Pedagogy of the Oppressed--responses to responses

I can’t seem to figure out how to respond on the blog to responses to my postings, so Im am just going to post.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed—Preface

Blog Response

Again a great question about sectarianism. There has been a pattern of revolutionaries replacing the oppressors in the world.

I agree that there are revolutions happening around the world, but it seems that in our country, many of the oppressed don’t see their situation and are in agreement with their oppressors.  They seem to think that continuing the status quo is the path to their liberation.  How do we overcome that?

Pedagogy of the Oppressed—Forward

Blog Response

Your recognition of your position of privilege is one I have often considered myself. And the positionality of many of our students is also privileged, so I don't think that Friere's pedagogy can just be transported into an American setting.

But as one of being in the position of privilege, I’m feeling I have an obligation to do what I can to implement and advocate for Freire’s pedagogy—it’s just that much more difficult because I feel like a loner.  Many teachers seem to think that if children conform to the curriculum and expectations presented by the “powers that be”, the students will be successful.  That’s scary!

Pedagogy of the Oppressed—Chapter 1

Blog Response

It seems, in this country, that many people don't even recognize their oppression. You said that Friere defined oppression as one group having control over another. Who is oppressing whom? How do we recognize oppressors? If the oppressors suffer also, how can they be shown that they are oppressors in a way that liberates them and doesn't just evoke their deeper entrenchment in their ways?

I am not sure I can explicitly identify the oppressors—the roles change depending upon the contextual situation.  It does seem that when the “layers” are peeled back and we get to the core of any contextual situation, it is a financial rationale as to who is oppressing whom.  Perhaps that is because, in a financial situation, tangibles are what is negotiated.  When we start to look at knowledge, understanding, and emotional investments, they can quickly be diminished and squelched because there is rarely a physical record of such investments.  Freire even mentions (not in chapter one) that we are humans and can produce documentation and act upon historical events—and if we don’t reflect upon these events, oppression is easily generated.

As to how to get the oppressors to recognize their own oppression—that’s the big question!  I think with power comes oppression, but also ego.  One needs to recognize his or her own humanity and humble him or herself to begin to work for self-liberation as well as the freedom of others.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed—Chapter 1 Reaction

Blog Response

So, as a woman, you don't think you have experienced oppression?
As a teacher, you don't feel oppressed?

Great questions—and they were in my mind as I responded to Chapter One.  Have I experienced oppression—on a personal level, absolutely.  As a child, the adults in my life told me what to do—parents, teachers, others—and I was the compliant kid.  Whatever made the adults in my life happy, I was glad to do it.  I know I had my moments where I said to myself “I need to do this for me or for others around me”, but I never saw that as a result of being oppressed.  Being the middle class, white female child in American society, I was the model for what the oppressor wanted of the children.  As a woman, I’ve easily fill the expected role.  I don’t want to in the sense that my gender shouldn’t be the first thing society will relate to regarding me, but there are not the avenues for me to work to enact change.  Our culture in this country is still one of middle-aged, white males (and male-mindsets) being the oppressors and has been for centuries.

Because of what was modeled for me—and that I was never asked about or shown alternatives—I was able to easily replicate that as a teacher.  However, I think my true education came about my first year of teaching with Native American kids.  They certainly were oppressed and through dialogue with a colleague who saw the oppression (Freire would be proud), I began to recognize the actions I used that contributed to the oppression of my students.  Yet after 22 years of teaching, I am still trying to find my voice so that I can stand up to the oppression of myself and my students.  And it is difficult.  Many colleagues in education do not recognize that what they are engaged in is oppression—both producing and receiving. There can be many reasons why, but I think the biggest is the tangible, financial (and egotistical) reason for not recognizing the reality of teaching.  It is not an easy endeavor to work to enact change when others are not ready to see the need—kind of lonesome.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed—Chapter 2

Blog Response

I have enjoyed your summary so far. You are giving me a great refresher course in Friere. I do think we need to think really hard about the kinds of problems we need to pose in this country. As you read on, think about the essence of his pedagogy, rather than just treating his pedagogy like a program. I look forward to swapping ideas with you. You might want to look up some Frierian lesson plans on line and see what you think.

I don’t like the thought of Freire’s work being considered a “program”.  It is definitely a prospect of what it means to be a decent human being.  There are so many variables that influence oppression—not just educational, but political and social standings, that to minimize Freire’s work into a curriculum that can be followed in a classroom is oppressive in and of itself.

So what do we do with his work?  Well, we’ve had 40+ years and not much has changed.  We seem so entrenched with our attitudes and roles in society that oppression has been denied.  There are people who recognize it but really don’t do anything about it.  I do try to consider the voices of some people who are in the public eye and trying to enact change, but these people are labeled as “subversive” and “radical” because the majority—those in power—don’t or refuse to recognize their own oppression.

As far as lesson plans and such on line, I am actually eager to read a second book (and new to me) by Freire titled Teachers as Cultural Workers.  I am afraid that if I look at lesson plans, I may have the same reaction that I have when a “new” teaching strategy is presented to me, and that is, “but do you know my students and what they need?”  Perhaps my readings on Theatre of the Oppressed by Boal and how they relate to Freire’s work will help clarify my own journey as a teacher.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed—Chapter 2 Reaction

Blog Response

So, how do we enact such change when "fidelity police" patrol our halls to see if we are following the programs that the district bought?

My first response is that we lock the doors and not let the fidelity police in…but that is rather flip and unrealistic.

But that is an excellent question—and one I am still trying to explore.  There needs to be a monumental paradigm shift, not only in education, but in our society.  To keep doing things using new materials but the same oppressive model will not be effective.

Maybe the answer lies in the “training” of new teachers.  Maybe teachers and administrators need to be made aware of how they are oppressed through dialogue in the Freireian sense. Testing as a measure of what is known needs to be completely tossed out, and new definitions of what is success and how students (or any of us for that matter) demonstrate that achievement needs to be initiated. If I had concrete solutions, I’d voice them from the highest, most influential platform I could find. We are no longer an agrarian society, nor are we an industrial society.  We have developed into an informational society with the agrarian/industrial/white middle class mindset of education.