Criticas a Paulo Freire

Prévia do material em texto

Visões críticas da obra de Paulo 
Freire 
John Ohliger 
 
Escolhas Básicas, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, EUA 
 
Compilado para o Seminário de Verão do Iowa Community College de 
1995 
 
Vá para o artigo de John Ohliger 
Retorno à página de entrada "Facundo on Freire". 
 
Este documento está localizado no 
Supressão de site de dissidência 
na seção sobre Documentos 
na subseção em Facundo em Freire 
 
Em uma carta para Miriam Temple eu escrevi: "Obrigado pelas notícias 
sobre o que o seminário de verão está planejando. Minha experiência é 
que Freire é geralmente tratado como uma espécie de ícone 
[Ver: Cayley & Furter; Millwood & Aronowitz; Elias; e McLaren/Giroux
]. Se quiser, posso preparar uma breve bibliografia anotada de 
comentários críticos sobre Freire. Na minha opinião, a melhor crítica é 
o trabalho de Blanca Facundo". Miriam respondeu: "Claro, eu gostaria 
que você preparasse uma bibliografia para os participantes do 
seminário." 
 
 
TABELA DE CONTEÚDOS 
I. WRITING STYLE (Kathryn Anderson, William Ayers, Tom Balke, 
Ann Berthoff, Bruce Boston, John Egerton, David Fetterman, Edgar 
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Friedenberg, Rozanne Knudson, Herbert Kohl, Trevor Pateman, 
Frances Rafferty, Beth Swadener/Jean O'Brien) 
II. CONSCIENTIZAÇÃO (Peter Berger, David Cayley/Ivan Illich, John 
Elias/Sharan Merriam, Pierre Furter, Esther Gottlieb/Thomas La 
Belle, Ivan Illich, George Mathew/Pradip Prabhu/Paulo Freire, David 
Millwood, Matthew Zachariah) 
III. RELIGIÃO (Stanley Aronowitz, Harold Beder, Moacir Gadotti, 
Donald McDonald/Paulo Freire, John Ohliger, Dudley Plunket, 
Bradford Stull) 
IV. THE OPRESSOR & THE OPRIMido (C.A. Bowers, John Bugbee, 
John Elias, Erwin Epstein, William Griffith, William Kennedy, 
Malcolm Knowles, Gary MacEoin, Manfred Stanley) 
V. ALFABETIZAÇÃO (John Bugbee, Hiber Conteris, Sandra Stotsky, 
Daniel Wagner) 
VI. CONTRADIÇÕES (Rena Foy, Henry Giroux, Charles Isaacs, Tom 
Leach, David Nasaw, Daniel Schipani, Ann Sherman, P.V. Taylor) 
VII. O PROFESSOR E O Ensinado (Herb Addo, Peter Caulfield, João 
Elias, Philip O'Meara, Rolland Paulston. James Pitt, Joel Spring, Carlos 
Alberto Torres, Jim Walker) 
VIII. SEXISMO (Jeanne Brady, ganchos de sino, Kathleen Weiler) 
IX. APLICÁVEL A OUTROS GRUPOS? (Elizabeth Ellsworth, Merrill 
Ewert, Peter McLaren/Henry Giroux, Rosiska de Oliveira/Pierre 
Dominice, Wayne Urban, Roger Woock) 
A MONOGRAFIA de X. BLANCA FACUNDO (Blanca Facundo, Tom 
Heaney, Frank Adams, Henry Giroux, Ross Kidd, Jeff Zacharakis-Jutz) 
[NOTA: Para economizar espaço abaixo, as citações são mínimas, 
elipses e números de página são deixados de fora, e geralmente apenas 
as visões críticas dos autores sobre a obra de Freire são citadas.] 
 
