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Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Pedagogy of the Oppressed

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  • Create Date：2021-09-25 09:55:44
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  • Author：Paulo Freire
  • ISBN：0241301114
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Summary

First published in Portuguese in 1968， Pedagogy of the Oppressed was translated and published in English in 1970。 The methodology of the late Paulo Freire has helped to empower countless impoverished and illiterate people throughout the world。 Freire's work has taken on especial urgency in the United States and Western Europe， where the creation of a permanent underclass among the underprivileged and minorities in cities and urban centers is increasingly accepted as the norm。 With a substantive new introduction on Freire's life and the remarkable impact of this book by writer and Freire confidant and authority Donaldo Macedo， this anniversary edition of Pedagogy of the Oppressed will inspire a new generation of educators， students， and general readers for years to come。
For more information， visit www。pedagogyoftheoppressed。com。

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Reviews

P ，

5/5starsI don't have words that will do justice to this book。 I can only say that this book made me questions so many things and believes I was just taking for granted to date。 It was a definite eye-opener。 Cannot recommend it enough。 It should be a MUST READ in fact。 5/5starsI don't have words that will do justice to this book。 I can only say that this book made me questions so many things and believes I was just taking for granted to date。 It was a definite eye-opener。 Cannot recommend it enough。 It should be a MUST READ in fact。 。。。more

Mathieu ，

I think I agree with this book， but the language is so 。。。 sui generis that I can't be sure。 I think I agree with this book， but the language is so 。。。 sui generis that I can't be sure。 。。。more

Malahat Nadeem ，

Freire is a gifted person。 I still remember the first time i read this book during my graduation， it felt like i’ve entered the Age of Enlightenment？？？ As teachers， as would be teachers and as teacher educators， there are so many things that we all end up taking for granted about the education system。 We dont question， we dont think， we just comply with the system。 Freire makes you think， reflect and then think some more about what’s happening around us。 This person can make you question even th Freire is a gifted person。 I still remember the first time i read this book during my graduation， it felt like i’ve entered the Age of Enlightenment？？？ As teachers， as would be teachers and as teacher educators， there are so many things that we all end up taking for granted about the education system。 We dont question， we dont think， we just comply with the system。 Freire makes you think， reflect and then think some more about what’s happening around us。 This person can make you question even the shortest interaction that you might have had about education。 That’s the power he holds。 His idea of Banking model of education and the tools that he talks about that the oppressors use to suppress any dialogue really makes you wonder what kind of education you’ve had and what kind of education you wish to give to your students。 An eye opener and a must read， not just for educators but for all。 Always a pleasure revisiting this book。 。。。more

Gregory Jones ，

This book will help you realize your humanity。

Samantha Evans ，

Life changing！ The world makes so much sense！！ everyone needs to read

Ellice Patterson ，

Such a great read that added language to my equity practice。

Keen ，

“They confuse freedom with the maintenance of the status quo。” Have you ever did that thing where you pick up another book to break up an otherwise tedious one， well I picked this up to give me a break from a disappointing book and then this turned out to be even worse than the book I was escaping from。 Oh well， you can’t win em all etc。“Fatalism is the guise of docility is the fruit of an historical and sociological situation， not an essential characteristic of a people’s behaviour。”Freire is v “They confuse freedom with the maintenance of the status quo。” Have you ever did that thing where you pick up another book to break up an otherwise tedious one， well I picked this up to give me a break from a disappointing book and then this turned out to be even worse than the book I was escaping from。 Oh well， you can’t win em all etc。“Fatalism is the guise of docility is the fruit of an historical and sociological situation， not an essential characteristic of a people’s behaviour。”Freire is very fond of the idea of Praxis， we know this because it is mentioned five times within three lines。。。and double figures on the same， small page， as well as being pulled out throughout the book along with his other ideas。 That is one of the biggest problems with this book， the unnecessary repetition of fairly basic ideas， which are then layered with horrid phrasing and poorly chosen words to create the illusion that these ideas are more difficult and profound than they really are。This has its moments， but they are too brief and muddled instead of expanded。 He appears to lean incredibly heavy on Erich Fromm， except that Fromm’s ideas are a lot clearer and better presented。 I have to say I was relieved to see that I was far from being alone in my disappointment and confusion with this book。 As far as I can see this is really badly written， as if the challenge is to decipher what are basically very basic concepts， but are hidden behind some really bad writing， it’s hard to tell how much of that is down to the translation or the author， but this felt like pretty hard going and really dull reading for 156 short pages。 。。。more

