After reading chapter 3, teaching is not just transferring knowledge, in Pedagogy of Freedom by Paulo Freire, you are to reflect on how the information presented has affected your views about teaching. Why do you think the book's titile is Pedagogy of Freedom?
I look forward to reading your reflections.
Prof. Arlinda Lopez
UPRAg
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When I finished reading all of chapter, I was completely stunned with what Freire presented and wrote. By reading this chapter, I have realized that there is so much more than transferring knowledge, when it comes to teaching and as Freire mentions “is a demanding and difficult discipline that we have to carry with others, for others and for ourselves”. In this chapter, Freire states that as teachers we have to be conscious of our own unfinishedness, the unfinishedness of our own being and existence. In the process of human evolution, humans eventually became conscious about the capacity to learn, to create and to construct, and it was through this process that today we are all able to grasp new contents and to communicate what has been learned. However, as humans we have differences, battles, and we are constantly struggling with what is right or wrong, moral or immoral, good or bad, etc., but as open-minded teachers we need to realize that we can intervene and improve ourselves and our surroundings, thus as human beings, we have the power to go beyond of what it may be seen as “impossible” and change it. (“I like being a human person because…I know that the obstacles are not eternal”.P.55)
ReplyDeleteBy having the capacity of recognizing our unfinishedness, our incompleteness we create a motivation for curiosity and we go through a process of searching and learning, thus gaining new knowledge, ideas, concepts, views, etc, and it’s our job to use this learned knowledge and give the students the motivation to be curious and hungry for more, to give the students the freedom to learn it in their own ways, to construct their own meaning, their own learning, not to just to simply transfer it. Being aware of our incompleteness, will also let us be aware of the need to continue on a permanent and constant search of education, because once this awareness is lost we will not thirst in making ourselves “educable”.
It is equally important to have a knowledge of respect for the autonomy of the students; if we as teachers don’t respect the autonomy of the students, their identity, their dignity and demands we are not in any way giving them the freedom of curiosity, of expression, of critical thinking, of generating new ideas; however, this freedom requires a certain level of ethical limits and imposed standards as mentioned by Freire. This respect comes with a practice of good common sense, which involves taking into consideration many aspects of the students’ life, their experiences and the environment they are submerged in. This good sense of respect comes with practice and deep reflection and it will help us develop our integrity, our tolerance and a “clear sense of what is right and what is just”. Respecting the autonomy of the students also involves giving them their own learning space in an aesthetic environment that will make possible to fulfill our teaching roles and our students’ learning. It is important to be responsible and involved with our students, and by respecting their autonomy we will leave a positive mark on our students.
Reflecting on our incompleteness and unfinishedness is crucial to develop the knowledge and the capacity to apprehend reality, this will lead us to a path of constant self discovery and on a permanent search of being educated, to able to intervene and transform ourselves as human beings, as teachers and to transform our students’ knowledge. Our roles as teachers is to create active learners and teach them the skills necessary to construct their own knowledge from the starting point of curiosity, and while we are teaching these skills be able to learn more of this process, about our students and ourselves. Freire, also enlighten us by stating that this educational practice should be accompanied by the fact that as teachers we need to accept our limitations, to not hide them, and to be aware and conscious of making the effort to overcome them.
Freire also wrote about joy and hope within the educational practice. These two components are necessary for the act of constant search; if we are full of hopelessness this will be an obstacle that will paralyze us in our teaching and educational practice. Freire also states that we live in “a history at a time of possibility not determinism”, and that we have to struggle in the reality we live in to make change possible, we shouldn’t conform ourselves with our reality, we have to be able to intervene and to change it in order to open to new possibilities. When Freire mentions that “the world is not finished and that it will always be in the process of becoming” we too as teachers will always be in the process of becoming, and it is with this conviction that change is possible, that we will learn to not accept our reality and to be able to intervene and to make the necessary transformation, (…“to change things is difficult but possible.”P.75). Freire also talks about a young man saying that he didn’t felt ashamed of where he lived (ghetto) and that he was proud, with this example he states that he is a clear demonstration of how he came to discover that the life he had was not unchangeable. With this statement the author let us know that as teachers we have to able to read the reality of the different social groups amongst our students, this way we will have a better comprehension of the reality they live in.
ReplyDeleteAs for teaching, we have to learn to do it in a way that we stimulate critical reflection and critical thinking which will lead our students into active curiosity, making it a mutual process between the students and the teacher. This will make the classroom a place where both the students and the teacher will feel engaged in an active challenge of discovering and learning, thus opening to new imaginations, emotions, and experiences, this will lead us to new curiosities and for a further search to satisfy them.
