UNIVERSIDAD INTERAMERICANA DE PUERTO RICO FACULTAD DE DERECHO CURSO PREPARATORIO ENERO 2015 Paulo Freire & Ira Shor. Dialogues on Transforming Education: “Pedagogy for Liberation”, pags. 10-14 (1987)Tea Stow + Pauio Preis A Papaacay For, Liveramon) Qiatoaues on Rass Pora sag Education) 1@-14 (148%), Dentin ons ta Education Ja much more controllable f the teacher follows the stat. dard curriculum and if the studenta act as if only the teacher's word ‘count, Ifteachers or students exercised the power to remake knowie edge in the classibom, thea they would be asserting their power tf remake socloty, The atrcture of officlat knowledge is also the sinig. ture of social authority, That fs why the ayllabus, the reading list, and the didactic lecture predominate as the-educational forma for containing teachers and atudents inside the offical consenots. The Jecture-based, passive currlcukum is not simply poor pedagogleal practice. Its the teaching model most compatible with promoting the dominant authority in society and with disampowering students: Remaking Knowledge and Power: The Polities of Reading Paula You are sight about the politics of the official curriculum, And above all iti the classroom, if the teacher quotes from research texts, then it must be the most important knowledge, For me, one, of the serious problems we have to face is knowing how to confzont 4 strong and ald tradition of transfering knowledge. Even: the sti dents have diffculty undetstanding'a teacher who does not meke a ansference of knowledge, The students do not believe the iberating teacher who does not shove information dawn thels thioats, Look, of course we aza not against intellectual discipline. It ia absolutely indlepensable, How should it be possible for someone to have an Intellectual exercise if he or she does not create serigus discipline for studying? Yes, we need that. We need to reid serioizely, but above all-we need fo learn what it really means to read! say that reading fs not fst fo walk on the words, and itis'not fing over the words elther, Reading 1s rewriting what we are reading, Reading is to discover the connections between the text and the fe}Indratuction 12 context of the text, and algo how to connect the text/context with my context, the context of the seeder, And what happens is that many Himes we read authors who died one hundred years agoand we know: nothing about his or her tine, And often we know very litle about our own time! So, [am very much for demanding intellectual seriousness toknow the text and context, But for me, what is important, what iaindis. pensable, is to be citical. Crticam creates the necessary intellect discipline, asking questions to thereadiing, ta the writing, to thebook, to the text. We should not submit to tha text or be submissive in front of the text. The thing is to fight with the text, sven though loving i, no? To engage in a conilict with the text, In the last analysis, itis & very, very, vety demanding operation, The question then ia not just to impose on the students quantites of chapters from books, but to demand that students confront seriously the texia, Nevertheless, if you appeal to the students to assume @ critical ‘Posttite as readers, a ones who re-write the text being read, you risk the students not accepting your invitation, and their intellectual pro- duction declines, The invitation for stuctents to re-write the text rather than to simply swallow it may invite the students to think that your ovn intellectual igor is weak, The students might think that yor are not rigorous because you asked them to critically read and re-write a slugle text instead of imposing on them the obligation of reading 300 books in w somestert Tea ‘There is that tsk. Stuclents are used to the transfer-of knowl edge. The offical curriculum asks them to submit to texts, lectures, and tests, to habituate them to submitting to authority. Students are very good at resisting the clemands of authority, but they can also reject the nontraditional classroom. Some do it with silent dlscegeed some actively resist; some are simply out fo lunch. The problem is to casea transition gradually away from the ol habits, When [listen intently to students early in the term, Ileem how dominated they are by the old ways of schooling. This lets me know what kind of ‘tansition pédagogy Thave to introduce, Hach group of students pre~ sents a néw profila of resistances and openings wiilch I discover by researching them while the course is undecway, through the dialogue and exercises, I make sime concessions to the old Jearning habits, to Teduce the level of resistance and anvlety. I assign some readings, some papers, just enough bones from the old skeleton to make us all feel at home. Reetincae ‘There axe some other problems of transition from tha transferof-- Imowledge. Teachers often come into class and ask students to write oO2A Pedagogy for Liberation essays about a book, an article in a jocirnal, or about an academic or ‘ frequently ask, Ro you want my opin- Jont Teachers respond, OF course, you should waite what you thick, Students then proiuce largely dulland exror-filed papers. They don’t Wile with real depth, in general. Many teachers already consider Giemselves frustrated in theledeste to get students thinking citially, One problem is that the material brought in by the teaches js disse Heating to students, Itis often in academic. language, an Hnglish they don't use, It is often written about subjects irrelevant to thelr expe: Hences, and itis even out-of-syne with the perceptual ‘pace of mass. culture; an electronic and speeded mille, Even worse, the soc! relations of the classroom are allenating ard stlencing, That cold distance between student! and the tenchier keeps the students far fom the material. The way in which tho class arrives at a pilated text and the nature of the fext itself need examination. We must telnvent reading in the context of what prevents serious reading, The Myth of Value-Free Learning Paulo | ‘There aré also teachers whio ask the students not to illic inate the intimacy of the book, the sou! ofthe taxt, inorder totale bout it from the student point of view. But on the contrary they fast ask the students fo describe the text. They often ask stiderte to describe a second, object, society itself. The students are only to de- scribe what they see in a text or in society, atid nothing more because feachars say it fs not for scientists to Interpret, but just to deseribe, Of course, they will go further andl say its not for scientists to wven think to change