Morgan Flaugher ，

Content wise， this book is great but it is a difficult read。 I would say this book was the most challenging one I've read this year Content wise， this book is great but it is a difficult read。 I would say this book was the most challenging one I've read this year 。。。more

Connor ，

Great read。 Recommend it highly

Connie ，

I think I would have been more affected by this book had I read it earlier， but the ideas presented are not as new or radical as I was expecting them to be -- they feel like a given。 But I recognize that this was first published in 1968 so I appreciate what it contributed to pedagogical theory （although tbh this could be applied to more than just pedagogy）。 The author sometimes made logical leaps that were difficult for me to follow so I wish more examples were included。

Morgan Blackledge ，

It always feels odd to rate and review a book like this。It’s a classic。 Very hopeful。 Very confrontational。Enriching， thought provoking and transformative。

Penny ，

I think it’s going to take me more than one reading to take away everything I need from this book。

Dórian Bachmann ，

O autor não se preocupa em que as pessoas aprendam coisas úteis que levem ao seu progresso。 Parece querer apenas criar revoltados， despreparados que devem se sentir explorados， mas sem as habilidades para progredir。 Até porque， na visão dele， progredir seria adotar a vida dos opressores e se tornar um。 Medo que ele claramente explícita logo no primeiro capítulo。Sem distinguir a educação de adultos da infantil， credita aos professores， acusando-os de má-fé ou de ingenuidade， uma educação que tem O autor não se preocupa em que as pessoas aprendam coisas úteis que levem ao seu progresso。 Parece querer apenas criar revoltados， despreparados que devem se sentir explorados， mas sem as habilidades para progredir。 Até porque， na visão dele， progredir seria adotar a vida dos opressores e se tornar um。 Medo que ele claramente explícita logo no primeiro capítulo。Sem distinguir a educação de adultos da infantil， credita aos professores， acusando-os de má-fé ou de ingenuidade， uma educação que tem por objetivo manter as pessoas （chamadas de oprimidos） na conformidade desejada pelos opressores。A visão que ele mostra ter do mundo corresponde ao estilo de vida dos camponeses da primeira metade do século passado， ou anterior。 Um mundo de coronéis que hoje só existe em regiões remotas do país e que pode ter sido a realidade dele no Chile， onde trabalhava na época em que escreveu。Coerente com as intenções revolucionárias， fala em camponeses e massas populares。 E， claro， não faltam comentários críticos à elite dominadora， aos opressores etc。 e referências positivas ao Mao， Lênin， Fidel Castro， Marx e Comandante Guevara， que são citados para endossar suas posições confusas。Embora， no texto， ele seja muito cioso em dizer que se chega na verdade apenas pelo diálogo， apresenta suas verdades como se fossem inquestionáveis。 Um exemplo é quando comenta os mitos impostos pelo que chama de classe dominante。A escrita é rebuscada， com muitas citações em francês e espanhol para， ironicamente， parecer erudito。 Pode ser modismo da época， pois foi escrito em 1968。 Em alguns trechos， até parecia que o texto era fruto de uma má tradução。 Impressiona sua dificuldade em se explicar usando os recursos de nosso rico idioma。 Apoia-se - quase todo o tempo - em palavras inventadas， frases com construções estranhas e repetições de palavras em uma mesma oração。 Estou seguro de que， se fosse uma redação de vestibular， o texto seria reprovado por ser prolixo， confuso e repleto de palavras inexistentes。O autor usa e abusa de termos como: problematizadora， intencionalidade， gnosiológica， cognoscente， mediatizador， dialogicidade e dicotomiza。 Todas essas palavras aparecem em uma mesma página （39 de 107）。 Sem contar com pérolas como o “contrário antagônico” （p。 74）。Outras palavras bonitas usadas pelo autor são: estatisticado， absolutiza， historicidade， inconclusão， bergosiano， fixismo， profetismo， existires， palavrearia， tridimensionalizar， implicitados， situacionalidade， quefazeres， necrofilamente， reitificar。 Isso mostra que o português， como conhecemos， não é suficiente para explicitar as ideias dele。É difícil entender como ele foi， em algum momento， chamado de patrono da educação。 Aos que não concordam， lanço o desafio。 Leiam a Pedagogia do Oprimido e se divirtam。 。。。more

