Paulo FreireRecensioni

This book by Paolo Freire is interesting. However, each takes what he/she wants from the book.
The education chapter stood out for me and is one that people must read carefully.

This is not an easy book to read, especially the last chapter, in which he kept repeating the word, 'praxis.'

However, I suggest that a reader read once, and then return to the book again, at leisure.

I read this at the start of 2013 and reading my review now I feel really embarrassed, it's very arrogant and I don't feel fair at all. So ignore my review and rating. At some point I'm hopefully going to read it again and try harder to understand it.

Fails to answer the super-important question of "*who* is a teacher?" Given that it purports to describe a new method of teaching and tries to make it clear that the oppressor cannot teach the oppressed, the lack of identification of the teacher is problematic, as well as the unresolved contradiction between their role as a teacher and their role as an equal in a dialogue with their students. Is the teacher/student relation even a useful one? not really answered. The word "teach" is loaded with meaning that he doesn't take apart. The problems inherent in the ideas of teaching, leading etc are a constant factor in the book that are never addressed.


Other problems/things:
- The oppressed as liberators of themselves and the oppressers - in the oppressed becoming Subjects, do the oppressers become objects?
- Rejects propaganda, but can the book itself be classified as propaganda? What is the book's relation to the dialogue process?
- A paternalistic attitude - when presented, anecdotes about the "uneducated" making the same realisations and insights as "intellectuals" feel patronising, like a seal in a circus. They're mentioned because they repeated "intellectual" comments in a different form - the book immediately places them in the "intellectual" context, removing the power of the people to make their own insights by changing their words to suit "intellectual" thought patterns and idioms
- This isn't a book about educational methods as such, it's a book about revolution. That people can divorce the ideas about education from the revolution both boggles my mind and stands as a testament to the liberal ability to co-opt anything.
- He says what revolutionary leaders should and shouldn't do but it feels like it boils down to "do good things, don't do bad things." The problem of leadership which doesn't engage in dialogue with the people is obviously a serious one but I don't feel he tackles it other than saying "it's really bad and not revolutionary"
- There's like 10 pages max in the book which talk about the praticialities of his method and they highlight a disconcerting gap between theory and practise. His theory seems to suggest a radical reinvention of the teaching relationship, but in practise it's more like "teaching where the student has input in what he gets taught." He considers the role of the teacher to be as a kind of revolutionary leader, I think, although it's not clear at all.
- He constantly says stuff about people needing to "investigate" the world and its realities but makes a distinction between the investigators and the people, even though there isn't one - the investigators are always part of what they're investigating. At times he seems unsure of this but at other times the distinction is very clear and it's confusing. He performs the same trick of inconsistent dichotomies with the world/humans and revolutionary leaders/the people - they're variously referred to as completely separate, one and the same or different but equal.
- Very repetitious. The same phrases are often repeated as if he was introducing them for the first time, just with different introductions that don't really illuminate the meaning of the phrase
- A weird "epoch" idea is introduced in the middle of one chapter that I didn't really understand - he claims we're in an "epoch of authority" or something, as opposed to other epochs which... didn't have authority? I don't know, I found it hard to understand and didn't see how it helped to explain or describe anything
- Lots about the difference between humans and animals that felt wanky and could probably have been summed up in a paragrah - "humans are different to animals because they can understand their position and attempt to change it" was the main point and it took 5-6 pages to describe
- He clearly has strong admiration for Che, Castro, Marx and Mao and quotes them at various points. His ideas actually remind me to a large extent of Mao's "the Party listens to the people and then the Party transforms the scattered ideas the people have into a coherent form and teaches the people" idea, except puffed up a lot

(Sorry for the kind of scattershot approach)

I wasn't impressed. It felt overly long for what was actually said and didn't really talk about its ideas past stating them multiple times. Some interesting stuff was said and somewhat better than I've read elsewhere but it didn't really have much substance behind sloganeering (which he rails against a few times)

Última obra de Paulo Freire publicada em vida, Pedagogia da autonomia é um livro conciso, de poucas páginas e muitas lições. Aqui Paulo Freire defende o pensar, louva a liberdade, prega a amorosidade, exalta a autenticidade. Ensina cada um a Ser Mais.



Pedagogia da autonomia reafirma o profundo compromisso ético de Paulo Freire na defesa da existência digna. Neste seu último livro publicado em vida, em 1996, o educador aprofunda sua teoria-ética de uma vida voltada para a liberdade, a verdade e a autenticidade dos sujeitos, contra a lógica do capital. A partir do amor revolucionário e do rigor crítico, reflete sobre o que o ato de ensinar exige de educadores e educandos.

Este livro transcende a experiência da sala de aula e, como o grande educador que é, Paulo Freire nos convida a nos tornar seres humanos melhores, mais autônomos, para construirmos uma sociedade mais justa, ética e democrática, em que todos tenham oportunidades. Neste, que é um de seus livros mais importantes, o educador ensina-nos como nos posicionar com respeito, curiosidade crítica e boniteza, reconhecendo-nos como seres sociais e históricos, capazes de transformar a realidade em que estamos inserido. Para isso, devemos estar abertos para conhecer o mundo e os seres, sem nenhuma forma de discriminação, pensando a ética e a convivência na sociedade e conscientes de que, com alegria e esperança, a mudança é possível.

