Pedagogy Of The Oppressed, By Freire

Freire’s words “True dialogue cannot exist unless the dialoguers engage in critical thinking” (Freire, 1970/1993, p.92). Here, the author emphasizes how imperative critical thinking is for dialoguers in order to have a real conversation. In his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed, he elaborates the meaning of critical thinking. According to what he said, when there is agreement between the world and people without separating them, it is critical thinking. Moreover, if an individual believes that everything around her is not an unchangeable fact, but a process that is constantly changing, that is also called critical thinking.

Additionally, Freire states that a process is described as critical thinking if a person takes his own decisions by himself …show more content…
For example, my students would be allowed to speak with each other in English only. I am determined to apply this rule even after reading Freire 's book for one reason. If I have a diverse classroom and two of my students speak their native language, other students might feel alienated because they do not understand the language. However, Freire would not like this rule. Moreover, my students would be permitted to have their own electronic and paper dictionary because some students might be shy and cannot ask me in front of the class. The important thing here is to let students learn as much as they could whether from their classmates or on their own. As it is emphasized in pedagogy of the Oppressed, the teacher is not the only source for students to get knowledge. They should have the freedom to learn from whatever source they prefer. Additionally, I would enable my students to go to the restroom whenever they need without asking me first. When I was a student in middle and high school, some teachers refused students’ request to use a bathroom if they asked to go more than once because they thought the students just wanted to leave the class. Some teachers prevent their students from using the restroom if they asked a lot and they ignore the fact that it might negatively affect students’ …show more content…
This will help me and my students to learn from each other, which is what Freire emphasized throughout his book. He explains one of the situations that could be found in the banking concept of education, which he criticized, by stating “the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it”. In my point of view, it is better to let students choose what they want to learn so that they will always be motivated. Students will better learn in classrooms that respect them and let them decide how and what to learn. That is why teachers should give students the chance to choose topics they prefer to read, write, or discuss about. If I become a teacher of a writing class, I would first discuss with my students what topics they would like to write about in their essays. This is important because they will only choose topics that are interesting for them and that would help them to include their prior experiences and knowledge in their writings. Moreover, it is important to not to ignore students’ opinions about teaching methods used in class because not every method could work perfectly with every student. If my students told me that it is difficult for them to understand what I explained, I would use a different teaching method to help them comprehending lessons. Some students might prefer