ahmad afridi ，

It requires immense clarity of thought to present such an important topic in under 200 pages。 In recent years state patronized "Pakistan study" is so much criticized for producing a generation deluded by fabricated history 。 These critics are trying to correct these errors and stress on a neutral education。 This effort is absurd because they consider this deliberate fabrication some unintentional inaccuracies。 Freire dismissed any such concept of neutral education and draw a clear line based on It requires immense clarity of thought to present such an important topic in under 200 pages。 In recent years state patronized "Pakistan study" is so much criticized for producing a generation deluded by fabricated history 。 These critics are trying to correct these errors and stress on a neutral education。 This effort is absurd because they consider this deliberate fabrication some unintentional inaccuracies。 Freire dismissed any such concept of neutral education and draw a clear line based on outcome of education t"There is no such thing as a neutral educational process。 Education either functions as an instrument that is used to facilitate the integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity to it， or it becomes "the practice of freedom，" the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world"。 The traditional "'banking"（ where teachers deposit and/or transfer knowledge into students mind） system of education where teacher is "always-right and all-knowing" and student is passive recipient of the knowledge transferred by the teacher lack the ability to stimulate thinking process of the students to understand their problems and take part in dialogue about their social and economic conditions。 This indoctrinating methodology is used by oppressors all over the world to deny people their right to think for themselves。 Freire proposed another methodology for the oppressed masses to liberate themselves and their oppressors through a dialogical method of education where there is no strict dichotomy of teacher and students ， rather teacher acts as mediator of dialogue about their condition and worldview。 This methodology consider education a practice of freedom as opposed to practice of domination in banking system where common masses are some abstract entity who can't understand their conditions， cant contemplate their oppression and some liberators from oppressing class need to rescue them。 They deny their right to have a world view and participate in decision making 。 It is the oppressed class who suffer the effects of oppression more than anyone ， they know better the necessity of liberation ， which is not a fruit of chance but through the recognition of necessity to fight for it。 Here Freire considered oppressor committing violence by denying thinking capacities of oppressed masses and reaffirms fanon opinion about oppressed being unable to initiate violenceAny situation in which "A" objectively exploits "B" or hinders his and her pursuit of self-affirmation as a responsible person is one of oppression。 Such a situation in itself constitutes violence， even when sweetened by false generosity， because it interferes with the individual's ontological and historical vocation to be more fully human。 With the establishment of a relationship of oppression， violence has already begun。 Never in history has violence been initiated by the oppressed。 How could they be the initiators， if they themselves are the result of violence is initiated by those who oppress， who exploit， who fail to recognize others as persons—not by those who are oppressed， exploited， and unrecognized。 The role of revolutionary leader at any level should be like a teacher involved in dialogue with the oppressed to channel their grief and their reservations 。 Dialogical methodology doesn’t need fancy infrastructure and can be easily conducted in a college lawn ， a classroom ， a hostel room ， a factory hall or a farm。 It’s an equal opportunity class where all participants can contribute to the discussion， everyone learning from each other。 The role of revolutionary process is to introspect the reasons of violence and to end it once and for all and not just changing their position from oppressed to oppressors 。 In order to mark out real revolutionary leader from a populist leader check whether they allow people to say their own words and to think their own thoughts。 Deny this would result in a contradiction of not believing in what he is saying 。 In dialogics words should accompany accordingly action to become meaningful 。 I wish I could go on to discuss every second paragraph of this book but I know this is not possible 。 Best thing I have read and returned to it many time after its completion。 I recommend this book to anyone interested in methodologies of education ， class struggle ， oppression ， colonialism and mass organizing。 。。。more

Shark Fighter7849 ，

I'm definitely going to have to do a second readthrough， because this is a THICK read。 It goes by pretty quick and it's a powerful text。 Important for any theorist， burgeoning revolutionary， or "activist"。 Highly recommend。 I'm definitely going to have to do a second readthrough， because this is a THICK read。 It goes by pretty quick and it's a powerful text。 Important for any theorist， burgeoning revolutionary， or "activist"。 Highly recommend。 。。。more

Vanessa W ，

Incredible， definitely rereading this book in the future。 Freire was ahead of his time and not only presents theory but also actions educators should be doing to help and support oppressed people。 Dense book， but every page had something new that I had to write down in my notes。 Important book I recommend all people read。