 
I. ESTILO DE ESCRITA 
"É DOENTE UM EDUCADOR PARA A LIBERTAÇÃO APRESENTAR-
SE A LEITORES INTERESSADOS CAMUFLADOS EM UM ESTILO 
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TÃO OBSCURO, COMPLICADO, MAÇANTE, EXCESSIVAMENTE 
METAFÍSICO" BRUCE BOSTON 
Anderson, Kathryn Murphy. "Conversas recentes com Paulo 
Freire." Literatura Universitária,outubro de 1994. "A conversa de três 
dias [em Paulo Freire sobre o Ensino Superior] sofre de falta de 
direção: as perguntas são longas e às vezes pouco claras, as respostas 
de Freire às vezes sofrem de sua tendência de reformular perguntas ou 
redirecioná-las. Uma troca precoce tipifica os problemas com esse 
diálogo que o tornam um livro menos do que satisfatório: questões 
direcionadas à prática real em sala de aula e institucional são recebidas 
com discussões adicionais de terminologia, são redirecionadas ou são 
simplesmente ignoradas, e soluções concretas raramente são tratadas 
efetivamente ou longamente. Freire responde a outras perguntas 
pedindo "táticas concretas" ou estratégias em diversos campos "para 
realmente converter o ensino superior em um elemento de 
transformação" reenquadrando as questões em discussão e 
direcionando o problema para outro orador. Essa troca exemplifica a 
falha de muitos no livro em render muito mais do que uma 
contabilidade de problemas, riscos e mal-entendidos." 
Ayers, William. "Revisão de Uma Pedagogia para a 
Libertação." Teachers College Record, Outono de 1987. "O problema 
fundamental é que o diálogo não está suficientemente fundamentado 
na vida de professores e alunos. As ideias tendem a ser desconectadas, 
flutuando em uma atmosfera excessivamente intelectualizada. Vozes de 
ensino autênticas e projetos libertadores caem pelas rachaduras, e um 
senso de possibilidade e vitalidade se perde." 
Balke, Tom F. "Revisão da Política da Educação". Estudos na Educação 
de Adultos, Apr 1986. "O texto de Freire pode perder certos leitores que 
são incapazes de investir tempo e esforço para navegar em seu discurso 
filosófico-linguístico. Algumas seções do texto podem ser acessíveis 
apenas aos educadores e teóricos da esquerda progressista que se 
sentem confortáveis com a linguagem de libertação de Freire. Os 
leitores feministas podem ter dificuldade em lidar com a linguagem 
masculina usada ao longo do texto. Alguns leitores também podem 
ansiar por exemplos de iniciativas femininas nas áreas de ação cultural, 
educação, conscientização e mudança social." 
Berthoff, Ann E. "Pedagogia da Libertação de Paulo Freire". Artes 
linguísticas,Vol. 67, Nº 4, 1990. "Freire é difícil de ler porque ele é 
cristão e marxista e esses lexicons às vezes estão em desacordo com 
outro. Retomar os slogans de Paulo Freire sem sua filosofia de 
linguagem será confundir sua filosofia de história. Propor a pedagogia 
dos oprimidos sem suas amarras filosóficas não será diferente de se 
contentar com a educação alimentar que Sartre tirou sarro: 'Aqui coma 
isso! É bom para você!' 
Boston, Bruce O. "Paulo Freire". Em Paulo Freire. Stanley Grabowski, 
ed. Syracuse University Publications in Continuing Education, 1972. "É 
mal um educador para a libertação apresentar-se aos leitores 
interessados camuflados em um estilo tão obscuro, complicado, 
maçante, excessivamente metafísico, desprovido da experiência 
humana real que gerou tais ideias provocativas. Várias pessoas que 
trabalharam no modelo Freire estão começando a entender que os 
métodos de Freire tornam possível ser críticos sobre quase tudo, exceto 
esses próprios métodos." 
Egerton, John. "Procurando por Freire." Saturday Review of 
Education, Apr 1973. "As críticas caem: tornou-se moda entre os 
radicais românticos neste país ler e falar sobre Illich e Freire. Mas 
Freire não é mais radical do que a maioria de nós. Não há originalidade 
no que ele diz que é o mesmo rap antigo. Ele nos ensinou, criticou 
nosso foco estreito em pequenos problemas, mas sua alternativa a 
perspectiva global é a retórica obsoleta. Ele é um teórico político e 
ideológico, não um educador. Não há nada concreto e específico no que 
ele diz. Um participante resume: eu não sei como Paulo reage como 
pessoa a qualquer coisa.'" 
Fetterman, David M. "Revisão da Política da Educação". Antropóloga 
Americana,Mar 1986. "Sua discussão sobre alfabetização camponesa é 
escrita em uma língua repleta de abstrações acadêmicas e expressões 
recém-cunhadas que falam apenas de uma inteligência masculina de 
elite. Ele também deixa perguntas básicas sem resposta. A 
"conscientização" não poderia ser outro meio de anestesiar e manipular 
as massas? Que novos controles sociais, além de simples verbalismos, 
serão usados para implementar sua política social? Como a ideologia 
humanista e libertadora de Freire se concilia com a conclusão lógica de 
sua pedagogia- a violência física da mudança revolucionária?" 
Friedenberg, Edgar Z. Revisão da Pedagogia dos Oprimidos. Revisão 
de Educação Comparada, Outubro de 1971. "Certamente não há honra 
a ser conquistada colocando para baixo um trabalho tão bem 
intencionado e geralmente bem recebido. Este é um livro realmente 
ruim. O estilo pedante, o eufemismo consistente da oposição e a evasão 
muito peculiar da vasta experiência de Freire como fonte de material 
ilustrativo, em preferência por fragmentos de trabalhos publicados. A 
intenção do leitor americano, como Freire, de usar a educação como 
atividade subversiva tem uma gama de fontes mais nítidas e 
abrangentes à sua disposição." 
Knudson, Rozanne. Revisão da Pedagogia dos Oprimidos. Jornal da 
Biblioteca,1 º de abril de 1971. "Suas palavras são curiosamente 
impassível. Nós nunca chegamos perto desses oprimidos. Quem são 
eles? A definição de Freire parece ser "qualquer um que não seja um 
opressor". Imprecisões, redundâncias, tautologias, repetições sem fim 
provocam tédio, não ação. A organização de Freire é tão caótica que o 
opressor, presumivelmente o leitor pretendido, vai achar difícil." 
Kohl, Herbert. "A Criação da História". Hungry Mind Review, Mar 
1990. "A obra de Freire pode parecer abstrata e excessivamente 
intelectual para leitores que não estão familiarizados com a linguagem 
do argumento dialético ou do debate teológico." 
Pateman, Trevor. "Revisão da Política da Educação". Sociologia, 
Fevereiro de 1986. "Este livroé o material do qual as vendas de livros 
acadêmicos são feitas. É uma coleção de artigos repetitivos, prefácios e 
conversas dos anos 1970 entre uma introdução bem branda e uma 
entrevista (sem data). Sloppily editado as notas de rodapé para a 
entrevista são omitidos; As citações de Freire são dadas às edições que 
ele cita e não às traduções em inglês disponíveis, no entanto, ilustradas 
com uma dúzia de fotografias bastante hagiográficas de Freire." 
Rafferty, Frances. "Utopias do Homem alfabetizado". Times 
Educational Supplement, 29 de outubro de 1993. "Os livros de Freire, 
muitas vezes carregados de jargões densos e terminologia marxista, 
podem ser pesados." 
Swadener, Beth & Jean O'Brien. Pedagogia dos Obcecados. Uma 
página de 18 páginas decolam sobre Pedagogia do Oprimido preparado 
em 1982 para um seminário de pós-graduação no programa de pós-
graduação da Universidade de Wisconsin em educação de 
adultos. Exemplo: "QUIZ: Freire foi a: a) Marxista. b) Católico. c) 
Revolucionário. d) Escritor confuso. e) Tudo isso." 
 
