Beginnings, Fall 2009
Seminar Preparation Paper #2
Due: Wednesday, October 14 (Must be keyboarded in 12 pt. standard font)
Read: Paolo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, pages 1-86 (through chapter 2)
Read these chapters twice. Time your reading of one page, then multiply by the number of pages
assigned. This will give you an idea of how much time you will have to budget for reading.
Read Actively: As you read the first time underline or highlight passages that strike you as
important, interesting, confusing, or those you want to share with others in the seminar.
Note passages that seem to give you a good sense about what this book will be about or what the
author’s purpose is. You can make notes in the margins, or use a separate notebook for these
reading notes. These notes will help you write your seminar papers and participate in seminars.
Underline or circle words, terms, or names that are unfamiliar to you. In particular you will want
to try and identify major concepts that the author uses and how he labels or defines them. For
example, what does Freire mean by “humanization” (43)? Why is this concept so important to
his educational theories?
If there are words you don’t know, list those that were important enough to look up in a
dictionary. Write down what you find to share with your colleagues in seminar.
When you begin reading a new book, review the whole book, including the title and subtitle,
acknowledgements, table of contents, chapter titles, notes, and even the back cover. What clues
about the text do you find? Your objective is more than just getting through these pages, more
than a passive read to generally familiarize yourself with the topic. Rather, your purpose is to
explore this work fully to see what you can discover. To do this you need to first understand
what is the author saying? What does he mean? Why did he write this book? What are the
major questions or problems he wants to address?
Write:
 Review the book, focusing on those sections you underlined or highlighted as important
or interesting.
 Choose three passages that you think are interesting, strange, or that you want to talk
about. For each passage, do the following steps.
o Introducing the quotation with a brief phrase such as Freire writes, Freire argues,
or Freire shows, copy the quotation exactly as it is written. Include quotation
marks and pages numbers directly after each one using the MLA format to
properly cite the quotation. Follow this example:
Freire suggests, “If men and women are searchers and their ontological
vocation is humanization, sooner or later they may perceive the contradiction
in which banking education seeks to maintain them, and then engage
themselves in the struggle for their liberation” (75).
o Then paraphrase the passage. Use your own words. Try to replace each word in the
quotation with a word of your own. This isn’t an explanation – it’s a re-casting of the
author’s original thought, into your own words. For example, using the quotation
above:
If people are questioners, and our metaphysical purpose is to achieve our
highest potential, eventually we might notice the trap in which authoritarian
education has placed us, and rouse ourselves to fight for our freedom.
 Third, discuss the passage in a paragraph of your own. Consider why this passage struck
you – what about it seems interesting, important, confusing, or unusual? What key words
or phrases seem most critical to understand? What questions do you have about the
passage or its meaning? How might this passage reflect an idea that’s important in the
text as a whole? What else about this passage would you like to talk about in seminar?
 Repeat these three steps (quote, paraphrase, discuss) for each of your three chosen
passages. Be ready to share your ideas and your questions with classmates in seminar.
 Follow the format guidelines from the syllabus (12-point font, double spacing, etc.)
Your seminar paper will include the following:
 List of words you looked up, with their relevant definitions.
 Quotation #1. Paraphrase #1. Discussion #1.
 Quotation #2. Paraphrase #2. Discussion #2.
 Quotation #3. Paraphrase #3. Discussion #3.
TIPS:
When paraphrasing, look for appropriate synonyms for every word and phrase.
If the material you quote has a quote embedded within it, the quotes in the original turn into
single quote marks. Example:
Freire suggests, “The truth is, however, that the oppressed are not ‘marginals,’ are not
people living ‘outside’ society” (74).
If the quote-within-the-quote is at the end of the sentence, you’ll end up with three quote marks
together (‘”), which looks weird – but it’s okay.