Reading Reviews

 The opening of Freire’s book embarked on the process of telling us who Palo Freire is, what he stands for, and how he hopes people will react to his words. He comes from an impoverished background, and he explains its impact on his ideals. He speaks freely of his political ideology and how important politics are to him. In contrast to his political steadfastness, he speaks of toleration as the most critical interaction we can have with each other. Regardless of political leaning, or social status, it is Freire’s position that toleration of their views must be respected. He also speaks very negatively about illiteracy. Freire writes that “One of the violences perpetrated by illiteracy is the suffocation of the consciousness and the expressiveness of men and women who are forbidden from reading and writing”. (Freire, p.2) This passage represents not only his ideology regarding illiteracy, but his political outlook as well. His work with in educating the educating the illiterate adults in the favelas of Brazil shape the world outlook that he champions so vigorously.

In letter number 2 Freire dives deep into the concept of fear. He states that this fear is not just tangible, but very real to the individual experiencing it. Fear is a concept that unites the human race. We all experience it at some point in our lives, and most things worth doing cause some level of fear. As educators there is plenty of fear to go around. It is only after we face such fear and anxiety, and come out the other side unscathed do we learn from the experience. This is not to minimize the acute feeling of fear, but to embrace such fear as an agent of change. We grow through these experiences and should actively seek them out for the benefits they hold for our futures.

As we read through the Freire articles, we are seeing the true message from the author. He speaks frequently on the purpose of teachers, and how we are not to be fickle creatures that fear change and challenge. In fact, it is only with that fear that we see the true meaning behind our actions. The following section in letter five speaks volumes: "That first day will hardly be devoid of insecurities, of shyness, or of inhibition, especially if the teacher in question does not just think he or she is insecure but is indeed so, if he or she fears not being able to perform the work or to work around difficulties. Deep down, all of a sudden, the concrete situation the teacher is faced with in the classroom seems to have nothing to do with the theories that have been taught." (Freire pg. 86) This quote speaks to me in a way I did not expect. I am a fairly outgoing person, I do well speaking with and for my peers. However, there is something entirely different standing in front of a classroom with eyes expectantly upon you for the first time. As prospective teachers, we have all pictured this moment, some with terror or dread, some with elation or victory. We do not know how we will truly respond to the moment until it arrives. All we can do in the meantime is keep that dream alive and prepare for the day of its arrival.

Education is a political act.

This phrase struck me as both surprising and a known truth. It is something that we simply do not speak of in American teaching. While it is assumed that teachers are inherently political, it is taboo to acknowledge their political leanings. Freire speaks to the democratic versus the authoritarian, and the lefts permissiveness to the point of lawlessness and the rights lack of freedom of its citizenry. He speaks to the balance we as educators must keep. The authoritarian speaks first, and subjugates their students to the rhetoric of the teachers choosing, while the liberal gives up all authority and allows the students to control leaving all sense of order at the door. This is why we can not be afraid of utilizing our authority, while allowing our students to have a voice. Keeping order in our classrooms is essential to providing an adequate learning environment. We must do this while keeping the students interests in mind. Everyone needs breaks, everyone needs a voice, we must hear our students and work with them for the best learning environment possible. Long past is the "my way or the highway" rhetoric. Those ideals did not work for the students at the time, and they will not be effective for students today. We must adopt a "we are in this together" approach and embrace success WITH our students, not in spite of them.