“Liberation is a praxis: the action and reflection of men and women upon their world in order to transform it.” – Paulo Freire

If you are an educator or work with youth in any way, this is a book that you should read, but do so knowing that it is, as it claims to be, a revolutionary way of thinking. In one sense, Pedagogy of the Oppressed is a book about how to teach oppressed populations- an argument for a simple but fundamental change in the way that education functions. In another sense, Pedagogy of the Oppressed is a book about how each of us interacts with and comes to understand the world- it is, on every level of thinking, a book that questions how we understand the world and why we understand it that way. In either case, it brings specific attention to the concept of education and the role it plays in either liberating or oppressive force in the life of a student.

Freire is a revolutionary and radical intellectual who was kicked out of his home country of Brazil because he and his ideas were viewed as a threat to the established order. The book will make you question both what you learn and how you learn it.

Freire begins by establishing the need for his book in the first place. Freire argues that education can be either a powerful agent of liberation or an equally powerful agent of control. In the situation of an oppressed group of people, if the education does not teach them to examine situations critically and instead teaches facts and figures, most likely from the viewpoint of the oppressor, then there is no chance for the oppressed to liberate themselves. What is needed is a system of education that teaches people to think critically about the context of their lives and how to do something about it- even moreso, to redefine education as a dialogue in which all participants contribute and learn rather than a one way passing of knowledge. In this way, education becomes a liberating act.  

Soon after, he explains the basic dichotomy of educational purpose- on one side, there is “banking” style education, the one that most of us are familiar with. Teacher speaks, students take notes. Later, students spit back the same knowledge in tests that don’t require much critical thinking to the teacher. The more the students have memorized, the better grade they get. Discussion and critical analysis is minimal, and the teacher is viewed as the fountain of knowledge.
Freire argues for “problem-solving” education- education that presents people with issues that actually exist around them, and argues that true knowledge can be obtained by learning what is needed to address and solve these problems. The other core of his argument is that teachers and students both benefit from blurring the lines between them. He posits:

“Through dialogue, the teacher-of-the-students and the students-of-the-teacher cease to exist and a new term emerges: teacher-student with students-techers.”

In this way, both engage in the process of becoming and engage in education as an act of freedom and an act of liberation.

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