The author also writes about the concept of “Authoritarianism” which he defines as “the rupture in favor of authority against freedom”, and suggests that we should explore the tension involved in the confrontation between authority and freedom by reflecting on the “qualities that democratic authority in teaching needs to incorporate in its relationship with the freedom of the students”. So what I understood from this is that “authority” is not the same as “discipline”, and how can we give our students freedom if we teach in an authoritarian way? As teachers we need to know this difference, because it is necessary to have discipline in our classroom but to not confuse it with authority, by having this knowledge, our students will have the freedom to be open to new curiosities and to learn more, and we as teachers will be able to lead them in a path of constant self discovery “to become more”.
Why do I think the title of the book is pedagogy of freedom?
Simply because it teaches different kinds of knowledge that we will need in order to have freedom within our educational practice, and to teach our students that same sense of freedom. As teachers, we should not be arrogant by thinking we know it all, we should accept that we have our limitations and that learning will be a permanent process that we will have to go through, always. For freedom to take place, it is required to reflect on our incompleteness as human beings, to have curiosity to learn more, to seek for new concepts, ideas, experiences, and to be aware that we will always be in this continuous process of search because we will always have something new to learn. As for our students, we have to awaken their curiosity, to give them confidence, and teach them the skills that will encourage them to construct their own learning; to be able to achieve this we have to give them the freedom to learn in an active environment, this way we will have them be life-long learners, which is our ultimate goal as teachers.
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ReplyDeleteThis reading had me realized other things about the teacher's work. he explains the importance of creating conciousness about the importance that of teachers these days in term of the unfinished,I as a teacher had become a better person and more reflective day by day. Sometimes to try new things, is a better way to learn new things. Freire helps us to develope and think about the skills we use in a classroom and feel good about it. the student are people who wants to know new concepts new things, they want to enhance their curiosity to a different level. So, even teachers are curious to learn new thing about their students, so this doesn't mean that the students aren't the only ones learning, the teachers also learns of what students react upon the classroom. teachers are also learners, different research new students equals new begining, not all the students come from the same background or the same schools some of them come from private or public.We as teachers we need to motivate and challenge them to enhance their curiosity to a different level and achive the goals that have been set from the begining.
ReplyDeleteThat is why I think is the pedagogy of freedom, becuase we are free to learn new things from this world and from the ones that are around us.Freedom to learn from our students and from our teachers as well. This is the reality and freire has opened our eyes to see it, that we are not the only ones that know it all, students also know and have lived different experiences that can help us in the learning enviorment.
Why do you think the book's tittle is Pedagogy of Freedom?
ReplyDeleteWell because the books talks about the freedom that teacher should have when they give class to their students. I think that this chapter talks a lot of thing that our professor are been teaching us. It talks that teacher should respect the students knowledge. He talks that teacher should care about their teaching and that through curiosity teacher can maintain themselve motivated to learn new stuff.
I agree with the author on that we as a teacher should think of ourself as unfinished. This is because this keeps us as teachers to continue to improve by the days. It doesn't let us to comform ourself with ourself.
Freire offers us a number of great points about the teaching world. When he speaks about unfinishedness, he brings out a lot of information about that all people have this condition, and it is nothing wrong. Its actually good to have this, since it offers a person great opportunities in learning more, and learn how to complete tasks and any important factors that is necessary for their work ethic. It is something extremely essential for all people to hold, and it will benefit them in the long run. He also states that it is important for us to recognize what we learn and how we present ourselves in the world. We should recognize who we are, and what we can offer to the society.
ReplyDeleteFreire also explains the importance of students having educational autonomy. It allows them to learn on their own, and find different ways to assess themselves, and make it easier for their learning matters. For teachers to allow students to learn most things on their own, it gives them the autonomy feeling, and allows them to be independent in the learning process.
Pedagogy of freedom can be analyzed as having your own way of teaching. Teach the way you feel suits best for the students, and it makes your job more efficient. Education cannot always be so close minded, so it needs some creativity and originality, mostly meaning something totally different. As a teacher I can relate to this chapter, since it offers me a number of ideas I can use when I assess my students, and put myself in their shoes, and allowing them to gain independecy in the way they learn.
