Firey Freire

Before I even getting into the meat of Paulo Freire's theologies about the pedagogy of oppressed people and how teachers are cultural workers, I was blown away by and drawn to the introduction by Joe L. Kincheloe. He writes about the affect Freire's words had on his life. He is from the Appalachia mountain area in Tennessee. Before this fall break, I was not too sure what all that entailed, but now am aware of the systemic poverty in that area that has a greater affect on its people than anyone other than these oppressed people can imagine. I met a few of these families when working with the Appalachia Service Project (ASP) for a week and saw first hand how lack of education and job opportunities impacts people. I have been on mission trips to Mexico and some of the poorest villages in Guatemala where I expected to see tragedy, shattered integrity, and extreme poverty, but I have also thought of the United States of America as the land of opportunity where everyone has the chance to be successful and live a happy, fulfilling life. I saw first hand that with the current political, economical, and educational system, this is not the case. The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. As Freire suggests, it is our job as teachers to be aware of this issue and its oppression on people and alter our teaching theologies, pedagogies, and practices in order to help end the terrible cycle.