Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Freire Friday ...on libertarian education

The important thing, from the point of view of libertarian education, is for the people to come to feel like masters of their thinking by discussing the thinking and views of the world explicitly or implicitly manifest in their own suggestions and those of their comrades. Because this view of education starts with the conviction that it cannot present its own program but must search for this program dialogically with the people, it serves to introduce the pedagogy of the oppressed, in the elaboration of which the oppressed must participate (Chapter 3).

I really think that we can blame others until we're blue in the face for the wrongs in our world and in our systems, like our education systems, for example, but it freezes any possibility of further, more meaningful, dialogue! We tend to blame our ministers and political folk for our wrongs more so than we probably should...after all we're they voted in by us the decerning public?! Sure, there's a need to rant and rave and oftentimes at these people especially (if you vote them in and they don't do their jobs, then why not?!), but when we use it to vent our spleens and not much else its pretty pointless don't you think?

So, if we want something fixed, need something now, are concerned about something important enough, we should get physical and act on it!

Where do we start then? I reckon, I'm pretty comfortable with having a "can do" attitude. Something needs doing and I'm feeling a connection with it, then I say, "self, go for it".

In what other ways might be find a starting point?

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