Antonio ，

Los ensayos de Freire deben ser los manuales de cabecera de todo pedagogo。 Si bien su propuesta se centra en la alfabetización de adultos en las comunidades rurales y obreras， su metodología puede aplicarse en mayor o menor medida a todo estudiante sin importar la edad o la condición social， incluso universitarios， porque su función （construir el pensamiento problematizante en lugar de conservar conceptos inertes） implica una evolución en el desarrollo académico y humano de todas las personas。Po Los ensayos de Freire deben ser los manuales de cabecera de todo pedagogo。 Si bien su propuesta se centra en la alfabetización de adultos en las comunidades rurales y obreras， su metodología puede aplicarse en mayor o menor medida a todo estudiante sin importar la edad o la condición social， incluso universitarios， porque su función （construir el pensamiento problematizante en lugar de conservar conceptos inertes） implica una evolución en el desarrollo académico y humano de todas las personas。Por supuesto， este no es un libro para docentes tradicionalistas ni colegios conservadores。 Solamente aquellos profesores con conciencia social pueden asimilar la Pedagogía del Oprimido como una efectiva herramienta educativa， los demás lo verán como una peligrosa arma de rebeldía que debe ser censurada。 。。。more

Ezequiel ，

Buenas dicotomías。 La dicotomía entre la educación bancaria y la educación dialógica。 Entre la propaganda y la criticidad。 Entre el opresor y el oprimido。 Gran concepto también el de como el oprimido aloja en cierta medida al opresor， como se traiciona a sí mismo y a sus intereses gracias a una educación no emancipadora que hace que el oprimido crea que puede y se quiera volver el opresor， con nulas posibilidades， por cierto。 La educación bancaria se asume así misma como LA VERDAD， pero esto no Buenas dicotomías。 La dicotomía entre la educación bancaria y la educación dialógica。 Entre la propaganda y la criticidad。 Entre el opresor y el oprimido。 Gran concepto también el de como el oprimido aloja en cierta medida al opresor， como se traiciona a sí mismo y a sus intereses gracias a una educación no emancipadora que hace que el oprimido crea que puede y se quiera volver el opresor， con nulas posibilidades， por cierto。 La educación bancaria se asume así misma como LA VERDAD， pero esto no puede ser así porque incluso si fuera LA VERDAD， las cosas cambian con el tiempo， ignorando este hecho hipotético hay que aceptar que en la mayoría de los casos ni siquiera se nos dice la verdad。 Entonces se presenta por un lado la necesidad de que los hombres piensen por sí mismos， por el otro la necesidad que tiene el oprimido de humanizarse， de transformarse en sujeto y dejar de ser un objeto， objeto generado por la propaganda del opresor， que lo considera simplemente como un generador de plusvalía， como un generador de productos， como una cosa， como una máquina， que solo sirve para trabajar y hacer crecer el capital; en este sentido， si lo que queremos es por un lado que los hombres puedan generar nuevo conocimiento， conocimiento apto a los tiempos en que viven y por el otro tener a seres humanos， que amen， que puedan aprender， que disfruten la vida; necesariamente tenemos que generar una educación que aliente el pensamiento crítico， esto se logra a través de la educación dialógica， un tipo de educación que no se asume a sí misma como la verdad， cuyo programa educativo se hace con base en los intereses del pueblo y que ayuda a que los hombres（hechos objetos por el opresor） puedan emerger al conocer su realidad como un todo que los oprime y que les impide ser más。 。。。more

