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As one lives and or grows these experiences cause a continuous enrichment of the individuals meaning of experiences. Just because one is born a human does not make him a human. It is the fact that in his existence he makes himself. His interactions with or without people make up how one becomes who they are. Whether he is just passive and lets the world float on by or is actively engaged in the people and information that is around him. He either lets others make him who he is or makes himself who he wants to be. If one is made aware of their different social/emotional/physical/talents, then they can relate it to their critical consciousness. This in turn will allow them to see how and why their consciousness can lead to them becoming critically aware of who and what they are. Just because one is given a list of names and numbers to remember will not cause them to alter their outlook. It is only when the individual uses self cognition to relate themselves critically and creatively to concepts, ideas and how that can transform their idea of what the world is. Clay Ellington

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Kendall Bivins

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Paulina Cortez

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Let's define what Pedagogy is, it is the theory and practice of education. Paulo Freire thought education should raise the awareness of the students so that they become subjects, rather than objects, of the world. He believed that this was done by teaching students to think democratically and to continually question and make meaning from everything they learn. He wanted students to think critically about learning, to have a deeper analysis about the things they confronted and learned about. This sentence from the reading impacted my thoughts and connected to me, ”Freire believed that all education in the broadest sense was part of a project of freedom, and eminently political because it offered students the conditions for self-reflection, a self-managed life, and particular notions of critical agency.” The word I see here that popped out to me was “freedom”. I agree with him and some of his thoughts about the educational system, I agree that teachers must have humility, coupled with love and respect for their students. A student is individual person, that has the ability to create great outcomes only if we as educators, people, human beings have the right mind to nourish the student. To believe in them and push them to greatness, by not denying their dream and isolating them to a strict system. Pedagogy gives the student the opportunity to expand their growing minds, in the reading it states,“Pedagogy is concerned with offering students new ways to think critically...in other words, it is concerned with providing students with the skills and knowledge necessary for them to expand their capacities,”  Learning is practiced to grow the mind, there should be no limitation in the practice of educating the future. - Paulina Cortez

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"Unlike so many intellectuals I have met in academia, Paulo was always so generous, eager to publish the work of younger intellectuals, write letters of support, and give as much as possible of himself in the service of others." -Julia Reilley

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How I understand Paulo Friere’s approach to education is that he thought of students as the future and not just as a task. Based on his ideas of critical thinking, self-reflection, and imagination being incorporated into education I think that he saw students as being potentially well rounded individuals instead of empty minds to fill. I agree with his ideas of preparing students for a ‘self-managed’ life. I want to challenge my future students and have them actually think about topics critically and conceptually, which is what I think Friere was trying to do. The article had mentioned the word ‘condition’ a couple of times and I instantly connected it to the work ‘treat’ which made me think of students as machines that needed to be fixed rather than people which was challenging for me but then realized it was more used in the context ‘to shape’ which made more sense. The article made me think of my classes here at CSU Chico and how my advisor really helped me narrow down what I wanted to do in my life and with doing that, showed me all the possible careers I could possibly have. In high school I really had no idea of my future and no one really challenged me to think about it. It was more of a “just finish high school and go to community college and you’ll figure it out” kind of approach. -Julia Reilley

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-Amber Carolan

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Rob DiBella

Friere is saying education has greater a significance than simply students learning in classrooms. He says education is an inherently political act. I agree with this notion. Politically awarded curriculums are taught, and school education is a direct representation of the polical socio-economic standings. The polictal values the gorverning agencies declare the most important to learn get taught. While I agree education in school as it is predominantly taught in our countrt today, is limited, it is contingent with how our society operates and prepares us to be a part of a capitalistic, finance driven society, and suitable for producing capable adults. I believe reform for a broader spectrum of education offered should be put into place.

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Carlos Gomez

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For me I think that Paulo Freire approach to education is one that I do not connect with very well. I am someone who comes from a family, where schooling is very important, and in saying that, both of my parents are teachers themselves. I always had the resources i needed to succeed in school, and never felt like I was left out of something, because of the materials I did or didn't have. Although I usually had all of the materials I needed for class and a quiet, calm place to study, that was not always the case for some of my classmates and friends. I come from a town that is very family oriented, and everyone usually has enough to get by, so when a classmate of mine didn't have the correct supplies to succeed in class it was obvious. I never personally witnessed my teachers giving these students extra opportunities, and as Paulo states in his text, it is not common for this to happen. Coming from a place where the majority of the students have the supplies, and support to succeed in life, I'm sure it was not easy on the few students who did not have the same opportunity as everyone else. This piece to me really connects with those who did struggle with this in school, and almost guides them in a way of success.
-A.J. Muscarella

