True generosity consists precisely in fighting to destroy the causes which nourish false charity. Paulo Freire More Quotes by Paulo Freire More Quotes From Paulo Freire Indeed, the interests of the oppressors lie in 'changing the consciousness of the oppressed, not the situation which oppresses them. Paulo Freire interest consciousness lying Reading is not walking on the words; it's grasping the soul of them. Paulo Freire grasping reading soul Only through communication can human life hold meaning. Paulo Freire educational communication philosophy Teachers who do not take their own education seriously, who do not study, who make little effort to keep abreast of events have no moral authority to coordinate the activities of the classroom. Paulo Freire educational teacher philosophy In order for the oppressed to be able to wage the struggle for their liberation, they must perceive the reality of oppression not as a closed world from which there is no exit , but as a limiting situation which they can transform. Paulo Freire struggle order reality Coherently democratic authority carries the conviction that true discipline does not exist in the muteness of those who have been silenced but in the stirrings of those who have been challenged, in the doubt of those who have been prodded, and in the hopes of those who have been awakened. Paulo Freire discipline doubt doe In order to have the continued opportunity to express their "generosity" the oppressors must perpetuate injustice as well. Paulo Freire generosity opportunity order No matter how much someone may irritate me, I have no right to puff myself up with my own self-importance so as to declare that person to be absolutely incompetent, assuming a posture of disdain from my own position of false superiority. Paulo Freire educational self philosophy As one might expect, authoritarianism will at times cause children and students to adopt rebellious positions, defiant of any limit, discipline, or authority. But it will also lead to apathy, excessive obedience, uncritical conformity, lack of resistance against authoritarian discourse, self-abnegation, and fear of freedom. Paulo Freire discipline self children The behavior of the oppressed is a prescribed behavior, following as it does the guidelines of the oppressor. Paulo Freire guidelines behavior doe ... studying is a preparation for knowing; it is a patient and impatient exercise on the part of someone whose intent is not to know it all at once but to struggle to meet the timing of knowledge. Paulo Freire learning struggle exercise The more we become able to become a child again, to keep ourselves childlike, the more we can understand that because we love the world and we are open to understanding, to comprehension, that when we kill the child in us, we are no longer. Paulo Freire understanding children world In problem-posing education, people develop their power to perceive critically the way they exist in the world with which and in which they find themselves; they come to see the world not as a static reality, but as a reality in process, in transformation. Paulo Freire reality people world Libertarian action must recognize this dependence as a weak point and must attempt through reflection and action to transform it into independence. However, not even the best-intentioned leadership can bestow independence as a gift. The liberation of the oppressed is a liberation of women and men, not things. Accordingly, while no one liberates himself by his own efforts alone, neither is he liberated by others. Liberation, a human phenomenon, cannot be achieved by semihumans. Any attempt to treat people as semihumans only dehumanizes them. Paulo Freire reflection men people It is necessary that the weakness of the powerless is transformed into a force capable of announcing justice. For this to happen, a total denouncement of fatalism is necessary. We are transformative beings and not beings for accommodation. Paulo Freire force weakness justice The unfinished character of human beings and the transformational character of reality necessitate that education be an ongoing activity. Paulo Freire ongoing character reality People in communion liberate each other. Paulo Freire communion people Education as the exercise of domination stimulates the credulity of students, with the ideological intent (often not perceived by educators) of indoctrinating them to adapt to the world of oppression. Paulo Freire students exercise world Faith in people is an a priori requirement for dialogue. Paulo Freire requirements dialogue people Reading the word and learning how to write the word so one can later read it are preceded by learning how to write the world, that is having the experience of changing the world and touching the world. Paulo Freire touching reading writing