 
II. CONSCIENTIZAÇÃO 
"EU CHAMARIA DE CONSCIENTIZAÇÃO TODOS OS RITUAIS 
PROFISSIONALMENTE PLANEJADOS E ADMINISTRADOS QUE 
TÊM COMO PROPÓSITO A INTERNALIZAÇÃO DE UMA 
IDEOLOGIA RELIGIOSA OU SECULAR" IVAN ILLICH 
[VEJA TAMBÉM: Balke & Fetterman em I.; Plunket em III.; Kennedy 
em IV.; Bugbee em V.; Schipani em VI.; & Walker em VII.] 
Berger, Peter L. Pirâmides do Sacrifício. Livros Básicos, 1974. "[Freire] 
chamou seu método de 'concientizacao' literalmente, 'tornando 
consciente'. Este nome foi pego como "conscientização" nos Estados 
Unidos. O conceito de "conscientização", como atualmente utilizado, 
implica algumas suposições altamente questionáveis. Implica erro 
filosófico e ironia política. "Conscientização" é um projeto de 
indivíduos de classe superior direcionado a uma população de classe 
baixa. Juntamente com essa arrogância está uma irritação recorrente 
com "aquelas pessoas" que teimosamente recusam a salvação que é tão 
benevolentemente oferecida a eles: "Como eles podem ser tão 
cegos?" Se a visão hierárquica da consciência simplesmente se referisse 
a níveis de informação sobre temas específicos, não haveria 
necessidade de discutir com ela. Se se deseja estender essa 
superioridade à informação e às perspectivas em geral, a plausibilidade 
desaparece, pois os camponeses claramente têm informações muito 
superiores sobre outros temas como vida vegetal e animal, condições 
do solo, clima e uma infinidade de habilidades manuais e artefatos 
materiais." 
Cayley, David. Ivan Illich em Conversação. House of Anansi Press, 
1992. ILLICH: "Os cristãos marxistas do Conselho Mundial de Igrejas 
adotaram [Freire] como seu ídolo e manipularam sua imagem." 
Elias, John L., e Sharan Merriam. Fundamentos Filosóficos da 
Educação de Adultos. Krieger Publishing, 1980. "A filosofia do homem 
de Freire [sic], embora idealista e utópica, tem certas fraquezas. Freire 
raramente vai além das generalidades ou piedades no desenvolvimento 
dessa filosofia. Embora em seu trabalho de alfabetização ele estivesse 
envolvido com homens e mulheres reais, Freire produz apenas 
abstração quando escreve sobre a pessoa humana. Em seus escritos, a 
pessoa vive muitas vezes em nenhum momento histórico; não tem 
corpo, paixões, emoções. Uma vez que o conceito de opressão é um 
conceito importante na filosofia social de Freire, é lamentável que ele 
não dê um tratamento mais adequado a ele. Não são dados critérios 
para julgar o que seria exploração objetiva ou o que uma pessoa 
responsável faria. Embora a teoria da conscientização de Freire seja 
impressionante, ela ainda sofre de uma série de fraquezas. Freire tem 
tentado bravamente evitar a posição idealista, mas parece que ele não 
consegue. Sua teoria da conscientização depende de algum tipo de 
visão transcendente da realidade através da qual os indivíduos vêm ver 
o que é real e autêntico. Parece haver pouco espaço em sua visão para a 
luta dolorosa com diferentes pontos de vista e pontos de vista 
opostos. Tudo se resume às classes dominantes com sua visão 
distorcida da realidade e indivíduos conscientizados com sua visão da 
realidade que realmente é. Lançar a realidade social em termos preto e 
branco é mais característico do pregador religioso simplista do que o 
filósofo crítico do conhecimento e da educação." 
Furter, Pierre. "Perfis de Educadores". Perspectivas,Vol. 15, Nº 2, 
1985. "Quando um homem se torna um mito em sua própria vida, 
como Freire se tornou graças ao seu desenvolvimento do conceito de 
'conscientização', quanto mais ele publica e quanto mais comentário 
sua obra provoca, mais difícil é distinguir um do outro. Não só há 
confusão entre o homem e o mito, mas não sabemos mais se as ideias 
que associamos a ele devem ser contadas entre suas intenções, suas 
realizações práticas, seus sucessos ou seus fracassos, ou se são 
simplesmente o que ele passou a representar nas mentes de seus 
contemporâneos. A confusão é particularmente grave no caso de 
Freire, pois seu conceito de conscientização deu origem a um grande 
mal-entendido, desde seus primeiros sucessos no Brasil. Freire poderia 
ser a bete noire de todos, se adequadamente apresentado? A impressão 
geral é que Freire está sendo solicitado a fornecer uma resposta 
universal para todos os problemas educacionais de nossas 
sociedades. É como se ele fosse considerado um guru cuja mensagem 
oferece uma solução para problemas dos quais ele nem sequer está 
ciente. O que está acontecendo é que Freire está sendo transformado 
em uma espécie de fetiche, como testemunha do interesse em seu 
'método', sua 'conscientização', seu 'sistema', como se estivesse 
oferecendo uma panaceia universal." 
Gottlieb, Esther E., & Thomas J. La Belle. "Contextualização 
Etnográfica do Discurso de Freire." Antropologia e Educação 
Trimestral,mar 1990. "A maioria dos programas de conscientização, 
sozinhos ou em combinação com programas de transmissão de 
habilidades, não alcançaram mudanças sociais esperadas, e parece que 
isso levou a um crescente desencanto com esses esforços." 
Illich, Ivan. Gender. Pantheon, 1982. "What has been called the 
'process of civilization' builds on a process that could be called 
'conscientization.' The term has been coined in Brazil to label a kind of 
political self-help adult education organized mostly by clergymen 
popularizing Marxist categories to help the poor discover that they are 
'humans.' It could be used by the historian to describe an enterprise 
that was decisively shaped by the Church through the 
institutionalization of the sacrament of Penance in the 12th century, an 
enterprise that since then has been followed by other techniques. I 
would call conscientization all professionally planned and 
administered rituals that have as their purpose the internalization of a 
religious or secular ideology. Conscientization consists of the 
colonization and standardization of vernacular probity and honor 
through some 'catholic' (that is, universally human) set of institutional 
rules. I would argue that it constituted, during the early Middle Ages, a 
perversion of the original Christian idea of reform. Reform as the 
attempt to bring about a renewal of the world by means of one's own 
personal conversion was conceived by early Christians as the vocation 
that set them apart (158)." 
Mathew, George, ed. A Day With Paulo Freire. Indian Society for 
Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1980. "PRADIP PRABHU: There is a 
myth that has been created and is being perpetuated, that traditional 
institutions, be they in education or in health or in any other work, can 
also do 'conscientization.' But as you know these institutions are there 
to perpetuate a particular system. And the conscientization process 
must necessarily subvert that system. How can they do 
'conscientization'? Any institution that is either supported or protected 
by the state or financially assisted by the state cannot but work for the 
state. So, Paulo, when yousay 'do the work and don't be naive about 
the work,' you are asking us to walk out of these institutions. You 
cannot stay in these institutions and do conscientization. "FREIRE: I 
am trying to forget the word 'conscientization,' but not the process. For 
the last seven years I never used the word. That word is too much 
corrupted [FREIRE THEN GOES ON TO USE THE TERM NINE 
MORE TIMES]. If you ask me, 'Paulo, do you think that through 
formal, systematic education we could transform society?' I would say, 
'no, for me it is not possible.'" 
Millwood, David. "Conscientization and What It's All About." New 
Internationalist, Jun 1974. "CONSCIENTIZATION and PAULO 
FREIRE are currently the most trendy words in the whole development 
debate. Some see conscientization almost as a new religion with Freire 
as its high priest. Others see it as just so much hot air with Freire as 
chief windbag." 
Zachariah, Matthew. Revolution through Reform. Praeger, 1986. 
"Conscientization appears to be a movement that has seen its heyday. 
Conscientization may be criticized for not proposing concrete measures 
for improving the standard of living of the people. Conscientization 
may also be criticized for being patronizing in its own way. Do ordinary 
men and women need to be conscientized before they recognize that 
they lead desperate, oppressed lives marked by hunger, disease, and 
the denial of dignity? They know the score and do not need middle 
class do-gooders to tell them. They acquiesce in their oppression 
because they have no other choice. To offer them hope through 
Conscientization is worse than deceitful. What they need is for people 
to fight on their side, so they can overthrow the oppressors. 
Conscientization has been criticized for evading or worse, 
camouflaging the issue of leadership. No amount of talk about 
'educator-educatees' and 'educatee-educators' can get around the fact 
that there are teachers and students in Conscientization. It is a short 
step from that criticism to characterize the leaders of culture circles not 
benevolently as 'teachers' but as meddlesome, outside agitators." 
 
 
III. RELIGION 
"THE PLACE OF THE RELIGIOUS IN FREIRE HAS SPARKED 
INTENSE DEBATE" Bradford Stull 
[SEE ALSO: Elias, Illich, & Millwood in II.] 
Aronowitz, Stanley. "Paulo Freire's Radical Democratic Humanism." 
In Paulo Freire. Peter McLaren & Peter Leonard, eds. Routledge, 1993. 
"The name of Freire has reached near iconic proportions in the United 
States, Latin America and, indeed, in many parts of Europe." 
Beder, Harold. Review of Conscientization and Deschooling by John L. 
Elias. Adult Education, Vol. 27, No. 4, 1976. "While sympathetic to his 
subjects, Elias does not hesitate to identify points of questionable logic 
in their thinking. In doing so, the author has presented a balanced 
analysis which is a refreshing change from works on Freire and Illich, 
which either sanctify or condemn the two social critics. He states: 
'Utopian thinkers, like Freire and Illich, who do not posit stages of 
development are involved in a dilemma. If they admit the existence of 
present evil, they must admit the capacity of man [sic] to do evil and 
fashion evil institutions. The capacity must be part of man's [sic] 
nature. If they do not admit the existence of present evil, than their 
proposed utopia already exists.' From the layman's [sic] perspective, a 
basic problem with the writings of Freire and Illich is that they are 
replete with religious symbolism and philosophical allusions. Freire's 
concept of naming the world, for example, is difficult to understand 
unless one is aware of its theological context." 
Gadotti, Moacir. Reading Paulo Freire. State University of New York 
Press, 1994. "His philosophy has been criticized by the Cardenal of 
Porto Alegre (South Brazil), Dom Vicente Scherer, because it 'fails to 
conciliate or harmonize with the principles of Christian doctrine, 
irreconcilably clashing and contradicting them,' and 'accepts Hegelian 
dialectics and the Marxist interpretation of history.'" 
McDonald, Donald. "Educating the Oppressed." The Center Magazine, 
Sep/Oct 1986. "MCDONALD: What do you see as the role of the 
Church in a revolutionary situation in which Marxists may use religious 
people for an agenda of their own? "FREIRE: We have the right to 
criticize a revolution, but only from inside of it, not outside of it. If we 
go outside the revolution, we are against it." 
Ohliger, John. "What Is Radical Adult Education?" Adult & Continuing 
Education Today, Feb 12, 1990. "The dominant strain in the radical 
adult education literature so-called critical theory or critical pedagogy 
places almost total reliance on rationality. Just look at some of the 
recent books by or about Paulo Freire and see if you don't agree. My 
hope: the day will soon come again when radicals will once more find a 
healthy balance between the need for a rigorously profound logic and 
the need for an easily accessible spirit of freedom. 
Plunket, Dudley. "Review of The Politics of Education." British Journal 
of Educational Studies, Jan 1986. "As a Catholic reading this book, 
seeking to follow the evolving Freire through the successive phases of 
his explication of conscientization, I find him mercurial and 
ambiguous. He is entitled to use whatever ideas he wishes, but I can 
find no resolution between the structuralist Marxist, the humanistic 
commitment to personalist values, the enquirer into the epistemology 
of power relationships at the micro-level, and the hintings at the 
potentiality of a prophetic church. Moreover, there is no ready 
explanation for the liberal use of religious concepts, such as Easter, 
prophecy, hope, or kingdom, as if they were just metaphors. Indeed, 
when Freire is asked in an interview about how he likes to live, he 
answers at length, in an engaging and personal manner, but without 
enlightening me in the slightest as to why he is so interested in 
religious language or theology. Deus absconditus! It surely befits a 
virtually self-confessed prophet." 
Stull, Bradford T. Religious Dialectics of Pain and Imagination. State 
University of New York Press, 1994. "The place of the religious in 
Freire has sparked intense debate. Bowers finds in Freire a view that 
religion is destined to become a matter of personal belief or something 
to be replaced by rational thought. Zike argues that Freire is essentially 
a-religious. Rivera maintains that Freire's system is antireligious and 
rational and approves of this. Knoblauch fears that Freire's system 
leads to theology." 
 