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For me I think that Paulo Freire approach to education is one that I do not connect with very well. I am someone who comes from a family, where schooling is very important, and in saying that, both of my parents are teachers themselves. I always had the resources i needed to succeed in school, and never felt like I was left out of something, because of the materials I did or didn't have. Although I usually had all of the materials I needed for class and a quiet, calm place to study, that was not always the case for some of my classmates and friends. I come from a town that is very family oriented, and everyone usually has enough to get by, so when a classmate of mine didn't have the correct supplies to succeed in class it was obvious. I never personally witnessed my teachers giving these students extra opportunities, and as Paulo states in his text, it is not common for this to happen. Coming from a place where the majority of the students have the supplies, and support to succeed in life, I'm sure it was not easy on the few students who did not have the same opportunity as everyone else. This piece to me really connects with those who did struggle with this in school, and almost guides them in a way of success.
-A.J. Muscarella

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For me I think that Paulo Freire approach to education is one that I do not connect with very well. I am someone who comes from a family, where schooling is very important, and in saying that, both of my parents are teachers themselves. I always had the resources i needed to succeed in school, and never felt like I was left out of something, because of the materials I did or didn't have. Although I usually had all of the materials I needed for class and a quiet, calm place to study, that was not always the case for some of my classmates and friends. I come from a town that is very family oriented, and everyone usually has enough to get by, so when a classmate of mine didn't have the correct supplies to succeed in class it was obvious. I never personally witnessed my teachers giving these students extra opportunities, and as Paulo states in his text, it is not common for this to happen. Coming from a place where the majority of the students have the supplies, and support to succeed in life, I'm sure it was not easy on the few students who did not have the same opportunity as everyone else. This piece to me really connects with those who did struggle with this in school, and almost guides them in a way of success.
-A.J. Muscarella

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For me I think that Paulo Freire approach to education is one that I do not connect with very well. I am someone who comes from a family, where schooling is very important, and in saying that, both of my parents are teachers themselves. I always had the resources i needed to succeed in school, and never felt like I was left out of something, because of the materials I did or didn't have. Although I usually had all of the materials I needed for class and a quiet, calm place to study, that was not always the case for some of my classmates and friends. I come from a town that is very family oriented, and everyone usually has enough to get by, so when a classmate of mine didn't have the correct supplies to succeed in class it was obvious. I never personally witnessed my teachers giving these students extra opportunities, and as Paulo states in his text, it is not common for this to happen. Coming from a place where the majority of the students have the supplies, and support to succeed in life, I'm sure it was not easy on the few students who did not have the same opportunity as everyone else. This piece to me really connects with those who did struggle with this in school, and almost guides them in a way of success.

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Clay Ellington. I would say that I agreed with everything that I read about. The act of taking the information and using it to create a more enlightened self is a critical aspect of my life. The ability to "Know Thyself" and be able to use that as in instrument of enlightenment of your own mind makes me feel so much more empowered for my future. To then take that more enlightened self and use that knowledge to make others more aware of their own self is astounding. Taking yourself and having a dialogue with the people who have come before you and combining that with your own ability to find the self determination within yourself to reframe your experiences so that you are having a critical dialogue with all of the elements. The part that is the most challenging is the future and how will I be able to use all of the elements in the future to create the consciousness that I want in me and in the world and people that I interact with.

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For me I think that Paulo Freire approach to education is one that I do not connect with very well. I am someone who comes from a family, where schooling is very important, and in saying that, both of my parents are teachers themselves. I always had the resources i needed to succeed in school, and never felt like I was left out of something, because of the materials I did or didn't have. Although I usually had all of the materials I needed for class and a quiet, calm place to study, that was not always the case for some of my classmates and friends. I come from a town that is very family oriented, and everyone usually has enough to get by, so when a classmate of mine didn't have the correct supplies to succeed in class it was obvious. I never personally witnessed my teachers giving these students extra opportunities, and as Paulo states in his text, it is not common for this to happen. Coming from a place where the majority of the students have the supplies, and support to succeed in life, I'm sure it was not easy on the few students who did not have the same opportunity as everyone else. This piece to me really connects with those who did struggle with this in school, and almost guides them in a way of success.

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He believes that education should be an open and equal system where the learners are able to freely think about the ideas that are= presented in class. The learners should be able to take that information outside of the class and use it to enlighten and make the world a better place to live in for all of the peoples of the world.

