Paulo Freire and my teaching

I recently read Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, and it really made me think about how I teach. Freire argues that there are two classes of people, oppressors and oppressed. Because the Oppressors are typically the ones in charge of education, teaching tends to keep the Oppressed in a subordinate state. Some benevolent Oppressors may try to educate Oppressed in such as way as to liberate them, but those efforts are doomed to fail because the Oppressors only know what Freire calls "banking education." In this system, teachers make deposits into students and expect the ability to make withdrawals at exam time. Freire contrasts this with what he labels "problem-posing education" where teacher-students pose a problem to student-teachers (recognizing the co-existence of knowing and learning in everyone), and then the student-teachers use the knowledge that they already have to develop solutions to the problem.

So as I teach students the importance of dissent, am I depositing a value in them, expecting them to be able to do it? Or am I posing a problem (oppressive silence in organizations) and letting them work through the solution? As I think about the Fall semester and my teaching then, it's definitely something upon which I will reflect.

By the way, if you are familiar with Freire's work, I apologize for the oversimplification of his ideas. Although not an easy read, I highly recommend Pedagogy of the Oppressed to anyone teaching.

Students are registering for classes this week, beginning today. Normally, I'm always curious who will take my courses. But this fall, I'm scheduled to teach an elective, so I'm particularly watching to see if the class makes. I've advertised as needed, but I haven't heard from people. This year, I only taught seniors, so they are little help. I need 8 students. Come on. Don't make me get re-assigned to left over classes!