PAULO FREIRE
PHILOSOPHER SYNOPSIS
Created by Jack Chesebro
Fall 2011 EDUC 106 · SUNY Oneonta · Dr. Zanna McKay, Instructor
Biography (University of Iowa)
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Born on September 29, 1921 in Recife, Brazil. This
town served as a major port on the coast of
northeastern Brazil.
Died on May 2, 1997 in Sao Paulo, Brazil as a
result of heart failure.
Freire was born into a poor family. His own
struggles with poverty and hunger ultimately
influenced his decision to enter the educational
field.
In Freire’s own words on his life:
I didn’t understand anything because of my hunger. I
wasn’t dumb. It wasn’t lack of interest. My social
condition did not allow me to have an education.
Experience showed me once again the relationship
between social class and knowledge. (University of
Iowa)
Freire’s Education (University of Iowa)
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When his family’s financial situation improved,
Freire earned a law degree at the University of
Recife in Brazil.
He then went on to teach Portuguese in the Brazilian
secondary schools.
In 1946, he became employed as the director of an
adult education agency called SESI.
In 1959, he completed his Ph.D.
From 1961 until 1964, he served as the first
Director in the cultural extension department at
Recife to bring literary programs to the poor.
Freire’s Disagreements with Educational Philosophy
(Corbett) – “The Banking Concept of Education”
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Freire did not like the current philosophy of student
learning, where students were instructed to “record,
memorize, and repeat” not understanding the “true
significance” of their learning.
He called the educational philosophy of that time
“mechanical.”
To illustrate the philosophy, he analogously compared
students to “receptacles” in which teachers “deposit”
knowledge. Classroom effectiveness was dependent on
how much knowledge a teacher could “deposit” and
how “receptive” a student was.
Teaching Strategies and Vocabulary
Terms (University of Miami)
Freire was an creator of a number of educational
philosophies and terms:
 “Banking” Education – passive learners have preselected knowledge deposited in their minds.
 “Culture of Silence” – learners lose the means to
independently respond to cultural happenings and
are forced into responding and thinking according
to one specific method.
 “Conscientization” – a process by which the learner
increases self-awareness of what they are learning
An Interpretation of Freire’s Teaching
Style (Miller, 1998)
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Teaching is focused towards students’ needs and
abilities.
What is learned in the classroom has a “real-world”
application.
Having students learn according to the demands of
a higher authority is unacceptable.
A list of Freire’s works (University of Miami)
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http://www.education.miami.edu/ep/contemporary
ed/Paulo_Freire/paulo_freire.html
Freire’s Disciplinary Ideas and Goals for Students
(Gibson, 1994)
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Freire had no real ideas on the subject of discipline.
He did have one main goal, which was to have all
students become literate to develop thinking skills
that would promote change in society by the time
they left school.
Contributions that are used today
(Nyirenda, 2005)
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“Conscientization and dialogue” method of reading
– teaches adults how to read and write based on
their current social standing; a method of reflection
and response.
“Liberating Education” – students participate in the
learning process and are not told by a central
authority about how they should think.
“Extension” – the mechanical transfer of content
from one source to another; Freire disagrees with
this method of learning.
Contributions that are used today
(Nyirenda, 2005)
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“Cultural invasion” – the idea that an agent of
extension takes his or her views and imposes them
on another group of people; Freire disapproves of
this as well.
“Communication” – people should be in dialogue
with one another to promote intellectual inquiry, not
to submit to the demands of a state.
These ideas are in use today, particularly in African
countries.
Criticisms (Gibson, 1994 ; Nyirenda, 2005)
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"Paulo Freire has only one desire: that his thinking:
may coincide historically with all those who, whether
they live in those cultures which are wholly silenced
or in silent sectors of cultures which prescribe their
voice, are struggling to have a voice of their own.
- Robert Mackie
“…the greatest living educator, master, and
teacher” – P.V. Taylor
Any questions?
References
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Corbett, R. (n.d.). Paulo Freire: Chapter 2 of Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Retrieved October
25, 2011, from Webster University:
http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/philosophy/education/freire/freire-2.html
Gibson, R. (1994). The Promethean Literacy: Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of Reading, Praxis, and
Liberation. The Pennsylvania State University. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State
University.
Miller, R. E. (1998, September). The Arts of Complexity: Pragmatism and the Culture of
Schooling. College English, 61(1), pp. 10-28.
Nyirenda, J. E. (2005, January 20). The Relevance of Paulo Freire's Contributions to Education
and Development in Present Day Africa. East Lansing, Michigan, United States: Michigan State
University.
University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science. (n.d.). Paulo Freire. Retrieved
October 25, 2011, from University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science:
http://mingo.info-science.uiowa.edu/~stevens/critped/freire.htm
University of Miami School of Education. (n.d.). Paulo Freire. Retrieved October 25, 2011, from
University of Miami School of Education:
http://www.education.miami.edu/ep/contemporaryed/Paulo_Freire/paulo_freire.html