Um livro totalmente necessário, que nos motiva a seguir resistindo em tempos difíceis.

*

Em 1963, em Angicos, interior do Rio Grande do Norte, trezentos trabalhadores rurais foram alfabetizados em apenas 40 horas, pelo método proposto por Paulo Freire. Esse foi o resultado do projeto-piloto do que seria o Programa Nacional de Alfabetização do governo de João Goulart, presidente que viria a ser deposto em março de 1964. Em outubro desse mesmo ano, Freire deixou o Brasil para proteger a própria vida. Apenas voltou a visitar o país em 1979, com a abertura democrática.

Ao longo de sua história, Paulo Freire recebeu mais de cem títulos de doutor honoris causa, de diversas universidades nacionais e estrangeiras, além de inúmeros prêmios, como Educação para a Paz, da Unesco, e Ordem do Mérito Cultural, do governo brasileiro. Integra o International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame e o Reading Hall of Fame.



“Gosto de ser homem, de ser gente, porque não está dado como certo, inequívoco, irrevogável que sou ou serei decente, que testemunharei sempre gestos puros, que sou e que serei justo, que respeitarei os outros, que não mentirei escondendo o seu valor porque a inveja de sua presença no mundo me incomoda e me enraivece. Gosto de ser homem, de ser gente, porque sei que a minha passagem pelo mundo não é predeterminada, preestabelecida. Que o meu ‘destino’ não é um dado, mas algo que precisa ser feito e de cuja responsabilidade não posso me eximir. Gosto de ser gente porque a história em que me faço com os outros e de cuja feitura tomo parte é um tempo de possibilidades, e não de determinismo. Daí que insista tanto na problematização do futuro e recuse sua inexorabilidade.” - Paulo Freire

revolutionary pedagogy

Education, philosophy of education, classic, social change, critical pedagogy, hegemony, Marxist analysis, liberation theology, peasants, Chile, emancipation, social justice

This is not compulsively readable but still full of such important ideas it's hard to put down. There are so many ways to oppress and to be oppressed, and even in trying to help those you see as oppressed you may be contributing to their oppression. It's impact over intent. Oppressors cannot be fully human while trying to revoke the humanity of another. I think this would be a good book to come back to regularly.

I stand with the overall message: indoctrinated education that focuses on creating docile wage laborers is not good for us, and we gain (some of our) freedom through what the author refers to as 'problem-posing education', i.e. dialogue, participatory action research rather than passively absorbing information. But, I do think the value proposition is flawed, as it should be centered around how such education can be directed to amassing social utility and creating a system that disables social inequality, rather than achieving an arbitrary individual freedom. It's nonetheless understandable when recognizing the climate at the time of this writing.

A much needed book in this troubled world.

I'm going to rate once I've read the paperback version as I've only so far listened to the audiobook.

This book was recommended to me many years ago by a professor at Azusa Pacific whose last name escapes me but her first name was Deborah. At the time I was interested in student services, and she suggested that I read this book. It's been a while coming, but this really is an important book about education. The notion of banking knowledge is something that we don't talk about in as many words, but it is something that the American system of education still views as a foundation of teaching, yet Freire boldly states "In the banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing. Projecting an absolute ignorance onto others, a characteristic of the ideology of oppression, negates education and knowledge as processes of inquiry" (72).

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I finished this a couple of days ago, but it took me a while to finally get around to reviewing it. I am giving it three stars, but it is not because it is a bad book. The book can be a bit repetitive, especially if you have read some of Freire's other works, and a few passages can be a little dry. Having said that, there is a lot in this book for teachers and educators to reflect upon. I found myself making notes in my personal journal at various times, jotting down passages and quotes I wanted to remember for later. Freire covers a lot of ground in this book from the teaching of reading to the behavior of teachers, from the teaching act to political action and activism. I think a lot of what Freire wrote in this book is very relevant today if educators would take the time to read the book, reflect on it, then take action. I also think that the book has a lot to say to librarians, who are educators as well, and who often do a lot of teaching (especially if you are an instruction librarian, but even at the reference desk some degree of teaching goes on). Some of it also speaks to our profession in terms of the idea of library neutrality, a topic I have considered before (I have a book just on that topic listed in my GoodReads lists if anyone is interested).

I took this book with me when I went to Immersion (ACRL Institute on Information Literacy for those not in librarianship, an intensive institute for instruction librarians) this past summer. In part, I was looking for a bit of inspiration. I think I also longed to read something that is not necessarily present in the Immersion curriculum (or if it is, it is very well hidden or unacknowledged). I think Freire has a lot that can speak to librarians, if we take the time to listen.

