“Education as the practice of freedom-as opposed to education as the practice of domination denies that man is abstract, isolated, independent, an unattached to the world; it also denies that the world exists as a reality apart from people” (81). Paulo Freier is arguing that human beings are naturally isolated from the world. Frier voices his opinion about the reality of human beings and how being authentic does not come from attaining knowledge through education, it is simply your experiences that make you exist within reality. On that note, Freier made some humorously valid points about the student-teacher relationships that he notices. To the point where he compared the relationship to a slave in the Hegelian dialectic, where students are the “slave” and they are alienated and are required to comprehend what is taught by the teacher. However, the teacher will never want to willingly learn from a student because they are beneath them. Students naturally accept this role of being belittled in this academic environment, but Paulo Freier disagrees and supports teachers and students working with each other to better their knowledge. This brings me to Bell Hook’s theory of the “Engaged pedagogy” which is very pertinent to effective student-teacher relationships. This also relates to my teaching philosophy of a progressive/humanistic approach to educating students. For me personally, if a teacher’s mind is at ease, then they can effectively teach their students and vice versa. Since engaged pedagogy is about student expression as well as self care within teachers, this goes against a traditional approach. Truthfully, there rarely any conversation about the well being of a teacher. Everyone mostly focuses on a student, which is important but at the end of the day the teacher is creating a comfortable environment for their students and how can they do that if they’re struggling.
Reality and Engaged Pedagogy
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