 
IV. THE OPPRESSOR & THE OPPRESSED 
"FOR YEARS I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR AN INSTANCE IN 
WHICH PEASANTS HAVE BROKEN OUT OF THEIR OPPRESSION, 
BUT HAVE FOUND NONE. WHEN I ASKED FREIRE, HE 
ADMITTED THAT NEITHER HAS HE." Gary MacEoin 
[SEE ALSO: Knudson in I.; Elias in II.; Bugbee in V.; Schipani in VI.; 
Ewert, Weiler, & Woock in IX.] 
Bowers, C.A. "Review of The Politics of Education." Educational 
Studies, Spr 1986. "In the most critical area of Freire's own existential 
project, which is to provide an understanding of the conditions of 
human alienation and oppression, he appears to have reached a point 
where original insight, burdened now by excessive repetition, is in 
danger of becoming an encumbering dogma. When packaged together 
and represented as a new statement on the politics of education, the 
appearance of these old essays is a major disappointment." 
Bugbee, John A. "Reflections on Griffith, Freire and Beyond." Literacy 
Discussion, Spr 1975. "One can hope that Freire will choose to address 
himself to the claims he abstracts from the concrete specifics of the 
class struggle in his oppressor-oppressed analysis; that he will clarify 
the role that he accords to ideas as an agency of history; and that he 
will no longer leave open the whole matter of a political program to be 
framed by those who would use his methods." 
Elias, John L. Conscientization and Deschooling.Westminster Press, 
1976. "The problem with Freire's social criticism is its simplistic nature. 
Freire deals only in vague generalities. Oppression is never clearly 
defined. Freire concentrates on the oppression of the poor and fails to 
deal realistically with oppression as it is found at all levels of society. It 
is a mistake to see only the poor as oppressed and all others as 
oppressors." 
Epstein, Erwin H. Blessed Be the Oppressed And Those Who Can 
Identify with Them. Paper presented at a meeting of the American 
Educational Studies Association in Chicago, Feb 23, 1972. "Freire is 
unable to reconcile satisfactorily the condition of peasants having to 
rely on themselves for their loss of ignorance with their having to be 
made aware of their state of oppression." 
Griffith, William S. "Paulo Freire." In Paulo Freire. Stanley Grabowski, 
ed. Syracuse University Publications in Continuing Education, 1972. 
"Freire's criticisms of education, based primarily on his assumptions 
about the relationship between teachers and students, are neither new 
nor particularly useful in bringing about an improvement in the 
process. Freire leaves little question regarding his willingness to 
control and restrict the freedom of those who cannot see the 
superiority of his system. The freedom to disagree with the new ruling 
group, following the revolution, is to be restricted to those who have 
passed some undefined loyalty test. Freire's own professional life since 
1959 presents a pattern of sponsorship by the most favored segments 
of society, universities, international organizations, and churches, a 
pattern which may present an incongruous answer to his question: 
'What could be more important than to live and work with the 
oppressed, with the "rejects of life," with the "wretched of the earth?"'" 
Kennedy, William B. "Pilgrims of the Obvious or the Not-So-
Obvious?" Risk, Vol. 11, No. 1, 1975. "At two points I would like to 
challenge Freire to go further. One is to develop the concept of 'free 
space.' He needs to explore more concretely what it means to 'do in 
history' what is historically possible. The second point builds upon 
Freire's magnificent faith in the people as the foundation of democratic 
education. Only a process of engagement by and with the people can be 
the basis for his radical reversal of traditional educational assumptions 
about learning. But the scattered references to the specialized roles of 
certain people, to the role of the revolutionary party in a mass 
movement, to the characteristics of those who serve as educators in 
action with the educatees, are haunting in the lack of completeness and 
clarity. In history, and not by magic, how do specialists emerge in 
education for liberation?" 
Knowles, Malcolm. The Making of an Adult Educator. Jossey-Bass, 
1989. "In 1973 four enthusiastic people representing two universities in 
Brazil asked me whether I would be interested in doing a five-day 
workshop. The first workshop was at the University of Bahia in 
Salvador, northern Brazil. The workshop went smoothly. In the last 
hour of the fourth day I asked them to pool their evaluations. One of 
the table groups was composed of staff members from the national 
department of education in Brasilia. Their spokesman reported that 
they agreed that 'Malcolm Knowles is more subversive than Paulo 
Freire, since Freire had the political goal of overthrowing the 
government as integral to his approach, and therefore the government 
had a basis for exiling him. Knowles, on the other hand, has no political 
goals in his andragogical approach, but only the goal of producing self-
directed learners. But if we succeed in producing truly self-directed 
learners, they will know what to do about the government, and it will 
have no basis for exiling anybody as they did with Freire.'" 
MacEoin, Gary. "Conscientization for the Masses." National Catholic 
Reporter, Mar 17, 1972. "For years I have been searching for an 
instance in which peasants have broken out of their oppression, even at 
a local level, but have found none. When I asked Freire, he admitted 
that neither has he." 
Stanley, Manfred. "Literacy." in Paulo Freire. Stanley Grabowski, ed. 
Syracuse University Publications in Continuing Education, 1972. 
"Utopianism is a problem in Freire's thought. It is evident in an 
uncritical tendency to regard his notion of literacy as the key to 
liberation. He does not apparently take much note of the complexities, 
much less the dark side of liberation itself. Freire's views place an 
extraordinary emphasis upon education as the instrument of 
liberation. If Freire were to carry the matter further and admit that 
social mobilization of large numbers of unenlightened people is 
necessary for revolution, Leninism would have to be the next step in 
his thinking. Under such conditions of mass mobilization, both church 
and secular history suggest that the saintly educators whom Freire 
depends on to keep his revolution honest, would turn out to be in short 
supply." 
 