Wick Welker ，

The source of liberation can only arise from within the oppressed。I only recently heard of this book， written in 1968， and it’s enormous subsequent global influence in both education and critical theories。 Overall， I found The Pedagogy of the Oppressed to be both timeless and timely， providing a construct for the oppressed to not only recognize the system of oppression imposed on them but also how to create an educational framework to seek liberation from that system。 There are several rules and The source of liberation can only arise from within the oppressed。I only recently heard of this book， written in 1968， and it’s enormous subsequent global influence in both education and critical theories。 Overall， I found The Pedagogy of the Oppressed to be both timeless and timely， providing a construct for the oppressed to not only recognize the system of oppression imposed on them but also how to create an educational framework to seek liberation from that system。 There are several rules and distinctions made clear， namely that of the oppressor and the oppressed and the tools the oppressor uses to maintain dominance and control。 Some tools are overt propagandizing but there are more subtle levers of control that have far greater influence。 A chief tool in my mind that is mentioned in this book is ensuring that the labor class is divided。 And of course this is just so classic。 From race baiting， xenophobia and immigrant scapegoating， class division is a tried and true tool method to fracture solidarity and create self inflicted social injury by means of domestic strife。 The domestic strife serves as a grand distraction from whatever oligarchy that maintains control。 Key in class division is the vilifying of unions which have a pesky tendency to unite across racial lines and create tremendous solidarity and even *gasp* a changing cultural zeitgeist。 Fortunately for the plutocracy， neoliberalism for the last 40 years has made sure unionization not only never goes this far but even gets created in the first place。Key methodology in maintaining dominance is fooling the working class into believing that they are part of the oppressor class when they are actually being fundamentally oppressed。 Cultural compartmentalizing is key。 What this means is confusing the labor class and upper class about what freedom even means。 You get them to believe that the defense of freedom is to maintain the status quo。 This includes fabrication of a zero sum political landscape， the illusion of scarcity and then propagandize the social threat。 The goal is to see any forfeit of luxury as oppression to their freedom when the truly pressed enjoy no such luxuries in the first place。 This will create great disparities about the language of freedom and propagate more confusion and strife。 Additionally， these kinds of social distortions create monstrous hypocrisy and double standards。 For example， is there really a fundamental difference between radical Islam and white supremecistt Christianity？ They both have the same goals and by the same means and function as the inverse of one another。 Even the generosity of the oppressors is a form of dominance。 The generosity， which is almost always based on commodity， is at best disingenuous and based on the oppressive materialistic system that maintains control。 Populist control is allowed to arise within a system of oppression where the popuist gains the support of the proletariat。 However， the populist must continue the agenda of the plutocracy of this populist will not last。 A populist is basically an intermediary between the people and the elites， living between the two groups and using vast powers of manipulating the oppressed。 As long as a populist restricts themselves to paternalism， authoritarianism or promoting dependency on social welfare， the oligarchy will consent to their rule。 A key point in the book is that the oppressed are not the inverse oppressors。 What I mean is， a revolutionary cannot use the same tools of oppression to create social change， this will only result in rebranded authoritarianism （something we’ve seen a lot）。 No， the key point is that liberation can only come from the lived-in experience of the oppressed with the goal to liberate not only the oppressed but the oppressors as well from an entrenched system。 Indeed， all are dehumanized in a system of oppression: the oppressed because they are treated as empty vessels and the oppressors because they act inhumanely toward fellow humans。 As trite as it may sound， sincere love and joy for all humanity is the only way to break a system of oppression to unbind all who are bound。 A huge danger for the oppressed is to internalize the oppressor image of themselves “I’ll only be a peasant” to create deeply entrenched fatalism。 The oppressed need to realize that they are more than objects of the oppressor。 And this brings me to what this book is really about: creating a pedagogy for the oppressed。 Education is a key vehicle to maintain dominance。 Traditional western teaching， or banking education， is to treat the student like an empty vessel to be filled with a knowledge base。 Once that student is able to regurgitate that knowledge， they earn the accolades of the oppressor。 Those that are unable to obtain this education are seen as lazy and deserving of their predicament。 Those that don’t subscribe to the body of knowledge are considered pathological and in need of re-education。 Any attempt to “educate” the marginalized is again a form of oppressive generosity as the goal is simply to assimilate that person into the existing system of oppression。 And this is where Friere is so emphatic， he speaks of an open dialogue based way of teaching that decentralizes knowledge and promotes the creativity of the masses。 And one cannot have true dialogue without humility and without asserting a monopolization of knowledge。 Education is either a tool of conformity or a tool of liberation where students learn how to think critically to transform society into something new。 Overall I enjoyed this book however not all of the material is accessible to the casual reader。 There was a large chunk of stuff that was pretty incomprehensible to me because I wasn’t taking detailed notes。 Overall I recommend it。 。。。more

Anshuman Swain ，

A brilliant book， although slightly dense for my taste。I loved the first couple of chapters very much， especially about the one on education。 Would definitely recommend！

Malin Näfstadius ，

Hard to rate something that has become such a central piece in political theory of the left。 I can see why it is a treasured handbook of revolution， but can't get past that I find it very utopian。 The path of an educator of the oppressed， to dialogue with and not for the people， seems like an impossible task， not in theory， but in practice。 Since on the one hand the oppressed have internalised the world view of the oppressors and can't be trusted until they have been guided to the light， but on Hard to rate something that has become such a central piece in political theory of the left。 I can see why it is a treasured handbook of revolution， but can't get past that I find it very utopian。 The path of an educator of the oppressed， to dialogue with and not for the people， seems like an impossible task， not in theory， but in practice。 Since on the one hand the oppressed have internalised the world view of the oppressors and can't be trusted until they have been guided to the light， but on the other hand their view must always be the one that the educator/leader observes and incorporates。The author is so certain that if properly incorporated/guided/helped to analyse their situation （by who and at whose expense in a world ruled by the oppressors？ There is a significant shortage of Che-figures nowadays） the people will arrive at a synthesis that must lead to revolution。 But I'm not sure that the outcome would be so unified， and then what do you do with the "dissidents"？ Continue to dialogue， sure。 But for how long？ It mostly makes me think of that those he cites， like Mao and Lenin， were no strangers to getting rid of those of the proletariat that weren't sufficiently devoted 。。。more