ralily, but just fo describe it, In this kind of ideo. logical understanding of the act of knowing, that is what they call the ‘neutrality’ or the ‘objectivity’ of science, : fra, This myth of value-free inquity is common in my culture, but it also cuerdats with an acceptance of the partisan nature of krowl. elge, Political forces in the U.S, use scientific research to support theis demands or polices, But, in schools and colleges, er shneering, technology, business and many socal sclence courses gene frilly present knowledgo as value-free, free of ideology or pollics, If not valuefize, then these subjects are presented fom an estab: Ishment point of view. Sent are trained to be workers and profes- enals viho leave politics ta the offical polley-makers at the top These falsely neutral euricua traln students to observe things withant judy. ‘ng, fo see the world from the offidal consensus, to carry out ottersUatroduction 13° without questioning, as if the given society is fixed and fine, Their ‘courses emphasize techniques, not eiical contact with realty. This Prevents political analysis of the forces that make cmicula Lo well as ekyscrapers. A sclentist, a professional, keeps his or her nose dean 2y staying out of politics, by not asking critical questions about your saperlor’s decisions or about the impact af your work. Paulo And the more yoit put gloves on our hands in onder to avoid’ contamination with reality, the better a scientist ‘You are, from “this point of view of course, but not from mine, i In liberating edvestion, we do not propose mere techniques for gaining Mleracy or expertise or professional skills o event citcal thought. The methods of dialogical education dravr ts into the inte racy of the society, the mison date of every object of study. ‘Through fritical dialogue about a text or a moment of society, wa ty to reveal if, unyeil it, see its reasons for being like it is, the political and his {orical context of the material Ts for me is an act of knowicig, not & mere transfer-o¢knowledge or a mere technique for lesming the alphabet. The liberating course ‘illuminates’ reality in the contect of developing serious intellectual work. ‘ en like that idea, Paulo, to ‘uminate’ reality, And Taleo agree that lberating education is not a manual of clever t s, but is rather a critical perspective on school and society, learning for social transformation. i Paulo Besides being an act of knowing, education is algoa political act. That is why no. pedagogy is neutral, ra They all havo « form and 4 content that relate to power in sect, that construct one kind of sodety or another, and they all have socal relations in the classroom that confizm ot challenge dont- ‘ination? Paulo Yes. Ithink, for example, thatthe dominant ideology ‘ves! inside us and also controls society outside. If this domination inside and outside was complete, definitive, we could never think of social transformation. But, transformation i possible because conscious- neas is not a misror of reality, not a mere reflection, but is reflexive and reflective. of reality, ‘aatonttons ‘human beings, wa can discover how we ata condi- tioned by the dominant ideology, We can gain distance on our mo- ment of existence, Therefore, we can leam how to become fee Urrough a politcal struggle in society, We can struggle t6 become free Precisely because wa can know we ata not free! Thatis why we can think of transformation, ‘ . Tran ( Liikethe irony of conscloumess that makes liberation posible, Bp studying our lack of freedom we can lea how ta become free. ‘This ts the dialectic of the lberatory clase, Ife one place where we think ceiteally about the forces interfering with our critical thought. Sor lberatory clases Illusinate the cohdtions we're into help overs cotne those conditions, offering students a critical dlatarice on society 4m place of an uneritcal immersion in the status quo, to think of changing it Paulo This fs our invitation to the stadents, o14 A Padegogy for Liberation Irn lke the irony of consciousness that makes liberation possible By studying our lack of freedom wa can Team how to beowne fre ‘This fs the dialectic of the tiberatory class. I¥s one place where toe Shink oibially about the forces interfering with mur een! though So, liberatory classes illuminate the conditions we're into help oven, come those conditions, offering students a ertical distant on society in place of an uncritical immersion in the status quo, to think ef changing it, Paulo This is our invitation to the students. Notes 2 Mhe renaer report of the 1983 zeform cxisia in U.S, education wae A Natlon {f Rsk (Nationa) Commission on Excelleno in Education, Washington, 198s Jt eas Issued with great fatare by the Reagan White House: Following thes media event, wny offical repoits appeared. Among the most smnpeeieee ware: fit: for Taedlnte (Reucotton Commission ofthe States, Denver, 1985) Mating the Gude (Coenticts Comury Fund, New Yank, 1949) Het Rent fr College (The College Bond, New Yor 1968) jpfimeria’s Compete Change (eas Higher Education Forno yesh ‘ington, 1988) seetigalts Americns for to 21st Century (National Sclence Board, Washing ton, 1583) igh Schls ond the Chmeging Workplace (National Acaderiy of Science; ‘Washington, 1964) A stalking horse for this official eruption was Mostimer Adler's The Paideia Propel (New York, 1982), which proposed the top-down teinpeston of \roditlonel academic eubjecs. Many scholarly studies appeared in these yoass Gn the sod stot of teaching and schooling: C. tinily Reistitza’s Caapems SPont, The Condon of Tenching (3983), Rlchord Richardson's Litray in te Ope Accs College (1983), u Tesche's Collage research team report by Seals Peasle. Palin, ond Csck callel Classroom Prpetties an igh cht Reon 2285) and Rowell, Cohen and Facrar’e Te Shopping Mall High Schoo (106) Diane Ravilch issued her historical study of achooling cllec A Trou! Gry, sade 21988) and then bectene a Ider a the traditionalist party ashing oe Glence in education.” Her cllahoratar in genet Madiacly (89) ant oo founder of the National Network for Excellsnce in Eduention woe Cheney inn, who leit acadeane in 1988 to become Assistant Secretary of Education Inthe Reagant Administration. . here ws lao 2 liberal undeveurrent to the conservative tide, ‘aking ageption to the afleal panscsss fr reform were Emnest Boyer in gh Sebo (18), Joha Coosled in Pa Called School (1983), Theodore Sizerin orace’s Compromise (2964), and Linda Davling-Hanninond in heya the Conmeson Reports (1964). Goodlou's etuly was the most progressive and the most Ig,