 
V. LITERACY 
"LIKE MANY EDUCATORS, FREIRE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IT 
BOTH WAYS" Daniel Wagner 
[SEE ALSO: Fetterman in I.; Elias in II.; Stanley in IV.; Taylor in VI.; & 
Zacharakis-Jutz (1986) in X.] 
Bugbee, John A. "The Freire Approach to Literacy Review and 
Reflections." Literacy Discussion, Win 1973. "The literacy worker does 
have some legitimate questions to raise as well as some issue to take 
with Freire's ideas concerning the following: At the conceptual level 
who are the oppressors? Given the numerous analyses of Latin 
American and Third World reality, who constitutes and what 
specifically characterizes those who are oppressed? Surely there is 
more to such an identification than the fact of being illiterate and more 
to oppression that Freire's generic formula of 'any situation in which A 
objectively exploits B.' Following from the lack of clarity with respect to 
the nature of the 'class' to which the oppressed belong and a seeming 
built-in ambiguity regarding the kinds of struggles to which the literacy 
process leads, the literacy worker is wont to ask what sustains a literacy 
project. If little more than the slogans of 'liberation,' 'conscientization,' 
'freedom from the culture of silence and freedom for the culture of the 
word' can be the literacy worker's creed, then who can be expected to 
give their allegiance to such a project, to the risk it entails and to the 
tremendous effort it demands?" 
Conteris, Hiber. "Controversy." Convergence, Vol. 6, No. 1, 1973. "The 
secular goal of literacy promotion (though more sloganeering than 
meant for real) was being stimulated in Northeast [Brazil] by Freire's 
'circle of culture,' by the Catholic bishops' movement, itself inspired by 
Freire's philosophy and methods, and by the government campaign. All 
these efforts were going to reveal themselves as too young and fragile 
for their purpose, which was effective integration of the Northeastern 
peasants into Brazilian society, from which they had been excluded for 
centuries." 
Stotsky, Sandra. "On Literacy Anthologies and Adult 
Education." College English, Dec 1990. "Although Freire describes his 
pedagogy as 'liberatory' [in Literacy], the selections from more 
advanced reading materials, which clearly illustrate the nature of their 
political content, suggest very little possibility for the development of 
critical thinking. Strongly opposed to what he calls a laissez-faire 
system of education, Freire suggests that the literacy teacher is 
supposed to teach his students 'what he thinks is just.' The adult 
learners, he points out, are supposed to learn how to 'think correctly.' 
In fact, the philosophy underlying the pedagogy of the oppressed seems 
less a theory of liberatory education than a theory of literacy as an 
instrument of social control." 
Wagner, Daniel A. "Literacy Campaigns." Comparative Education 
Review, May 1989. "Freire is more cautious in this volume [Literacy]than in earlier works. We also see a Freire who has been caught in 
difficult policy situations, such as that of mother-tongue versus other-
tongue literacy. After receiving criticism for the 'failure' of his method 
in Guinea-Bissau, Freire blames the 'inviability of using Portuguese as 
the only vehicle of instruction in the literacy campaign.' But he goes on 
to say that 'the legitimation of Black English in America as an 
educational tool does not, however, preclude the need to acquire 
proficiency in the linguistic code of the majority.' In other words, like 
many educators, he would like to have it both ways." 
 
 
VI. CONTRADICTIONS 
"PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED IS OFTEN ILLOGICAL AND 
INCONSISTENT" Rena Foy 
[SEE ALSO: Walker in VII.] 
Foy, Rena. "Review of Pedagogy of the Oppressed," Educational 
Studies, Oct 1971. "It is often illogical and inconsistent. Freire's method 
appears to be effective if not altogether honest." 
Giroux, Henry A. "Paulo Freire and the Politics of Postcolonialism." 
In Paulo Freire. Peter McLaren & Peter Leonard, eds. Routledge, 1993. 
"The contradictions raised in Freire's work offer a number of questions 
that need to be addressed by critical educators about not only Freire's 
work but also their own. For instance, what happens when the 
language of the educator is not the same as that of the oppressed? How 
is it possible to be vigilant against taking up a notion of language, 
politics, and rationality that undermines recognizing one's own 
partiality and the voices and experiences of Others? How does one 
explore the contradiction between validating certain forms of 'correct' 
thinking and the pedagogical task of helping students assume rather 
than simply follow the dictates of authority, regardless of how radical 
the project informed by such authority?" 
Isaacs, Charles. "Praxis of Paulo Freire." Critical Anthropology, Spr 
1972. "Freire's brief discussion casts the limit-situation in such an 
optimistic light that it seems in danger of losing its meaning. The mode 
of production is not mentioned here at all. This is a weakness in the 
Freirian dialectic; he equivocates between idealism and materialism, at 
one point stating the primacy of the material base, and at others 
appearing to ignore that substructure in an elaboration of its ideal and 
linguistic expressions." 
Leach, Tom. "Paulo Freire." International Journal of Lifelong 
Education, Vol. I, No. 3, 1982. "Many charges have been laid against 
Paulo Freire. Some have seen him as a dangerous and violent 
revolutionary. Others have seen him as a quaint, rather unoriginal and 
eclectic philosopher. It is difficult not to feel that he richly deserves the 
accusation that he is, jackdaw-like, borrowing concepts, which cannot 
be torn from the detailed material and economic arguments in which 
they are embedded. Freire does not wholly ignore basic material 
considerations. However, it is fair to say that he gives them only 
fleeting consideration. One major criticism had been that Freire's 
concept of dialogue is contradictory. In my view there are considerable 
grounds for saying he is wrong-headed about material conditions and 
therefore for calling into question his whole concept of dialogue. 
Others suggest that Freire's concept of dialogue is 'contradictory' 
because it involves strong intervention, purpose and structure on the 
part of 'teacher-learners.' Are his theories about dialogue anything 
more than an elaborate attempt to bridge the gap between the leaders 
and the people by blurring their differences? His comprehensive and 
frequently unclear terminology persistently veils and perhaps also 
dissipates the trust of his writing. The reader's expectations are 
frustrated constantly by the countervailing tensions and paradoxes 
which pervade his writing." 
Nasaw, David. "Reconsidering Freire," Liberation, Sep/Oct 1974. 
"Freire has little to say to us. The fault with Freire's theorizing is that 
he analyzes the social situation with some clarity, but then ignores it 
completely to talk about the 'dialogic' process. Freire is well aware of 
the incongruity between the ethical imperatives he postulates in theory, 
and the real world. But while he recognizes the contradiction, he fails 
to offer a means by which categorical 'oughts' can be translated into 
daily practice. On first reading, Freire's eclecticism is refreshing. 
Considered more carefully, it's a disaster. Existentialist, Marxist, 
structuralist, Christian: Freire fails in his attempt to graft his Christian 
ethical categories onto his Marxist concept of historicity." 
Schipani, Daniel S. Conscientization and Creativity. University Press 
of America, 1984. "A conflict and contradiction is present between the 
denunciation of manipulation and maintaining that the goal of 
education must be the realization of a certain kind of revolutionary 
option. Another related area for critical evaluation along these lines 
refers to the oversimplification and generalizations inherent in the 
dichotomizing e.g., oppressed-oppressors analytical process. We have 
to underscore a major obstacle for the manifestation of creativity, 
which requires appreciation of complexity and tolerance for 
ambivalence and ambiguity. Freire does not always do justice to the 
very conscientization thrust by overlooking the variety and nuances, 
richness and precariousness, of social reality. Freire's anthropology 
does not take consistently into account the diverse sources of 
limitations to human freedom. Consequently, it tends to present a too 
simplistic and optimistic view of the actual possibilities of socio-
political transformation. Further, this radical change is referred to 
often as if it were merely a matter of perceiving its necessity and then 
willing its occurrence. The Marxist influence certainly does not help to 
correct these appreciations, which fail to take into account the 
complexity of the problem of the human predicament and the 
pervasive presence of radical evil in particular." 
Sherman, Ann I. "Two Views of Emotion in the Writings of Paulo 
Freire," Educational Theory, Win 1980. "On the one hand, Freire 
states that we need certain emotions (e.g. love, mutual trust) in order 
for dialogue, and thus education for critical consciousness, to develop. 
On the other hand, Freire talks about the necessity of overcoming 
emotionality which he sees as one of the prime characteristics of a 
naive and irrational consciousness. It is this basic ambiguity which I 
will discuss." 
Taylor, P.V. Retexturing the Word and the World. Unpublished 
doctoral dissertation, University of Warwick, 1991. "Most studies of 
Freire concentrate on his method and techniques. This present work 
seeks to go beneath the obvious practice of literacy teaching, to analyze 
the construction of his pedagogy and to explore the contradictions 
posed both by Freire's life and by his work. The fundamental 
contradiction is exposed: that literacy, which means 'learning to read' 
can never achieve its ideals of dialogue." 
 
