paulo Freire. It is a well-written manifesto for the liberation of oppressed people everywhere. It speaks of love, unity, and knowledge as vital to creating a world of freedom; an end to the dialectical struggle of oppression and liberation. Freire has had a beautiful vision and has shared it with the world in the hopes that it will inspire, and cause others to stand up for their right to become more human. Throughout the book, one main point is expressed repeatedly-that the process of liberation is a mutual one, and that it must be achieved through praxis. True liberation, where the cycle of oppression and liberation is broken, leaving only a liberated society, can only be arrived at through the equal use of action and understanding. The people must understand the reasons, and the necessity of their revolution, as well as acting to liberate themselves, otherwise their action will be no more than pointless activism. According to Paulo Freire, there is one major driving force behind the movement for liberation from oppre
Organization is derived directly from unity, as the people are taught how to change the world for themselves. The teacher speaks while the students listen, and the teacher sets the curriculum, forcing the students to adapt to it. The synthesis of the leaders and the people is the goal of liberation for all. Freire proposes a new form of education, one of equality and equal learning. The conqueror has made the people his possessions; he is the only one that matters. Freire states very clearly in the text that the revolutionary leaders must not use anti-dialogical methods in their cause for fear of becoming the oppressors. If the people unify, they will represent a serious threat to the oppressors, divided they can do nothing. Members of the oppressive class consider themselves, and only themselves, as human. Once organized, they represent a serious threat to the ruling class, and have the ability to overthrow it. Alone either would be useless, as reflection would accomplish nothing and action alone would be destructive and pointless. Cultural invasion requires that the invaded culture be utterly convinced of its inferiority to the oppressors, so that the oppressive class can impose its ideals, morals, and values on the working class inhibiting its creativity and expression. By risking your life to free the oppressed' to give them humanity, only the true word has the power to transform the world; to brake it from the endless dialectical circle of oppression and liberation. His idea revolves around the leveling of the playing field; the teacher is also the student, while the students are also the teachers. I also had some difficulty with his idea of the people attempting to become more human by liberating themselves. It revolves around the idea that the peasant class is easier to control if they are divided.
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