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I understood Paulo Freire's approach to education as a sort of belief system that is unlike anyone before him. Freire emphasizes that schools today follow a norm or "dead zone" in which schools teach for "the test" but do not teach students how "to be informed citizens, nurture a civic imagination, or teach them to be self-reflective about public issues and the world in which they live." Freire demonstrates that the education system should not be a rigid fixed method whose only goal is to meet a standardized test. Freire wants the education system to go beyond and teach more, for example, how to be an informed citizen. Personally, I agree with this because of the fact that Freire wants to create "not a means to prepare students for the world of subordinated labor or ‘careers’, but a preparation for a self-managed life." Meaning, educating someone so that they may be able to do their own taxes, build credit, and stay informed politically. This means a more well rounded person who can contribute to our society rather than one who may have a career but is lost in all other aspects of life.                                     -Francisco Torres

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I believe that Paulo Freire’s ideas correlates well with the cognitive constructivism learning theory where it is imperative for students to attempt to discover new dimensions within themselves. Critical pedagogy helps to achieve this by not only teaching methods or techniques, but dialing in on political and moral applications which encompass an abundance of knowledge, adeptness at certain skills, relations that aid students to be “critical citizens” while also being innovative and productive members of society. If I analyzed this article correctly, him and I have similar teaching philosophies where we push students to know themselves and have a greater understanding of the world neighboring them. Some aspects that I find relatively challenging may be because I wasn’t able to properly dissect the text, meaning I may only understand 15 percent of the text and the answer may be entailed in the remaining 85 percent. The focus that I believe Freire is leaning toward on critical pedagogy is a system where “imagination, critical thinking, and the teaching of freedom and social responsibility” are prioritized over other oppressive regimes.

Andrew Urena

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I see Paulo Freire's approach to education as one that seeks to destroy educational inequalities within the education system. There are a number of inequities that contribute to the lack of effective education within marginalized groups, and I see Paulo Freire's approach as one that aims to equally distribute access to education across the board. I agree with his idea to teach students to constantly question what they hear and what they are taught, as well as to see critical thinking as the most important aspect of learning. When he says that "knowledge should not be limited to logic and content, or emotions and superstitions, but should seek the connections between understandings and feelings" I related this to my own working teaching philosophy. My main goal in becoming an educator is to teach students how to critically think, regardless of what beliefs they were raised on or what ideals they are stuck on. Freire's idea that knowledge does not equate to logic and content, or even emotions and superstitions is how I intend to carry out my teaching technique throughout the course of my career. I see the whole goal of teaching as an objective to bring people to understand one another, whether they agree or not; and regardless of what they're background is, to interact respectfully and with thought towards one another's perspectives.                                                                                                                                                                      -Amber Carolan

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Jennifer Campbell.                                                                                                                                                   I feel as though Paulo Freire really wanted to bring to the main stream what was actually happening in classrooms. Some people, like administrators or even government officials may have already realized this as well. Whether teachers realize their power over students didn't end with material taught or well behaved students. Their personal views about life are always present. From the content they choose or not choose to teach to how it is being taught. Whether it is intentional or not, teachers have a huge impact of how children or their pupils will view their everyday life around them. It is important to use the position to make the pupil aware of such a dynamic and to teach them to use the information that they receive to empower themselves with critical thinking skills and to pay attention to day to day life and to the things taught so they can think to improve upon it and not just repeat it. I strongly agree with this article. I had a history at a high school that was very rigid and loud. He allowed no room for free though. We were told that slavery had nothing to do with the Civil War and we were expected to memorize that and regurgitate it. I strongly disagree and he felt it was his duty to basically academically beat it into me. I had received A+ on everything, but I answered that question during the final the way I still viewed it even after his lessons. I explained why and he failed me for the whole semester. The next semester I didn't challenge him during class, but didn't do most of my work and he gave me an A. For my last semester grade. Giving me a C in the class. It was a huge wake up call the amount of power that man had over me.

