Paulo Freire

Paulo Freire
Presented by Lauren Long
Learning Assumptions:
Assumption Three: The Role of the Learners Experiences
An adult learners prior life experiences are a huge part of his or
her learning process. Adults have had more time to gain life
experience, and these experiences can be a valuable asset to
learning.
Assumption Five: Orientation to Learning

The adult learners orientation to learning has much to do with the
relevancy of the subject matter to the learners life.
Unlike children, who are accustomed to learning whatever subject
they are required to learn for school, adults do not see why they
should learn things that will not help them practically in their lives.
They desire to learn things that they will actually use and do not
appreciate having to sit through classes on things that do not
matter to them.
A few facts about Paulo Freire:

Freire was born September 19, 1921 in Recife, Brazil.
He experienced extreme poverty throughout his childhood.
Freire began teaching grammar while he was still in high
school.
He married Elza Maia Costa de Oliveira when he was 23
they had five children.
Elza has been said to have greatly influenced Freire to intensely
pursue his studies
She also helped him to elaborate his groundbreaking educational
methods.
Freires famous book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed was

published in 1968, and it was later published in English in
1970
http://ptoweb.org/aboutpto/a-brief-biography-of-paulo-freire/
Work in Brazil:
Freire was a Professor of History and Philosophy of Education in
the University of Recife until 1964
In the 1960s, Freire was involved with an education movement
that dealt with illiteracy.
Wide spread experiments using Freires method were approved
by the government.
In 1963-1964 there were courses for co-ordinators in all Brazilian states
and a plan was drawn up for the establishment of 2000 cultural circles to
reach 2,000,000 illiterates!
Imprisonment:
In 1964, there was a coup detat (overturning of the
government).
Freire was imprisoned for what the new regime considered to
be subversive elements in his teaching.
http://www.freire.org/
Work Abroad:
After his release from prison, Freire went to Chile, where they were willing to
use his method.
Freire was Visiting Professor at the Centre for the Study of Development and
Social Change at Harvard University from 1969-1970.
In 1970, he took up a post as special consultant in the Office of Education at
the World Council of Churches in Geneva.
He kept this post for nine years. During these nine years, he advised on
education reform and initiated popular education activities with a range of
groups.
Return to Brazil:
In 1979, Freire was finally able to return to Brazil.
He then joined the Workers Party in Sao Paulo and headed up its adult
literacy project for six years.
When the party took control of Sao Paulo municipality following elections in
1988, Paulo Freire was appointed as Sao Paulos Secretary of Education.
Socio-Cultural Context in Which Freire

Lived and Worked:
After WWI, economies all around the world crashed. Most Americans are familiar
with Americas version of the economy crash, known as the Great Depression. Like
so many others, Brazils economy crashed as well, and this played a huge role in
shaping Freires life and philosophy.
Freire once described the effect that the hunger and poverty caused by the
economic crash had had on his childhood by saying, I didnt understand anything
because of my hunger. I wasnt dumb. It wasnt lack of interest. My social
condition didnt allow me to have an education. Experience showed me once
again the relationship between social class and knowledge.
Growing up in these conditions gave Freire a deep understanding of the lives of

poor rural families and workers and how living in such conditions affected
education.
Freires life work focused on improving education for those suffering from poverty.
http://ptoweb.org/aboutpto/a-brief-biography-of-paulo-freire /
Freires key contributions to adult

learners:
DIALOGUE
PRAXIS (ACTION/REFLECTION)
To enter into dialogue presupposes equality amongst participants. Each must trust the
others; there must be mutual respect and love (care and commitment). Each one must
question what he or she knows and realize that through dialogue existing thoughts will
change and new knowledge will be created.
It is not enough for people to come together in dialogue in order to gain knowledge of their
social reality. They must act together upon their environment in order critically to reflect
upon their reality and so transform it through further action and critical reflection.
EASTER EXPERIENCE
Paulo Freire says that those who authentically commit themselves to the people must reexamine themselves constantly. This conversion is so radical as not to allow for ambivalent
behaviour Conversion to the people requires a profound rebirth. Those who
undergo it must take on a new form of existence; they can no longer remain as they
were.
Freire Institute - http://www.freire.org/
CONSCIENTIZATION
The process of developing a critical awareness of ones social reality through
reflection and action.Action is fundamental because it is the process of changing the
reality.
Paulo Freire says that we all acquire social myths which have a dominant tendency,
and so learning is a critical process which depends upon uncovering real
problems and actual needs.
CODIFICATION
This is a way of gathering information in order to build up a picture (codify)
around real situations and real people.
De-codification is a process whereby the people in a group begin to identify with
aspects of the situation until they feel themselves to be in the situation and
so able to reflect critically upon its various aspects, thus gathering
understanding.
BANKING CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE

The concept of education in which knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who
consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know
nothing.
Freire Institute - http://www.freire.org/
Quotes by Paulo Freire:
Attempting to liberate the oppressed without their reflective

participation in the act of liberation is to treat them as objects that must
be saved from a burning building.
Welfare programs as instruments of manipulation ultimately serve the

end of conquest. They act as an anesthetic, distracting the oppressed
from the true causes of their problems and from the concrete solutions
of these problems.
Leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their

decisions, do not organize the peoplethey manipulate them. They do
not liberate, nor are they liberated: they oppress.
Works Cited:
http://ptoweb.org/aboutpto/a-brief-biography-of-paulo-freire/

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Paulo Freire

Presented by Lauren Long

Assumption Five: Orientation to Learning

A few facts about Paulo Freire:

Freires famous book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed was

Socio-Cultural Context in Which Freire

Growing up in these conditions gave Freire a deep understanding of the lives of

Freires key contributions to adult

Freire Institute - http://www.freire.org/

BANKING CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE

Freire Institute - http://www.freire.org/

Quotes by Paulo Freire:

Attempting to liberate the oppressed without their reflective

Welfare programs as instruments of manipulation ultimately serve the

Leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their

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