After reading the chapter three of Paulo Freire, I realize that it is true what he is pointing out “Teaching is not just transferring knowledge”. At first, before being in this class, I tough that we as future educators were supposed to teach what we already know, but this class and even the chapter makes me analyze that teaching is not like that. This chapter is to awake us that it takes a little bit more of us as teachers than even ourselves can imagine. We need to be open to what is new in the world. It means that we are going to be in constant research to acquire knowledge. Also, not just share or transfer that knowledge, but help our students to construct their own by using new methods and strategies. Also, we can use the ideas that students bring into the classroom, to create a more dynamic environment. Additionally, I like this chapter because as future educator, the author put us in a situation where we can analyze and comprehend that being a teacher is a hard task to perform. We are unfinishedness being and we must be conscious to what the world brings us new to use it and motivate our students. If we are aware that we are unfinished beings, we will look forward to progress. We can learn from our mistakes, and place our seeds to make a better world. For that reason, as the author said “Change is possible” so let’s take advantage of that and wake up our curiosity to learn because our world is not finished and it is our job as future educator to improve it. Furthermore, I believe that the book is called “Pedagogy of Freedom “because we have the liberty in education to transform the world into a better place by preparing our students to become competent members in our society. This book provides the necessary knowledge to consider in the process of becoming a teacher. The author use his experiences for us as future teachers to be open minded and express that we have the power to touch many lives. Finally, as the author Paulo Freire says, let’s make of learning a creative adventure because nothing is impossible.
ReplyDeleteAs teachers we have to teach as much as we can to our students and try to give the class more active so they can stay focus and awake on the class topic. I agree that teachers have to admit when they are wrong and not pretend they know it all. Many teachers feel that they are more important than the students and this should stop because you can make the student feel bad about themselves. "When I enter the classroom I ought to be someone who is open to new ideas, open to questions, and open to the curiosities of the students as well as their inhibitions.”(p. 49) I totally agree with this statement because teachers have to be more open with new ideas and opinions that the students might have because imagine a class that the teacher does not allow no other opinions except her own. This would be a horrible and unfair class and the student will probably feel that they cannot have an opinion of their own. I think that everyone has the freedom to learn, the freedom to express their thoughts and opinions and most importantly the freedom to be yourself. This not only goes to the students but as the teacher as well, because the teacher has to have freedom to become a better educator.
ReplyDeleteThe title Pedagogy of Freedom can stand for breaking all the parameters and old traditions in teaching. Educators should constantly be transforming and evolving. It is a huge part of growing and becoming a productive educator. Students enter a classroom full of curiosities, problems and different situations and when a teacher enters this classroom he or she should be open minded. Freire said something very important about this, he said "When I enter the classroom I ought to be someone who is open to new ideas, open to questions, and open to the curiosities of the students as well as their inhibitions … I ought to be aware of being a critical and inquiring subject in regard to the task entrusted to me, the task of teaching and not that of transferring knowledge."
ReplyDeleteFreire acknowledges the importance of being humble and reachable for students. The teacher should not be an inaccessible person that would limit them. He wants us to remain hopeful and to realize change is possible. This reflection has made me reflect on how I will come to my classroom, how I will project myself and how to have a different strategy on the way I teach. He has helped me believe in the power of transformation in education. He proposes possibilities in social change which I fully believe. He says a transformative proposal requires “technical, scientific, and professional development as much as it does dreams and utopia” I like his passion, commitment and love for what he does. He has a way to transmit that in his writings that made me feel hopeful. I am part of this powerful movement and I am hope for the future for the well-being of society.
//When does hope turn into wisdom? Where do they converge? The answer lies within the educator’s ability to inspire and spark a student’s natural curiosity. The answer is permanently engraved within the educator’s ethical and social responsibility to construct knowledge rather than relay it. The moment the educator becomes aware of who they are --by simply realizing that their presence in this world is incomplete-- is the moment when learning occurs. Learning is the process in which a person realizes that they do not possess all of the facts, details and knowledge about a topic. It arises from both curiosity and necessity. Someone who is knowledgeable, is a person who has engaged within the learning process and views intelligence as a holistic process—as the sum of all parts—not just an empty memorizer of facts. The teacher then can be looked upon as a source of motivation and inspiration because of the joy and passion for learning that they are to exhibit towards their students and profession.