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Freire's approach attempts to take the educational to a higher place where it was not accustomed to being before. The school system in itself has many flaws but Freire's approach made it so that it was viewed outside the school setting as well. Through his views of literacy and critical thinking being of greater importance than for simple tests in schools, he believed this allowed for students to be self-managing in their own lives.I agree that critical thinking is necessary not only in a school setting but in people's daily lives as well. I have come across people that I feel have lacked this teaching and its very apparent. I am self-knowingly challenged in practicing critical thinking when it comes to political matters which is a point he mentions as being a critical citizen. "Critical thinking for Freire was not an object lesson in test-taking, but a tool for self-determination and civic engagement." I remember being in several English courses up until college and even in these courses critical thinking was always about readings from class and never about outside topics that we should be thinking deeply about as well. -Jennifer Torres

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Athena Ceriani - Paulo Freire's approach to education is based off of his idea of critical pedagogy. Freire believed that education is a "project of freedom" and ultimately political. I believe that this approach is unique. I agree with the fact that critical thinking should be a tool for self-determination and civic engagement. I love the idea that education should help a student learn to attain a self-managed life, instead of one preparing a student for careers. In grade school I always felt scared and nervous for test days, but in a classroom with a teacher who shares the same beliefs as Freire, I feel as though students may be more comfortable because there would be more room for creativity, imagination, and critical thinking. I also believe that Freire's approach may benefit teachers in the way that it could help them be more creative, as well. Teachers may feel more "free" in the way that they would not have to teach specific content that is placed in a curriculum.

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-Valentine

This was article was a great read and the knowledge that Freire shares is inspirational. As stated in the article, Paulo Freire is one of the most important critical educators of the twentieth century. His article points out the very crisis our public education system is facing. As the article fundamentally states, “he also played a crucial role in developing a highly successful literacy campaign in Brazil”. Through my reading of the article, I got the sense that for Freire literacy was not a way to prepare students for the world but rather a preparation for a self-managed life. Freire believed that self-management only occurred when one has obtained the three goals of education.

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Like any reading, my interpretation of the text may be different than others. To my understanding of Paulo Freire's approach, I believe that he is saying that he believes the best way to teach students is to get them to become "informed citizens" to allow them to be the change they want to see in the world. By getting students involved in the politics and the democracy of their school and the world, they can better understand how to help themselves and those in the future. The best power that we as educators can give students is the power of knowledge. This reminds me of when I was in high school, my English teacher had us find articles weekly to annotate and write about what was happening. Later in the semester, she had a theme of dystopian novels that she had us read so that we would get examples of younger teenagers fighting back the governing system. We later had a discussion and debate on the change we specifically wanted to see and how as students, we could go about creating that change. It was awesome to show us that even though we were young, we had so much power. We kept informed of the major news, talked about how it affected us directly and where we would like to proceed from there.

Brooklyn Kelley

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Critical Pedagogy for Paolo Freire seems to focus of the practice of providing students with the knowledge, skills, and tools to aid in critical thinking and to help students to question the status-quo and to challenge authority. Critical pedagogy helps students realize their own power as critically engaged citizens. The author states in his article, “Education cannot be neutral” When I first read this I struggled with this statement. I have considered education to be neutral. In my experience in school growing up, there was always a distinct separation between politics and education. Teachers were not allowed to say who they voted for or what party they belonged to. This rule always made sense to me as politics can be so divisive, I could see how it could cause hostility or resentment in a classroom. But the article makes a compelling case for why it is necessary, the education should not just about academics, it’s about how to become an engaged, knowledgeable, and informed citizen. - Leanne

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Paulo Freire believed that most colleges now are hooked on old methods and run by administrators who lack a broader vision and a critical understanding of education as a whole. he believed that higher education was meant to be pedagogical with the foundation being deeply civic, political and moral. he viewed pedagogy as a practice of freedom. His reasoning was that it offered students the conditions of self-reflection, a self-managed life and notions of political agency. Pedagogy provides its students with the skills, knowledge and social relations that allow them to be critical citizens. He believed that critical thinking was on offering of a way of thinking beyond the present and imagining a future that would not produce the past. I, myself, agree with all of these and think it is important to question and challenge the present, so we can produce a better future. This article brought back my memories of high school and how we weren't really taught in a way that made us more involved in our communities and made us question and maybe even disagree with the current system of education.                  -James  Goold

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The way I understood the reading of Paulo Freire's is that he is someone that believes that education is not merely about teaching and training methods and that it should be a system where students are able to be free thinkers and take the knowledge that they have learned in school and use it in the outside world where they bring their enlighten thoughts to the world and try to make it a better place. I agree with Freire's ideas of teaching and showing students that they need to be informed about current issues like social inequality, but I also think that there should be a fine line between teaching about current events and teaching the curriculum that the students are required to know and learn.- Carlos Gomez

