Paulo Freire

Paulo Freire was born in Brazil and worked as teacher in the shanty-town slums. He criticised the tradition approach of the teacher giving knowledge to passive students, comparing it to putting money in the bank - the students accumulating given knowledge. His approach required dialogue, discussion and debate, with students being active in their learning. He affirmed that such an education process should be empowering for the learner, helping them raise their consciousness about the world and about political issues. Education should, he affirmed, help people see their world differently. He was firmly opposed to workbooks, for example for adult literacy, which dominated most of his work. People learn best if the knowledge and skills they are building up are useful to their lives, even life changing. The power between teacher and learner is narrowed, removing if possible the status gulf between the two so that the learning experience is two-way, built on relationship and joint effort towards a single goal. This dynamic approach to teaching and learning he described as praxis.

More detail can be found in the on-line Encyclopedia of Informal Education .

There are lessons for teaching today.
First that teaching means establishing a positive dialogue with learners which is rooted in a good relationship.
Second that there is more to teaching than administering workbooks or worksheets. It is about creating an interest in the topic which is shown to be relevant to life.
Thirdly, that knowledge is not given and received; rather understanding is constructed together.
Fourthly, education should change the way pupils and learners think about their lives, making them more aware, more ethically concerned, and politicised (i.e. inspired to change their world).

The effectiveness of provision in schools, colleges and universities could profitably be measured against these criteria. Where structures make such dynamic learning impossible,, they should be dismantled.