ReplyDelete//Teachers become an important source of inspiration and hope to students because they must not only construct their own existence but help shape and mold the existence of their students and shape the intellectual, social and moral fabric of society. They are responsible for both their conscious and unconscious efforts within and outside of their classroom. Positive moral values are taught explicitly and implicitly. They are a reflection of educational attitudes, preferences and biases. The teacher’s strength does not lie within the salary, or reaching the status quo. Their strength is their ability to improve, enhance, balance and provide equal intellectual and social opportunities for their students. Their strength is centered in their political, social, moral and ethical duty to create opportunities for all students within their classroom. This ideal lies within the fact that teacher and student share a common goal, to be empowered and not overcome by their social circumstances. Educators overcome the shadow of negativity and become the light of hope that nurtures the student rather than becoming part of the barriers that limit the student’s options. They must accept and encourage the student’s autonomy rather than enable a system that seeks to undermine their social and educational options.
//Both educator and student are to construct their knowledge together. To grasp this concept the teacher must be willing to admit-- despite their ego-- that they are an incomplete process and that they must take the appropriate action to build upon their knowledge and educational practices. Admitting that one is an incomplete process is not by any means is an admission of total inability, in fact it is the path towards self-actualization. Recognizing one’s flaws and inabilities gives a person the opportunity to grow because education is a never-ending transformative process that occurs within the person, as well as a process that determines and influences the societal equilibrium and guarantees social justice.
ReplyDelete//Freire believes in the Pedagogy of Freedom because he lived within a society that was plagued by limits and barriers against the poorer social classes. He believes that education is a democratic and civil right that helps level the injustices of racism, poverty, violence and inequality. The educator is a reflective emissary of change, that by guarantying the student’s freedom of choice, opportunity and freedom to construct their own circumstance they avoid being victims of history, authoritarianism, abuse and the bureaucracy that mass economic systems tend to perpetrate against those who cannot exert their own influence within their society and government. Freedom is obtained through the educational right students have to construct their own reality and social circumstances. Educators have the responsibility to secure their students freedom through their educational practices and by respecting the student’s right to exert their influence within their education. Freedom then becomes a process by which both the educator and the student become liberated by the obstacles and boundaries they face within their society.
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ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Karina and Milagros we as teachers cannot pretend or expect to know it all we are not robots or even perfect. As time passes we acquire and learn new information, even from our students, which will help us to grow and improve ourselves as professionals. It is our job to use all this knowledge in our instruction, because students will benefit from what we bring into the classroom. They are capable citizens that will improve our world for a better future and we as teachers are the ones that should let them know what they are able to do. Also, I consider important the final statement of Joselyn that says: “I like about Freire his commitment and love”. That is what we need to have as teacher commitment, love, loyalty, respect and other values to create a healthy and trustworthy environment for students to learn for them to become lifelong learners.
I was stunned to learn that this article was written somewhere between the 1960. With such an open-minded person as Freire, it is hard to believe that there is still narrow-mindedness in the education. I can easily say that Freire was a man born ahead of his time. His views on both the teacher and student roles are so contemporary that it made me question, why didn’t people listen to this earlier? Why were there so many teachers transferring knowledge instead of teaching it? Teachers are educators who have the power to encourage or hamper student’s appetite for learning. The word pedagogy alone refers to the art and theory of teaching. Transferring knowledge is not part of it. Students must be exposed to a constructivist education in order for it to be permanent. “To know how to teach is to create possibilities for the construction and production of knowledge”. We shouldn’t limit the education in a little box of yellow papers and call it knowledge. We should be someone “who is open to new ideas, open to questions, and open to the curiosity for the students…” Students need teachers who are more practical and concrete, teachers who live their theories and philosophies. “An adventurer disposed to accept change and difference”. This in consequence leads to “a kind of incarnation joining theory and practice”. In other words, these are the teachers who implement Praxis in their lives.