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Freire’s approach to critical pedagogy is one that very harshly criticizes the capitalistic slant of schooling, one which is becoming more and more prevalent in American society. For Freire, who comes at the matter from one who was oppressed and exiled for his ideas of what education should be, the matter is not one of theory but of practice- children must be allowed to explore their own minds and be given as even a playing field as possible. Ergo, schools should not have their budgets allocated based on test scores or numbers, which are so often nothing more than a reflection of the already existing socioeconomic status of the surrounding district. I wholeheartedly agree with this. Oddly enough, every time I read Giroux and his articles, despite sharing similar ideology, I am always taken aback by how angry and personal his writing seems, which is such a departure from how those versed in western old school academia are typically taught to write- that is, any show of emotion in an argument that isn't purely framed as empirical logic is a sign of a weak argument. I appreciate that this marries both a strong argument with a deep emotional attachment.

- Hannah Davies                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      *I also recognize that as someone who wants to teach English and Theater, I might have an easier time than many implementing free discussion and thought than a subject with more static rules and methods (like, say, math or chemistry), which should also be taken into account.

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Tessa Greenough-Paulo Freire's approach to education is unique, and not very common in schools. He expresses this importance in questioning "norms" and authority. I identify with this way of teaching a lot actually. I think this way of education allows your students to respect you more, and it answers the "What is in it for me?" question that many students have. I want to teach high school, with that being said it is important to ensure that what they are learning is of value to them and their life. I hope that they question authority, but with respect of course. This prompt also makes me think of inclusive language in education. I took an education class last semester that focused on inclusive language, and it helps take away the authoritative presence in a classroom. It challenges me because students do not always understand the boundaries between respectfully challenging someone, which can cause respect issues in the classroom. That is the only part of this approach that intimidates me. Being informed, respectable young adults is critical and that is something else I agree with in this text. Being inclusive to all types of students in your classroom is something I agree with strongly, because a lot of students are situational leaders and need to have the opportunity to flourish in the environment you create as their educator.

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The way that I see the article, education, of course, has a foundation but it should allow students to progress in a way that reflects current and new ways of understanding, and questioning what is or isn't. While I do agree that there are things that should be constantly changed or challenged for improvement, this is not always universal across every subject. I feel there are some that are much more fluid while others can, for instance, mathematics still has the core base for many levels until you get to the advanced sections. Many students may not be able to reach some of these points. For me, there have been classes that I have taken in the past that can fall into the progressive or passive teaching design. Those that did happen to be passive really did feel stagnant. But, it does still depend on the way the teacher was able to present the material that can make all the difference. In all levels of education, there should be those that challenge, question, build upon, and progress. To the extent each is done only depends on what drives the individual.   Lucas Stancliff

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After reading the text, what I found most significant from Paulo Freire’s approach to education was that the idea of how connecting the way you teach to different topics in the real world can be beneficial to students. Being able to read society and become involved in important topics like politics will make for better students and allows them to benefit from this knowledge in the future. Not being able to reflect on the world critically can cause large issues and I believe this is extremely important to incorporate within the classroom setting. Being a passive student where subject matter is just poured into the brains of students is nowhere near as beneficial as actively thinking about a subject and connecting it to real life. I agree with this idea and also believe it makes the classroom more enjoyable for students. When what they are learning has real meaning it engages a larger number of students. I know from experience when I connect a class to how it will directly benefit my future I pay attention more in class, as well as do better on test and quizzes, resulting in less stress throughout the entirety of the class itself. I hope to prepare students for the real world as well as educate them on the subject at hand. -Madison Owens

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My understanding of Freire's approach to education is that he wants us as a society to separate from the norm of banking education and treating students as though they are robots that need to download information in order to get through the system and more towards them being educated as the human beings they are and providing them with information that will help them grow as individuals in society. He is saying that education has turned into a pencil pushing system and so many students are slipping through the cracks and not even succeeding, but are still being pushed through the system undetected until they wind up an adult and not really sure on whether or not they are educated. I agree with a lot of his perspectives especially the one about how "critical pedagogy opens up a space where students should be able to come to terms with their own power as critically engaged citizens..." things like this engage the student in their learning and makes them more willing to learn. This article brings back memories from my elementary and middle school days when we constantly had to take the state testing exams and finishing the tests not knowing whether or not I did well or not on the test.                          --Jordan Gutierrez

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I understood that Freire's interpretation of his growth in education was to be an “informed citizenry.”