 
VII. THE TEACHER & THE TAUGHT 
"FREIRE'S PRIVILEGING OF THE TEACHER-INTELLECTUAL'S 
VOICE OVER THE LEARNER'S VOICE HAS BEEN SCORED AS A 
BUREAUCRATIC IMPOSITION THAT THWARTS CONSCIOUSNESS-
RAISING" Rolland Paulston 
Addo, Herb. "Beyond Eurocentricity." In Development as Social 
Transformation. Houghton & Stoughton, 1985. "There is a sort of 
pervading, nervous ambiguity about the roles that scholars allot 
intellectuals and revolutionary leaders in the whole process of 
transforming societies. This nervousness shows clearly in Freire's 
work." 
Caulfield, Peter J. "From Brazil to Buncombe County." Educational 
Forum, Sum 1991. "I question Freire on one very important point. My 
problem concerns what happens to students who are, as he says, 
'increasingly posed with problems' regarding their world. He argues 
that 'they will gradually come to regard themselves as committed.' By 
committed, he appears to mean committed to a leftist, if notoutright 
revolutionary, agenda. But just what is the role of the teacher, the 
problem poser, in fostering that commitment? Freire insists that 
teachers should never impose their views of a problem on students, 
though he does not say teachers should or even could be neutral. The 
teacher does enter into the exchange of views concerning the problem, 
but ostensibly and simply as an equal participant. Yet, is it reasonable 
to assume that students will view teachers as equals? More likely, they 
will give teachers' views considerably more weight than those of their 
classmates or their own. In fact, more recently Freire was arguing, 'As 
an educator, you can only maintain a nondirective posture if you 
attempt a deceitful discourse; that is a discourse from the perspective 
of the dominant class." 
Elias, John L. Paulo Freire. Krieger Publishing, 1994. "Freire is 
probably the best known educator in the world today. No educator in 
recent history has had his books read by as many persons in as many 
places of the world. No educator has spoken to as many teachers, 
activists, and scholars. Freire's faulty view of human nature gives rise 
to an overly optimistic and simplistic view of the possibility of social 
and political change. At times, one gets the impression from reading 
Freire that human and societal change can be brought about simply by 
willing it. At other times, Freire comes through as the religious 
preacher, urging people to live better lives without showing them how 
to cope with the personal and societal obstacles that make the living of 
this life very difficult, if not impossible. A number of criticisms have 
been made of Freire's social theory. At times his theory is vague, 
general, and imprecise. Freire rarely presents evidence of an empirical 
nature or cites sociological research for his analysis. He is also too 
prone to divide societies into good and bad, without offering adequate 
criteria by which this distinction is made. The weakest part of Freire's 
theory is his theory of political revolution. Learning for Freire is 
subordinated to political and social purposes. Such a theory is open to 
the charge of indoctrination and manipulation. The process of 
conscientization entails for Freire a radical denunciation of 
dehumanizing structures, accompanied by the proclamation of a new 
reality to be created by humans. Freire is confident that this will come 
about through free dialogue in which learners and educators 
participate as equals. Yet is there not a subtle manipulation built into 
this method, given the lack of education in the students and the 
obvious political purposes of the teachers?" 
O'Meara, Philip. "The Relevance of Freire." GISRA, Mar 1973. "Freire's 
ideas are potentially dangerous, even in regard to their own goals, for 
his methods can be subverted subtly, and quickly create a new 
domination in the name of liberation. Those professionals who initially 
investigate and code must be open men [sic] a breed not discovered 
often among sociologists and educators whose jargon seems to contain 
all truth. And if these men pervert their trust, how easily could these 
'codes' be used to brainwash. Anyone who has worked professionally in 
education must fear." 
Paulston, Rolland G. "Ways of Seeing Education and Social Change in 
Latin America." Latin American Research Review. Vol. 27, No. 3, 
1992. "Freire's privileging of the teacher-intellectual's voice over the 
learner's voice has been scored as a bureaucratic imposition that 
thwarts consciousness-raising. Responding to such criticism, Freire 
has countered (unconvincingly, I believe) that although educators 
should reject 'arrogant authoritarianism, we should also remain 
vigilant about excessive or irresponsible spontaneity that in its lack of 
seriousness and intellectual discipline undermines the teacher's 
necessary authority.' His seeming inability to stand back and let the 
student experience critical insight in his or her own terms has relegated 
Freire to the role of ideological guru hovering over practice." 
Pitt, James. "Review of Pedagogy of the Oppressed." Journal of Black 
Studies, Sep 1972. "Freire's egalitarian methodology for education is 
intended to be politically subversive of oppressive regimes. It seems 
likely, however, that it could serve to legitimate opposition to any 
routinized form of delegated authority." 
Spring, Joel. A Primer of Libertarian Education. Free Life Editions, 
1975. "Certainly Paulo Freire's educational methods are meant to lead 
to basic changes in the individual. But one of the possible limitations is 
that character structure is deeply rooted in the early stages of the 
child's psychic development. That is, whether a child develops an 
authoritarian or non-authoritarian style of social conduct might 
depend more on early development than on later forms of socialization 
such as formal education." 
Torres, Carlos Alberto. "Paulo Freire as Secretary of Education in the 
Municipality of Sao Paulo." Comparative Education Review, May 
1994. "This article discusses educational policy formation from 1989 to 
1992 under the leadership of Paulo Freire, secretary of education for 
the city of Sao Paulo, in the democratic-socialist Municipal 
Administration of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers' Party; 
henceforth referred to as 'PT'). Freire was accused of being a Nazi-
fascist in the exercising of his authority as secretary. This criticism 
came from PT militants working as appointed officials in the 
Secretariat, which prompted Freire to fire three of them. Freire was 
accused of being a kind of Brazilian Nicolae Ceausescu, and, like the 
former Romanian dictator, a nepotist. This criticism arose because two 
of Freire's books, and one by his older daughter, Magdalena, were 
included in the bibliography for an examination given to perspective 
teachers in the Secretariat. In the debate surrounding the books, Freire 
was labeled an 'ideologue,' with criticisms ranging from accusations he 
was using his position to 'force the reading of his deliriums,' to claims 
that 'they arrive to power and want to transmit their ideology.' There 
were also those who accused Freire of attempting to profit by making 
his books mandatory reading for an exam." ["Freire resigned to 
continue his writing and lecturing in 1991," Carlos Alberto Torres, 
"Foreword," in Reading Paulo Freire by Moacir Gadotti. State 
University of New York Press, 1994.] 
Walker, Jim. "The End of Dialogue. In Literacy and Revolution, 
Robert Mackie, ed. Continuum, 1981. "Those looking to Freire for 
political guidance might be surprised where he leads them, and they 
should certainly be displeased. There are deep contradictions in Freire, 
which makes the realization of his basic human ideals unlikely in the 
context of his politics. Indeed Freire's politics threaten to turn back on 
and attack the very movement towards humanization and liberation it 
is designed to promote. Anxious to avoid charges of elitism, he tries to 
show the dialogical process as progressively blurring differences 
between [leaders and the people], so that they become 'equally the 
subjects of revolutionary action' and 'actors in communication.' In just 
what sense the 'teacher-learner-leaders' and the 'learner-teacher-
people' are equal remains obscure. Nor is equality really likely to 
happen within Freire's political framework. One might expect the 
people to be given power of some sort over their leaders, but 
democracy does not figure in the theory of dialogue. The contradictions 
in Freire's theoretical enterprise, within the context of subordination of 
all basic social functions to the processes of a single organization, the 
party, produce the negation of some of his most basic ideals. Freire 
senses these dangers of course, in his expressed fear of the threat of 
bureaucracy; but what remedies are suggested by his orientation? More 
moral attentiveness and application to duty on the part of the leaders,and more conscientization of the oppressed by the leaders? We are not 
only moving in a circle, we are trapped in it. The tighter it gets, the 
more like puritanism and the less like liberation our new position will 
seem." 
 