ReplyDeleteThere is an additional fact that Freire points out. One, that made me reflect on myself, not just as a teacher but also as an individual; “The unfinshedness of our beings”. As teachers we need to be conscience and reflective of our condition. Only then we can address our students. “Education does not make us educable. It is our awareness of being unfinished that makes us educable….the same awareness in which we are inserted makes us eternal seekers”. There is never going to be deadline in terms of learning. We are constantly seeking reaching out for more. This is necessary for us to grow, not just as teachers but also, as human beings. If a level of satisfaction or gratification is achieved then there is no more purpose in expanding our knowledge. “Given openness to curiosity, to search, to hearing, based on awareness of our unfinishedness, we will exercise out capacity to learn and to teach better”
This chapter of Paulo Freire is intrinsic to the beauty, meaning, purpose, and value of the roles of teachers in education. The pure essence of teaching is presented in the chapter with such a deep discussion, logic, coherence and genuinely style that I feel renovated as a future teacher. I feel the need to be grateful to our professor for giving us such an excellent reading: thanks, Arlinda. I ought to you and to Paulo Freire to feel completely confident about what I want to do in my future: teaching. However, the responsibility of being well prepare for teaching is renovated also in me, after reading this chapter; for restating once again the seriousness and importance of teaching. This impact has to do with the fact that many ideas and feelings I have always had about teaching are stated, well explained, and supported in this reading; as well as the deep discussions of our essence of humanity (individual, social, professional). Ideas such as to be an authentic teacher; to be an ethical teacher; respectful of the students; responsible to society; respectful of students’ curiosity. There are also, beautiful concepts: “be conversant with other forms of knowledge that are seldom part of the curriculum” (Freire, page 58), “ hope-giving search” (Freire, page 58). Another reason for the revival that this chapter provoked in me, is the conviction of the possibility of change as a real fact. What will be the excitement, aesthetic, and purpose of my teaching if I do not provoke change? However, change is not a purpose in itself, change become a purpose if it comes along with ethics, justice, goodness, and freedom.
ReplyDeleteEven though this chapter have some philosophical concerns about human nature and Gnosticism that I do not totally agree, because I am not well informed about them; the relevance and benefits that these ideas have for teaching are extremely valuable and enlightened. When Freire says: “Education does not make us educable. It is our awareness of being unfinished that makes us educable”, he gives form and credibility of one of the most precious gift I received from my parents : the certainty of the value and relevance of education; which I always have mentioned in my reflections. My personal view of this concept is related to humbleness at the face of knowledge but its very similar to what Freire states. Another precious statement of this reading is “There could be no such thing as human existence without the openness of our being to the world, without the transitiveness of our consciousness” (page 82). Teachers not only influence their students’ life, they also influence their community, their country, and their world in a revocable chain of attitudes and actions. This fact is well presented in this chapter, and makes us responsible for the future of our world and generations; also of our present world and situations.
Along with the personal enrichment I receive from this reading, I review some essential concepts of teaching such as epistemology, determinism, autonomy, passive learner, and others; and I inform myself about ontology which I knew a little.
Certainly this book is titled Pedagogy of Freedom, because it is a deep reflection and discussion of the very essence of teaching and human nature, which is related to Freedom, as an intrinsic human right, desire, necessity, and source of knowledge. Freedom as a source of knowledge implies to better our world.
I agree the comment yahsira made we need to be opened to new types of information. Students can also presenta comments or maybe participate of an article that we havent seen or read. So I really agree with yashira on that point.
ReplyDeleteThis piece of writing has helped me notice how learning is a natural part in the human’s life. Since we are born we have the instinct to learning. For example a baby repeats every sound and movement that he or she sees. We are constant learners and also teachers. Those two things come in our brains and we just have to allow it to come out. I like how Freire compares animals and humans because it is true; we are born with instincts to follow. I also like when he talks about curiosity. It is true what he says, “curiosity is already knowledge”, this because curiosity is what leads us humans towards learning and gaining knowledge. Also, he presents teachers as a very important figure in the role of this Pedagogy of Freedom. It is them who have the lead to guide and teach but they also have to have respect towards the student. Teachers cannot see themselves as the ones who know everything and that have all the authority over the student. He actually states, “a teacher that is not respectfully present in the educational experience of the student, transgresses fundamental ethical principles of the human condition”.
ReplyDeleteTeaching is not just filling a blank board, it is getting to know the people that surround you, make them feel they have knowledge to chare with other. Make them see themselves as future professionals that are able to do anything they want. Unfortunately, this is not the reality in schools. Teachers do not care for their students as they should, they just think of filling their minds with new material and giving them tests to see if they have learned. This is not working, educators must see further and look inside of their minds; look for their problems, situations, personal conflicts, and after knowing what is happening, provide them solutions and let them see how much can learning new things will help them in their lives.
In conclusion, teachers must leave aside the mentality that sees students as persons who do not know anything and look at them as persons who also have knowledge and have the power to teach. I think this is why Freire gives his book the name of Pedagogy of Freedom. He wants to send a message to all those teachers with selfish and arrogant minds, telling them that to become a teacher you have to become humble and tolerant, that it is necessary to open their minds towards a new era of education and learning.