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.

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.

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

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