 
VIII. SEXISM 
"THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A MOMENT WHEN READING FREIRE 
THAT I HAVE NOT REMAINED AWARE OF THE SEXISM OF THE 
LANGUAGE." bell hooks 
[SEE ALSO: Balke in I.; & Ellsworth in IX.] 
Brady, Jeanne. "Critical Literacy, Feminism, and a Politics of 
Representation." In Politics of Liberation. Peter L. McLaren & Colin 
Lankshear, eds. Routledge, 1994. "Tied to an over-emphasis on class 
struggle, Freire ignored the various forms of domination and social 
struggles being addressed by feminists, minorities, ecologists, and 
other social actors. The most glaring example can be found in Freire's 
earlier work, where the subject and object of domination are framed in 
thoroughgoing patriarchal discourse. Not only are women erased in 
Freire's language of domination and struggle, there is no attempt to 
even acknowledge how experience is gendered differently. A feminist 
re-reading of Freire has argued against his exclusive focus on class as 
the only form of domination." 
hooks, bell. "Speaking About Paulo Freire." In Paulo Freire. Peter 
McLaren & Peter Leonard, eds. Routledge, 1993. "There has never been 
a moment when reading Freire that I have not remained aware of not 
only the sexism of the language but the way he (like other progressive 
Third World political leaders) constructs a phallocentric paradigm of 
liberation wherein freedom and the experience of patriarchal manhood 
are always linked as though they are one and the same. For me this is 
always a source of anguish for it represents a blind spot in the vision of 
men who have profound insight." 
Weiler, Kathleen. "Freire and a Feminist Pedagogy of Difference." 
In Politics of Liberation. Peter L. McLaren & Colin Lankshear, editors. 
Routledge, 1994. "From a feminist perspective, Pedagogy of the 
Oppressed is striking in its male referent. Much more troublesome is 
the failure to define terms such as 'humanization' more specifically in 
terms of men and women, black and white, or other forms of socially 
defined identities. The assumption of Pedagogy of the Oppressed is 
that in struggling against oppression the oppressed will move toward 
true humanity. But this leaves unaddressed the forms of oppression 
experienced by different groups. Freire sets out these goals of 
liberation and social and political transformation as universal claims, 
without exploring his own privileged position or existing conflicts 
among oppressed groups themselves." 
 
 
IX. APPLICABLE TO OTHER GROUPS? 
"PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED DOES NOT HELP IN 
UNDERSTANDING EITHER REVOLUTIONS OR EDUCATION IN 
GENERAL. THE RANKEST ABSURDITY IS THE APPLICATION OF 
FREIRE'S ANALYSIS TO THE YOUNG MIDDLE CLASS STUDENTS 
IN THIS COUNTRY." Wayne Urban 
Ellsworth, Elizabeth. "Why Doesn't This Feel Empowering?" 
In Teaching for Change, Kathryn Geismar & Guitele Nicoleau, editors. 
Harvard Educational Review Reprint Series, 1993. "Key assumptions, 
goals, and pedagogical practices fundamental to the literature on 
critical pedagogy namely 'empowerment,' 'student voice,' 'dialogue,' 
and even the term 'critical' are repressive myths that perpetuate 
relations of domination. When participants in our [University of 
Wisconsin 'Media and Anti-Racist Pedagogies'] class attempted to put 
into practice prescriptions offered in the literature concerning 
empowerment, student voice, and dialogue [Ellsworth cites work by 
Freire six times as an example], we produced results that were not only 
unhelpful, but actually exacerbated the very conditions we were trying 
to work against, including Euro-centrism, racism, sexism, classism, 
and 'banking education.' To the extent that our efforts to put discourses 
of critical pedagogy into practice led us to reproduce relations of 
domination in our classroom, these discourses were 'working through' 
us in repressive ways, and had themselves become vehicles of 
repression. To the extent we disengaged ourselves from those aspects 
and moved in another direction, we 'worked through' and out of the 
literature's highly abstract language ('myths') of who 'should' be and 
what 'should' be happening in the classroom, and into classroom 
practices that were context specific and seemed to be much more 
responsive to our own understandings of our social identities and 
situations." 
Ewert, David Merrill. Freire's Concept of Critical Consciousness and 
Social Structure in Rural Zaire. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, 
University of Wisconsin, 1977. "The findings suggest that while Freire's 
approach may be effective as an educational strategy, its revolutionary 
potential appears to be somewhat limited in rural Africa. People in this 
Zairian community do not generally define themselves as a class whose 
problems are a function of a social structure dominated by an elite 
class with conflicting interests. Consequently, the people of [the village 
of] Mudiwamba would rather exploit their connections with the elite 
than unite in a struggle against them as a class of oppressors, a basic 
premise of Freire's educational model." 
McLaren, Peter L., & Henry A. Giroux. "Foreword" in Reading Paulo 
Freire by Moacir Gadotti. State University of New York Press, 1994. 
"Few educators have received as much widespread acclaim and 
worldwide recognition as the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire." 
Oliveira, Rosiska Darcy de & Pierre Dominice. The Pedagogy of the 
Oppressed The Oppression of Pedagogy. Institute of Cultural Action, 
1974. "Freire's thought is in a somewhat paradoxical situation. There is 
between the success of his writings and the practical development of 
his thinking a distance which grows larger and larger. His success is 
tied to the fact that more and more people, apparently from many 
different social groups, easily recognize themselves in his critique of 
alienating education and the mechanisms which program 
consciousness. They are attracted by his propositions which deal with 
liberating actions. On the other hand, the whole problem of historical 
agents which are capable of putting into practice any radical alternative 
and the difficulty of determining the times and the places when 
struggle leads to real social change ... these make difficult the passage 
from consciousness of the need for change to the point of concrete 
action for liberation." 
Urban, Wayne J. Comments on Paulo Freire. Paper presented at a 
meeting of the American Educational Studies Association in Chicago, 
Feb 23, 1972. "Pedagogy of the Oppressed does not help in 
understanding either revolutions or education in general. The rankest 
absurdity, however, is the application of Freire's analysis to the young 
middle class students in this country." 
Woock, Roger. Paulo Freire. Paper presented at a meeting of the 
American Educational Studies Association in Chicago, Feb 23, 1972. 
"At first the charge that Freire is not a revolutionary may strike the 
reader as being absurd for certainly he uses the appropriate language. 
These terms occur, however, in a curious vacuum without being rooted 
in a social or economic context. If we have learned anything about 
revolutionary possibilities in the last 20 years, it is that revolutions will 
take different forms in different social and economic situations. 
Revolution in Cuba has not been the same as revolution in Chile. By 
not linking his revolutionary model to a particular 
Woock, Roger. Paulo Freire. Paper presented at a meeting of the 
American Educational Studies Association in Chicago, Feb 23, 1972. 
"At first the charge that Freire is not a revolutionary may strike the 
reader as being absurd for certainly he uses the appropriate language. 
These terms occur, however, in a curious vacuum without being rooted 
in a social or economic context. If we have learned anything about 
revolutionarypossibilities in the last 20 years, it is that revolutions will 
take different forms in different social and economic situations. 
Revolution in Cuba has not been the same as revolution in Chile. By 
not linking his revolutionary model to a particular social and economic 
context, he makes it that much more difficult for those of us not in 
Northeastern Brazil to find it useful. Who specifically here in North 
America are the oppressor and the oppressed, where does violence play 
a role, where should it not play a role? Are teachers in public schools 
oppressors or are they part of the oppressed? To answer these 
questions one must virtually write another book filling in the social and 
economic context, without which not much use can be made of Freire's 
analysis." 
 
