Paperback, 183 pages
English language
Published Nov. 8, 2000 by Continuum.
First published in Portuguese in 1968, Pedagogy of the Oppressed was translated and published in English in 1970. The methodology of the late Paulo Freire has helped to empower countless impoverished and illiterate people throughout the world. Freire's work has taken on especial urgency in the United States and Western Europe, where the creation of a permanent underclass among the underprivileged and minorities in cities and urban centers is increasingly accepted as the norm. With a substantive new introduction on Freire's life and the remarkable impact of this book by writer and Freire confidant and authority Donaldo Macedo, this anniversary edition of Pedagogy of the Oppressed will inspire a new generation of educators, students, and general readers for years to come.
I wish I could give this 4 1/2 stars, only because it is (ironically) very academic. But the concepts in this book, the outlines of a radical education, are really important. If you haven't read it, you need to. If you have, brush up.
It took me a while to get past the language of this book, as Freire writes with revolutionary lingo, but by the end, I was fully enraptured enough that I re-read the book again, gleaning new insights once I had stepped beyond the language. Don't be fooled into thinking this is mere abstract academic discourse--Freire frames truly insightful perspectives on pedagogical standpoints that ring deep and true to practicing educators today. His emphasis on dialogue and the teacher-as-learner struck a chord, especially when he delineated the tenets of dialogue as a pedagogical strategy requiring love, faith in humanity, and humility in the practitioner. Yer darn tootin', revolutionary teachers!
