Paulo Freire
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Introduction
Paulo Freire was born September 19, 1921 to a middle class family in Recife, Brazil. Paulo Freire is best known for his commitment to love, hope and his critical pedagogy of the oppressed. He has been recognized for his work with oppressed individuals and his educational and organizational assignments led him to begin a means of communication with the oppressed. This communication would later develop into his dialogical method for adult education (Collins, 1997, pg.1). Paulo Freire lived a long life were he committed himself to the poor and how they could be better accommodated and accepted into society. Freire’s most important goal was for the oppressed to be proficient in literacy skills.
Background
While Paulo Freire was a young boy living in Recife, a port city in northeastern Brazil, his family suffered terribly during the Great Depression. The economic times were hard and as a young boy he recalls his parents, “taught him at an early age to prize dialogue and to respect the choices of others” (Collins, 1997, pg.2). His parents were middle class but greatly suffered financial woes “so severe during the Great Depression that Paulo Freire learned what it was to go hungry. In his childhood he determined to dedicate his life to the struggle against hunger” and the oppressed individuals of our world (Collins, 1997, pg.2). As the years progressed the financial status of Paulo Freire’s family increased a bit and he was able to further his education and schooling. Paulo Freire entered a University in Recife, Brazil where he was enrolled and studied in the school of law.
In 1944 Paulo Freire married his first wife, Elza Maria, a grade school teacher. After his marriage and the arrival of his children, three daughters and two sons, Paulo Freire had a keen interest in the theories of education. With this interest he found himself reading and discussing more about education, philosophy, and sociology than law. Eventually he abandoned his career choice in law and soon accepted a job as a welfare official. Paulo Friere had a great understanding for oppressed individuals and valued them as human beings.
Kathleen Weiler stated in her article, Paulo Freire: On Hope, “Freire never loses sight of this central claim: that the world we live in is the result of human action, that the future will be made by human beings, that history is not static and unchanging, that the oppressive reality we see around us can be transformed” (2003, pg.35). Through direct contact with the poor and oppressed during his service as welfare agent, Paulo Freire began to formulate a means of communicating with the dispossed that would later develop into his dialogical method for education.
Freire's Career
Paulo Freire went on to teach courses in history, philosophy, and education at the University of Recife. He was awarded a doctoral degree in 1959. While at Recife University, Paulo Freire became the first director of the University of Recife’s Cultural Extension Service which brought literacy programs to thousands of peasants in the northeast Brazil areas. From 1963 to 1964, Paulo Freire’s literacy teams worked feverishly throughout the entire nation. They claimed success in teaching illiterate adults to read and write in a very short amount of time (Collins, 1997, pg.2). During this time Brazil was in much unrest and Paulo Freire was exiled from the country. Paulo was seen as engaging in “submersive” activites. Paulo Freire moved on to work in Chile, other South American countries, Switzerland and even America.
The secret to Paulo Freire and his team’s success is not just merely teaching the instrumental and decontextualized skills of reading and writing, but rather by presenting participation in the political process through knowledge of reading and writing as a desirable and obtainable goal for all individuals both rich and poor. Wayne Cavalier states in his article, The Three Voices of Freire: An Exploration of His Thought Over Time, published in Religious Education, “humans can construct a new social reality if they choose to” (2002, pg. 257). Wayne Cavalier goes on to explain, “He (Freire) believes that such a future can be constructed, and he worries that if this is not the kind of future that people work toward, then the construction of the future will continue to be in the hands of those who promote and benefit from the dehumanizing status quo” (2002, pg. 257). Paulo Freire won the attention of the poor and awakened their hope that they could have a say in the day-to-day decisions that affect their lives.
After working in Brazil, Chile, Switzerland, numerous other countries, and Harvard University in America it is concluded that Paulo Friere has had a great impact on education. From the theories of Paulo Freire it is apparent that education is to be the path of permanent liberation, a democratic and critical process as well as “horizontal relationship” between teacher and pupil. Cavalier states, “Friere centers on the need for teachers to respect the learners,” Cavalier goes on to say, “For Freire, the bottom line is respect” (2002, pg. 267). Friere was committed to love, hope, and critical pedagogy.
Paulo Freire lived a long and fulfilling life. He was a repeatable and respected man by many. He greatly contributed to the educational theories and critical pedagogy of our world today. Paulo Freire died in Rio de Janeiro on May 2, 1997 at the age of seventy five. He has left behind a great legacy of commitment, love, and hope for the poor and oppressed people through out the world.
Resources
Cavalier, Wayne. (2002). The three voices of Freire: an exploration of his thought over time. Religious Education. 97(3), 254-270.
Collins, Denis. (1997). Paulo Freire. National-Lois University: ww.nl.edu.
Weiler, Kathleen. (2003). Paulo Freire: on hope. Radical Teacher. 67, 32-35.
Author
Jessie Dial.