See my blog note on it:

http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/2005/08/booknote-paulo-freire-reader.html

La educación como práctica de la libertad se publicó en 1965, durante su exilio en Chile. Fue la primera de las grandes obras de Paulo Freire en la que criticó de forma implacable los sistemas tradicionales de educación, convirtiéndose en uno de los principales motores de la revolución educativa en Brasil. Junto a su esposa, Elza –otra gran educadora–, elaboró un innovador (y necesario) método de alfabetización que se vinculaba a los intereses de los desamparados y que desarrolló en su ciudad natal, Recife. Este modelo se basaba en una educación construida sobre el diálogo, permitiendo a cada persona contribuir en su desarrollo personal. Freire logró que la educación abandonara su función domesticadora para convertirse en un camino hacia la libertad, cuyo objetivo primero era la toma de conciencia de las personas como individuos, para así evitar la masificación.
La pedagogía de Freire podría denominarse como de la conciencia. El autor plantea que la educación debe concebirse como una acción cultural dirigida al cambio: el sistema educativo debe ayudar a que el sujeto contribuya al cambio social al proveer al educando de los instrumentos contra el desarraigo, pues la educación en la decisión y en la responsabilidad social y política sustituye la anterior pasividad por nuevas pautas de participación.

Read this in a book group. Obviously really great and rewarding. It'd be cool if everyone read it.

Assaig sobre l'alfabetització per a adults a les biblioteuqes públiques.

Freire helped open me up further to the complexity of living in a culture of oppression and the inherent dehumanization in systems of power that want to control rather than allow people to become more critically engaged. As a person on the side of the oppressor, I need to be reminded of what I've lost in this exchange and also how much I need to reorient to think of how people must be allowed to grow into critical engagement. This verve and perspective cannot be handed out, else perpetually sustaining the system of oppression, but interdependent exchange, with an orientation to the real disparities within interpersonal and educational models.

Esta obra sintetiza los grandes temas gestados en medio de las luchas sociales que convulsionaron a América Latina y a los pueblos del Tercer Mundo, y que provocaron las reflexiones, formuladas al ritmo de esas luchas, sobre la necesidad de sobrevivir y de vencer el agobio de la dominación. Paulo Freiré propone crear una pedagogía de la esperanza que supere la 'pedagogía del oprimido'.
El libro profundiza en la historia y los hechos para mostrar las condiciones que dieron forma al pensamiento; descubre las tramas que envolvieron vida, ideas y procesos sociales; muestra la tragedia de las discriminaciones, la extensión de la injusticia y el drama de los que lucharon. La obra es también una prueba de fortaleza de parte de una generación que resistió el sometimiento y que extrajo de las vicisitudes y de las persecuciones el constante coraje para trabajar en la transformación social.
Más de veinte años después, los recuerdos de Pedagogía del oprimido se han convertido en la denuncia de las múltiples máscaras que la dominación usa y recupera. Esa denuncia es, además, testimonio del esfuerzo callado y generoso de muchos que, en todo el mundo, impiden que la esperanza muera.

Fascinating book where two rad old men talk about their rad old lives. Lots of cool stuff in here about how they think about education, social change, and living life. Totally fun, and seems like it'd be useful if you're at all interested in empowering the people around you and/or education or just how some very interesting people thought and lived their lives.

Reading this book kicked off a whole swarm of poorly-formed thoughts about how to live my life. I want to re-read this book in a few months- hopefully it will help those thoughts fall into place. If this plan works I'll come back and update to a 5.

Refletindo sobre o Ensino
Esse livro de Paul Freire, curto e denso, é sobre docência: suas características, seus objetivos, seus instrumentos, seus protagonistas. Numa linguagem simples, objetiva (direta) e clara, Paulo Freire reflete sobre o que é ensinar e quais são seus pressupostos. Ensinar, afirma, não é uma atividade neutra, é atividade imersa num contexto social e histórico que não só deve ser percebido pelo docente, mas também pensado (vivenciado). Ensinar não é uma pura e simples transferência de conhecimentos, é processo de formação da autonomia do educando; conjunto de atividades que lhe permite transformar o “saber de experiência feito” num saber rigoroso, metódico, crítico. É processo de emancipação e transformação do professor e do aluno. A leitura e releitura desta obra é essencial para todo aquele que, como docente ou discente (ou ambos), se envolve na tarefa de educar e ser educado.

Chapters 1-3 were solid, and definitely applicable to so many things teaching/education-related. Chapter 4 gets a little, ummm....pro-Castro/Guevara? It also goes straight-up violent political revolution, which is not really my jam. Nevertheless, the first bit is excellent, and the final chapter is good for a different perspective.

Freire wrote about teaching illiterate peasants (and, God love him, fomenting revolution at the same time) but his book nevertheless serves as a philosophical guide to turning traditional college education on its head. I've revamped my entire course based on his work.

Education is one of the main tasks of organizers, and this book is an important starting point.

I hope that everyone that finds themselves in a classroom will read this book.