 
X. BLANCA FACUNDO'S MONOGRAPH 
"IF STUDENTS IN ADULT EDUCATION ARE REQUIRED TO READ 
PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED, THEN THEY SHOULD ALSO 
READ THIS MONOGRAPH" Jeff Zacharakis-Jutz 
Facundo, Blanca (1984A). Issues for an Evaluation of Freire-Inspired 
Programs in the United States and Puerto Rico. "I started this work 
with the history of Paulo Freire, a human being who later on became 
internationally famous and, I believe, deformed, romanticized and 
perhaps misunderstood. The idea is not to judge Paulo Freire. We owe 
him justice and respect. For me, this means being as critical of his ideas 
and practices as he taught us to be critical of ours. It is time that we do 
both. That is what I've tried to do." 
Facundo, Blanca, ed (1984B). Alternativas, Apr/May. Includes 
excerpts from eleven reactions to the monograph. Here are three: 
"[TOM HEANEY:] 'Congratulations on having produced an insightful 
and critical analysis of Freire's work. The bibliographic references 
alone would have made your work invaluable. I learned much from 
your reflections and am left with far more questions than I had before 
receiving your manuscript.' 
"[FRANK ADAMS:] 'Your essay on Freire and the programs his works 
inspired in the United States is at once touching and refreshing. You 
manage at once to be most personal yet objective. I admire what you 
have brought off here. I am still digging beneath your calm but 
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penetrating style. It is one of the best essays on adult education I have 
read in months.' 
"[HENRY GIROUX:] 'I must admit that I have fundamental differences 
with your interpretation of Freire." 
Kidd, Ross. Carta para Blanca Facundo, 10 de setembro de 1984. "Seu 
manuscrito é maravilhoso, claro, bem argumentado, uma contribuição 
real. A contribuição que eu acho que faz é a deseificação pública de 
Freire. Freire sempre nos pediu para sermos mais críticos, mas 
permitimos que nosso afeto por ele e o impacto importante que ele teve 
em todos nós para atrapalhar. Agora acho que é hora de ir além de 
Freire, algo que tenho certeza que ele mesmo entende. Freire teve um 
impacto incrível sobre nós, apesar de suas deficiências e da forma 
mistificada que interpretamos seus escritos e práticas. Muitos de nós 
nunca enfrentamos (ou tivemos conhecimento) da realidade da prática 
de Freire. Você pegou o touro pelos chifres, trouxe as provas para um 
fórum público, e nos ajudou a aceitar nossas próprias mistificações de 
Freire. Minha própria cópia foi emprestada para muitos amigos e tem 
sido bem polegar." 
Zacharakis-Jutz, Jeff( 1986). "Revisão de Questões para avaliação de 
programas inspirados em Freire nos Estados Unidos e Porto 
Rico. Alfabetização e Educação Básica para Adultos, Vol 10, Nº 3. "Os 
projetos de Freire no Brasil eram experimentos piloto, que eram muito 
pequenos para testar totalmente suas teorias. Seus esforços no Chile 
não reduziram significativamente a taxa de alfabetização. Na Seção 7, 
"Lições da Guiné-Bissau", Facundo sugere que a importância deste 
projeto para Freire era que, em um contexto do Terceiro Mundo, ele 
poderia testar se suas teorias de alfabetização poderiam ou não servir 
na reconstrução nacional. Com base na dissertação de doutorado de 
Linda Harasim, Alfabetização e Reconstrução Nacional na Guiné-
Bissau: Uma Crítica da Campanha de Alfabetização Freiriana, Facundo 
discute por que o projeto de Freire não melhorou significativamente a 
alfabetização na Guiné-Bissau. Harasim afirma que "esse fracasso foi 
inesperado e levanta muitas questões para os educadores tanto na 
Guiné-Bissau quanto internacionalmente". Facundo acrescenta: "Mais 
importante para o nosso trabalho nos EUA: Quantos de nós sabemos 
que a prática de Freire na Guiné-Bissau foi um fracasso declarado em 
1980? Por que Freire não discutiu esse assunto muito importante com 
seus diferentes públicos em Porto Rico e nos EUA? Se os alunos da 
educação de adultos são obrigados a ler Pedagogia dos Oprimidos, 
então eles também devem ler esta monografia. Embora faça parte da 
base de dados da ERIC, ela não faz parte da Série de Informações, 
embora deva ser. A disseminação desse clássico poderia ser facilitada 
se fosse publicada e disponível em todas as bibliotecas em uma cópia 
vinculada." 
Zacharakis-Jutz, Jeff( 1988). "Educação de Adultos Pós-
Freireanos". Educação de Adultos Trimestral,Outono. "Faz quase 20 
anos desde a primeira publicação em inglês da Pedagogia de Freire dos 
Oprimidos. Entramos na era da educação de adultos pós-Freirean nos 
Estados Unidos. Facundo, em sua monografia altamente crítica de 
programas inspirados por Freire, relata a história inicial de educadores 
adultos de base nos Estados Unidos que experimentaram conceitos 
freireanos. Eles encontraram as complexidades de usar uma ideologia 
revolucionária em um país que não está nem perto da revolução. Como 
resultado, ressalta Facundo, esses esforços rapidamente 
desapareceram. Quase 20 anos depois, Freire e seu trabalho foram 
exaustivamente estudados, institucionalizados e grosseiramente 
comprometidos pela academia." 
Fontes: https://www.bmartin.cc/dissent/documents/Facundo/Ohliger1.html