He believed that by knowing politically and being able to know the knowledge with in the government system it can give us an ideal of how situations work and how we can grow and chase our dreams. I do agree that we need to know more politically but not as an informed citizen but more of how we can handle this knowledge back to our future situations and be aware of how things work. This article reminded me about my AP government class and how we had to visualize ourselves as our different party and how in reality most of us were independent parties but we tend to fall into the other categories do to our an-sisters. How can we grow if they won’t let us think outside the box? I believe that knowledge and education is something that let us go far and beyond. It shapes our knowledge and it let us self reflect. When having assessments we tend to feel overwhelmed and we don't do well do to anxiety and panics with in how we can better ourselves.

- Zavaleta , Maria

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Paulo Freire's approach to education was the idea that education should involve a lot of freedom through the teachers eyes, he believed that school should not only prepare you for the world of more education and a career but that it should really prepare for you for life in the real world and how to best organize your life. I strongly agree with this statement because while school and career are incredibly important in life, it is also incredibly that you are aware how to handle all aspects of life that you encounter. The main purpose of attending school is to gain knowledge, whether that be math facts or how to balance a checkbook, all these things are crucial to know in life. For instance in my 6th grade class my teacher turned math into something he called the game of life, while we still learned our basic math skills needed he also had a store open where we could spend money with our checkbooks, while doing this we learned great life skills such as not only learning to save and be smart with our money but also how to balance check books. Our teacher took the time out of his lesson plans to broaden our knowledge on not only math, but life as well.

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I understood Paulo Freire's approach to education as an open approach that was highly literacy based. Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed is based on the belief that pedagogy is not about teaching methods, training, or political indoctrination. According to Freire pedagogy is a political and moral practice that is meant to provide knowledge, life skills, and social relations that will provide students with the means to become a critical citizen. I agree with Freire's approach to education and his practice of critical pedagogy, because I think that it is important to include all aspects of life into learning so that students will hopefully become well rounded individuals. One of my favorite quotes from the reading was by Theodor Adorno, he said that "thinking is not the intellectual reproduction of what already exists anyway. As long as it doesn't break off, thinking has a secure hold on possibility..." (716). I thought that this quote summed up Freire's belief of what it means to be a critical thinker. Freire believed that critical thinking is not solely test based but a way of thinking that includes history, critical dialogue and experiences. This article did not provoke any distinct memories for me, but I found that I could relate it to my educational background. I think that it is important to have more inclusive critical thinking assessments. School based critical thinking is usually heavily test based and for some that method does not work. - Kendall Bivins

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Freire’s approach to teaching is something to be admired in my opinion. Rather than “depositing” information into a student and having them repeat that information verbatim, Freire expands the curiousity of a student in education. Teachers I had growing up in a small farm town, Durham Ca., were much more progressive than I ever could have imagined. It was not until I heard the horror stories of friends I made outside of my school district, in college, that I saw how much teachers could affect a students performance. I had a history teacher in 8th who would start each class with “current events”, asking students if they had heard/seen anything in the news they would like to know more about. We would then pull an article up on the projector about the chosen topic and discuss as a class how we felt. She would then do her best to relate it to the topic we were learning at the time. At a pivotal age for her students, she made the decision to take class time, every day, to let us be in charge of the subject we were discussing. She ensued Freire’s hope of education being about the growth and motivation of the student from within, not drilled into us with topics we did not even care about or have a choice in learning. -Bethany Cook

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After reading about Freire's approach regarding critical pedagogy, I believe I have a level of understanding that is somewhat surface. Some aspects I was able to understand and relate with, while others I felt were running circles in my brain. One piece that really stood out to me was the idea of critical pedagogy being about the practice of self-criticism, values that inform teaching, and a critical self-consciousness. It's important for our students to be okay with making mistakes, and struggling with certain material. Surprisingly, we actually learn better when mistakes are made. By being able to practice this notion of self-criticism, we can allow our students to become more comfortable in all aspects of school, and even life. With regards to our values of teaching, those play such an important role in how we develop our classroom environment. Those values can impact students negatively or positively, so it's important the values we hold in teaching are appropriate and impactful. There's a lot more I wish to understand with regards to critical pedagogy, and I believe Freire's book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, will do an excellent job summarizing any open holes. -Callie Cox

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How do you understand Paulo Freire's approach to education, and the practice of critical pedagogy? What aspects do you agree with? Which aspects challenge you? What memories, if any, does the article evoke for you? Respond in 200 words. When you're done, feel free to upload any images or videos or media that captures this reading for you – you can also snap a picture of a quote from the reading that resonates with you.