Reaction to Paolo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed

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to a more symmetrical model. The lopsidedness and imbalance in the system must be routed out completely. The one-sidedness of the traditional educational system, where there is a narrator (the teacher) and a listening object (the students) should be done away with, since it only minimizes students’ creative power, and entrenches the interests of the dominators.

This ‘banking model of education’ only turns students into passive "receptacles" to be "filled" by the teachers, akin to making deposits at a bank. Rote learning and regurgitation is promoted, without creativity, inventiveness, and an inquiring mind. This banking model is primed to program and control thinking and action, and not unleashing the creative juices of students. It is only an oppressive tool, tuned to submerge the consciousness of the people, by making them passive spectators, not re-creators and equal partners in their own education. Such an educational system works to dull the senses and creativity of students by mythologizing facts through obfuscation and concealment, and failing to acknowledge the historical causes of present living conditions, particularly of poor people.

The educational system advocated for is one in which teachers and students are both teachers and learners, creating and sharing in the educational system by learning from each other and helping each other learn through common reflection and action, as permanent co-creators, and purveyors of knowledge. Such an enterprise entails shirking the banking model, supplanting it with real-world problem-solving scenarios. This system holds the keys in emancipating the oppressed, and advancing society, by their own self-determination and consciousness. This system also poses the banking method of education as a problem, and the under-developed state of the people as a changeable but unfortunate fact of history. It also empowers the people to move to determine their destinies.

Alienation of the oppressed from their own social problems only serves to perpetuate their domination by regarding them as unthinking objects. Such a situation is tantamount to violence against the oppressed. Freire also warns against members of the oppressed who, when given some power, tend to become petty tyrants. This is a clear and present social pitfall because of their flawed model of humanity, which is defined by their oppressors’ values. Again, charismatic leaders are not capable of leading the oppressed to development.

This masterpiece is a must-read for everyone seeking to understand political-economic issues, and to develop critical-cultural understanding of the world. It shows direction for liberating people from entrenched structures of oppression at all levels – local, national, and global. It also presents a workable model for reforming education in ways that make it local relevant, and for organizing and galvanizing people on the road for liberation and self-determination.

Serving as a counterpoint to dominant ideas of education it is instructive in insisting adopting an anti-establishment view of the oppressed peoples of the world. In lieu of seeing them as empty vessels, who are powerless in shaping their futures, Freire holds the view that that true knowledge and expertise already exists with people. Such wealth of knowledge only needs to be untapped by involving them in their own developmental challenges. Indeed, development must me man-centered. Indeed, man must be both the instrument and the beneficiary of his development. What is required is dialogue, respect, love for humanity, and praxis or action and reflection to transform the world.

It has been a totally enriching experience, studying this book. It has shed ample light on cognate studies in media theory. Specifically, I can relate better to ideas in Marxism, political-economy, cultural studies, and critical analysis.