User talk:IbiloyeAC2

A synthesis and Appeal of Paulo Freire’s "Pedagogy of the Oppressed"
Paulo Freire defines oppression as an act of exploitation, violence, and a failure “to recognize others as persons.” Not only do oppressors commit violence against the oppressed by keeping them from being fully human, they often stereotype oppressed people as “violent” for responding to oppression in my society. Most of the points Freire made really appealed to me. Though it sounds antiquated, these thoughts are peculiar and obtainable once in a part of this World. The more I critically look, indept, the more it's prophetic and a sound philosophy.

On educating the oppressed as a means of liberation, he mentioned a class discussion in his introduction to his book, "PEDAGOGY of the OPPRESSED", reflecting on the group debate on whether the "conscientizagao" of men and women to a specific situation of injustice might not predictively lead them to "destructive fanaticism" or to a "sensation of total collapse of their world." By " consctentizagao" he was referring to learning or education to perceive social, political and economic contradictions, and to take action against the oppressive elements of reality. He did not emphatically confirmed the negative aspect of educating a mind to build efficacy and resolve to fight oppression and be liberated, but he rather postulated that the oppressed's fear of freedom is also to be found in the oppressors, though, obviously, in a different form. i.e., the oppressed are afraid to embrace freedom while the oppressors are afraid of losing the "freedom" to oppress and exploit. (Paul O. Freire, pg 46)

Therefore, the resolution of the oppressor-oppressed contradiction (possibly in the education, group conversation and confrontation with the oppressors) implies the disappearance of the oppressors as a dominant class. He quickly cautioned, "the restraints imposed by the former oppressed on their oppressors, so that the latter cannot reassume their former position, do not constitute oppression". But, Freire emphasized in his writings the inadequacy of traditional education in helping the oppressed people achieve social, economic and political freedom, and thus sees his theories (and pedagogy) as a necessary counterpoint to that traditional education and culpability in allowing oppressors.

Paul Preire believed and hoped that a revolutionary leadership would practice co-intentional education, and in the context of teachers and students (learning leadership and people relationship), the joint intents, on reality, are premised not only on the task of unveiling that reality, and thereby coming to a synthesized disposition where critically and resulting to self discovery and resolution, knowledge is re-created for liberation and ambition beyond limits. I believe, it's education and training hence certification of poor children's gifts and learning abilities that gave them the liberty sought for and equality with those from rich background today rather than motivational speeches or curriculum.

Marx developed the concept of historical materialism whereby the history of man developed through several distinct stages: slavery, feudalism, capitalism and in the future communism. This historical educational contents broadens students' mind and help appreciate needs for dialogics and internal revolution. I remember, well enough, in my undergraduate days when student leaders gathers to reflect on oppressive situation on campus and most clamour for riots and "demonstration". I cautioned against the use of violence, uncontrollable angry students, and possibility of closure of the school. I particularly spoke for more that two hours on "internal revolution", "education intelligence", and " well planned response to oppression " which includes using rallies and open lectures and invited human right activists and lawyers from Gani Fawehinmi's, "national open conscience", Nigeria. This publicity and high level involvement brought attention to our plights, and hearing before authority which resulted to even my appointment as one of the two member student members of the "senate disciplinary council" and secretary of students welfare committee. Education doesn't lead to fatality, but opens locks on soul and perspectives, except for lack of home training, bad groups and poor emotional intelligence.

Freire's notion of resolving the so called "conflict" and social oppression through dialogue, or dialectics are truly ideal and prophetic but in reality the pseudo-participation in liberation journey is really mainly the responsibility of the oppresed, being guided and motivated by illumination of formal education, practicality of neutrality by the teacher and conversation among peers. In a classroom setting, dialectics are best in delivering education materials and producing sound understanding of concepts and application. However, what actually and consistently build freedom (from ignorance, lack of knowledge, academic limits) and create informed and resolute spirit for liberation are the committed involvement of the students in class conversation, projects that involves dialectics (thesis, antithesis and synthesis), also joining in the conversation outside the school community. In general terms a thesis is a starting point, an antithesis is a reaction to it and a synthesis is the outcome.

His book, was into four chapters, each of themes: the "banking" concept of education as an instrument of oppression-- a critique of what presuppositions were to him; his believe that "antidialogics and dialogics as matrices of opposing theories of cultural action" where the former as an instrument of oppression and the latter as an instrument of liberation, 1) the theory of antidialogical action and its characteristics which are conquest, divide and rule, manipulation, and cultural invasion, 2) the theory of dialogical action and its characteristics which are cooperation, unity, organization, and cultural synthesis. Freire's evident education philosophy, seems to suggest that "Knowledge is the result of constant process of questioning the world", and seeking to understand and describe what is observed, this is what teachers equiped with this knowledge,(knowledge bank or resource person) fill as the various levels gaps and lack of the students. Thus, Freire's pedagogy aims to help oppressed people become free, and deliberately intended to change the contradictory relationship(in context of knowledge and efficacy) between teachers and students. Teachers, in this model, is given absolute authority and control over their students.

Employing and teaching dialectics in schools is very effective in training resourceful mind and prognosis skills that leads to Educational Liberation. The “banking model” of education (particularly, where a teacher tells students to memorize and recall facts) is in no way dialectical. The teacher has knowledge, and he or she imposes that knowledge on the students whose only thoughts and goals are passing the examination. Freire’s “problem-posing model,” is dialectical in that teachers and students share important, and sometimes conflicting, ideas that are brought to a synthesized contents and self efficacy through group efforts.

I agree, with Freire that "concern for humanization [always] leads at once to the recognition of dehumanization, not only as an ontological possibility but as an historical reality " even as we see in our society today, where academic community have created ethics, research and education philosophy and standards that promote human dignity, value and rights, even as it involves using human subjects in clinical trials, plagiarism, and academic interactions. Same cannot be said of our corrupted and nepotic and class worship socio-political ecosystem, even culture on women in developing countries. A revolutionary leadership must avoid past mistakes by acknowledging the oppressed world-view to be able to help then evolve and resolve to seeking liberation. Interesting, Freire expected critics and disagreement or misconceptions on his theories, concepts and philosophies, as he put it, readers must become a "radical, committed to human liberation, [who] does not become the prisoner of a "circle of certainty' within which reality [and right perspective] is also imprisoned."

Each culture must discuss and by dialectics arrived at indigenous focus and colour of philosophy that could inform curriculum that gives the students opportunity to develop and rise above oppression and suppressors (socially, economically, education-wise and spiritually). One thing that worries me are these conception of behaviouristic psychologist which were from experiments with animals (Skinner's "white rats and pigeon", salivating dog, chimpanzee, etc) spilling over to human diagnosis theory. We need true human subjects studies on "possible and true human psychological behaviors, communication and learning stages". =References= Davis, Justin (February 28, 2018). "Pedagogy of the Oppressed Chapter 2." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC. Accessed on Friday, July 9, 2021.

Paul O. Freire, (n. d). "PEDAGOGYof the OPPRESSED ". 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION [PDF]. Translated by Myra Bergman Ramos. With an Introduction by Donaldo Macedo. IbiloyeAC2 (talk) 11:09, 5 October 2021 (UTC)