fridayas ，

a must read periodt

Jaydon Farao ，

my mind is altered。 give me more。

Jake Staples ，

Freire fits an incredible amount within around 150 pages， tracing the central idea of the work through pedagogy， imperialism and revolutionary thought。 Certainly not a perfect book but I would highly recommend it for anyone interested in politics and foreign affairs。

Beth ，

I first read this over twenty years ago when I first started teaching， but I honestly needed more background knowledge and experience to appreciate the text。 I think if you are going to do anything with critical pedagogy， you must start here as your foundation。 The only critique is that this is a dense， academic text and not particularly accessible。

Vasilis ，

The book contained a number of excellent points that are of great value to educators。 I particularly enjoyed the final chapter， which is of general value to anyone interested in liberating action。 However， the book also contained unnecessary amounts of repetition。 Additionally， I would have liked more on processes of co-teaching/co-learning and relevant examples。

Annie ，

"The radical， committed to human liberation， does not become the prisoner of a "circle of certainty" within which reality is also imprisoned。 On the contrary， the more radical the person is， the more fully he or she enters into reality so that， knowing it better， he or she can better transform it。 This individual is not afraid to confront， to listen， to see the world unveiled。" "The radical， committed to human liberation， does not become the prisoner of a "circle of certainty" within which reality is also imprisoned。 On the contrary， the more radical the person is， the more fully he or she enters into reality so that， knowing it better， he or she can better transform it。 This individual is not afraid to confront， to listen， to see the world unveiled。" 。。。more

Sandro Ciarlariello ，

Essenziale。

Ignatz ，

I read this a few years back but honestly this did not hold up。 He has some useful lessons and ideas but his schema is ironically very rigid and he is very insistent on certain kinds of terminology despite admitting how confusing it is！ Maybe I've just lost all patience for very pious humanisms。 I read this a few years back but honestly this did not hold up。 He has some useful lessons and ideas but his schema is ironically very rigid and he is very insistent on certain kinds of terminology despite admitting how confusing it is！ Maybe I've just lost all patience for very pious humanisms。 。。。more

Francisco ，

First of all， let's get this out of the way， the book is originally in Portuguese which is my mother tongue， but I got this for cheap and I had read large sections of it in Portuguese already。 I also like having an "official" translation for when I need to quote it for work， which is mostly in English， I can rely on it， rather than do my own translation。 The clue to what the book is about is in the title， this isn't about a pedagogy FOR the oppressed， but one which is OF the oppressed。 Freire's First of all， let's get this out of the way， the book is originally in Portuguese which is my mother tongue， but I got this for cheap and I had read large sections of it in Portuguese already。 I also like having an "official" translation for when I need to quote it for work， which is mostly in English， I can rely on it， rather than do my own translation。 The clue to what the book is about is in the title， this isn't about a pedagogy FOR the oppressed， but one which is OF the oppressed。 Freire's book， based on his experiences as an educator among rural and poor people in Brazil， is a kind of theoretical and practical manual about how to go about educating the people in order to raise their conscience to a better understanding of the world around them。 Freire proposes that this needs to be done by making the people active participants in the learning process， equal to the instructor in a relationship of collaboration rather than a hierarchical one。 For this Freire emphasizes problem based learning as opposed to what he calls "banking" learning。 In banking a teacher gives out data that a student must accumulate， in Problem based learning the teacher proposes a problem that then has to creatively and engagingly be solved by students and teacher together， this is about a biunivocal relationship where the oppressed teach and learn in equal measure rather than a paternalistic attitude towards the "people"。 Of course the book works better in the original language， if you can get it， some of the translations don't work particularly well in English， such as the use of the word subject for sujeito， which has a different meaning in Portuguese， or the difficulty in translating "conscientização"。 Still， definitely worth reading and more than that keeping in mind， if you ever get to teach。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Pedagogy of the Oppressed

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Pedagogy of the Oppressed&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Pedagogy of the Oppressed&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0