Pedagogy of the Oppressed

"Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world."

This rather famous passage is taken from one of the most important books written about education in the past two centuries: “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” The book was written by Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire (1921-1997) and was published in 1968.

I’m thinking about education today because of the commandment taken from our portion of “Pidyon Haben” or Redemption of the First Born Son. The commandment is to pay a Kohen five silver coins, 30 days after the birth of a first born male. The Torah explains that this commandment is to serve as a reminder of the tenth plague, the slaying of the first born, which finally convinced the Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. 

Sefer Hachinuch “The Book of Education,” a Halacha book from medieval Spain suggests the following interpretation instead:

“And he will understand this when he sees that after a man exerted himself [with] many exertions and put himself through many troubles in His world and reached the time when it makes a fruit — and his first fruit is beloved to him like the [apple] of his eye — he immediately gives it to the Holy One, blessed be He, and empties his possession of it and of his properties [to put it] into the possession of his Creator.”

I like this interpretation of the commandment much better than it being a reminder of the grim and horrible plague of the slaying of the first born.

To us humans as a general rule, the first of anything is always more precious. Our first love or first kiss, our first birth, first job, first car etc. 

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz connects the preciousness of “firsts” to education:
“... what is absorbed as a primary experience becomes ingrained in a more fundamental way, while what is learned later in life - even if it is deeper and more nuanced - does not retain the same character of primacy.”

To that Steinsaltz also quotes Avot: “One who learns when young, to what may he be compared? To ink written on fresh paper. But one who learns when old, to what may he be compared? To ink written on paper that has been erased.”

Yes, education comes with a lot of responsibility. What is first learned by a child or a teen is absorbed in them in such a fundamental way, like ink on fresh, blank paper.

In his influential book, Freire suggested that education should be practiced as a liberating act. A good educator should strive to help students develop what he called “critical consciousness,” and provide students with tools to question the world around them. Freire was heavily influenced by Marx and Engels, and viewed traditional education as a part of the oppressive “super structure” of Capitalism. By helping the students discover their oppression and understand it, the educator could assist with their liberation.

This however, should not be done by assuming authority and indoctrinating the students. Quite the opposite — this should all be done through what Freire called the “Dialogical Approach,” which stands in opposition to what is known as the traditional “banking” model.

In the traditional “banking” model, the students are passive entities unto which knowledge is being deposited. In the “Dialogical Approach” co-learning happens. In Freire’s words:

“The teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-teaches, but one who is him/herself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teach."

Freire’s Dialogical Approach was meant to create trust between the teacher and the students, trust that in turn could lead to mutual action towards challenging and then repairing the world. However, in order to achieve that trust, three conditions must take place, and those are love, humility and faith.

Love - the teacher must approach the student from a place of love. A place of love according to Freire is a place which truly wishes to liberate the student out of their oppression. If I do not wish for your liberty, I don’t love you.

Humility - the teacher must not think himself or herself better or worthier than their students, they must be constantly open to learn from the students and hear and consider their opinions.

Faith - the teacher must have faith in the ability of their student to learn and to change.

These three conditions create the trust which is needed in order to turn the learning into a political act, which is another principle in Freire’s philosophy of education, one which I won’t get into today.

It is incredible that our texts, especially the Mishna and the Gemara are full of incredibly similar principles of education. I could fill a whole other column with those alone. Those who are also familiar with Martin Buber’s Dialogical Education would notice how much Freire was influenced by Buber’s writing. (In fact, Freire does quote Buber’s “I and Thou” in Pedagogy of the Oppressed)

With recent developments in technology, we are approaching a time when “banking” education is becoming obsolete, where knowledge is easily accessible to all and even more so, there is an emergence of AI teachers who will be more than capable of explaining and teaching that knowledge. 

What should be the new role of an educator? (A human one that is?)

The answer in my opinion lies with Freire and Buber. Though these thinkers could not have predicted where we will be heading, their principles have not become dated by any means. 

As educators we must approach pure and innocent fresh paper with our saturated ink carefully. We should get to know our students, respect them and let them know that we are here as companions, and know that their questioning of everything will help us, the adults, also question the systems that we have placed around us. And that together we will work to create a better future for all of us.