The concept of education has shifted from being a tool for empowerment to being a means of acquiring employment
Shoukat Lohar
Introduction
The education system has been evolving for centuries, but the essence of education has not changed much.
It still remains a tool to empower people with knowledge and skills to enhance their quality of life. However, with the advancement of technology and globalization, the education system has been transformed into a capitalistic enterprise, where profit-making has become the primary motive. The concept of education has shifted from being a tool for empowerment to being a means of acquiring employment. If entity of education caters only capitalistic species where do the repressive class shelter?
What is the Pedagogy of the Oppressed?
The Pedagogy of the Oppressed is a book written by Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educator and philosopher.
The book was published in 1968 and became a seminal work in the field of critical pedagogy. Freire’s book is based on the idea that the traditional education system is oppressive and promotes a banking system of education, where the teacher deposits knowledge into the student’s mind.
This approach assumes that the student is an empty vessel waiting to be filled with knowledge. This still occurring in most of the academicians in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and African countries including Latin America.
We live in capitalist society. Our living standards are set by corporate companies. We are helpless and powerless before advertising world
Freire argues that the traditional education system is oppressive because it does not consider the student’s experiences, culture, and context. It reinforces the existing power structures and creates a dichotomy between the teacher and the student.
Freire advocates for a pedagogy that is based on dialogue and mutual learning. He believes that education should be liberating and empowering, where the teacher and the student learn from each other.
Who was Paulo Freire?
Paulo Freire was a Brazilian educator and philosopher who was born in 1921. He grew up in a poor family and experienced poverty and hunger firsthand. Freire became interested in education at a young age and worked as a teacher and a professor throughout his life. He was passionate about education and believed that it could be used to transform society.
Freire’s work is grounded in his experience of poverty and oppression. He believed that education should not be a tool to maintain the status quo but should be used to empower the marginalized and oppressed.
Freire’s work has had a significant impact on education, and his ideas have been used to develop critical pedagogy and popular education. Along with this giant and educational philosopher we have another relevant educationist who presented his manifestation for quite fascinating way of imparting education. He is Henry Giroux.
Who was Henry Giroux?
Henry Giroux is an American scholar and cultural critic who is known for his work in critical pedagogy. Giroux has written extensively about the intersection of education, culture, and politics. He is a prominent advocate of critical pedagogy and has written numerous books and articles on the subject.
Giroux’s work builds on the ideas of Paulo Freire and emphasizes the importance of education in creating a democratic and just society. He argues that education is a political and cultural act and that it plays a critical role in shaping the values and beliefs of society. His works emphasize the democratization of education. Equal opportunities for all and just sharing of information and knowledge right of every individual. Along these critical and cherry picking words, I have question in my mind. We live in capitalist society. Our living standards are set by corporate companies. We are helpless and powerless before advertising world. They build a world for us to be trapped and we do delightfully! Then do you think?
Is ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’ relevant in today’s corporate education system?
The corporate education system is driven by profit-making and is focused on preparing students for the workforce.
The traditional banking system of education, which is based on the transfer of knowledge from the teacher to the student, is still prevalent in many schools and colleges. This approach assumes that the student is an empty vessel waiting to be filled with knowledge.
The corporate education system is driven by profit-making and is focused on preparing students for the workforce
The Pedagogy of the Oppressed is relevant in today’s corporate education system because it challenges the traditional banking system of education. Freire’s approach emphasizes the importance of dialogue and mutual learning, where the teacher and the student learn from each other.
This approach is critical in creating a democratic and just society, where everyone has a voice.
The Pedagogy of the Oppressed is also relevant because it emphasizes the importance of context and culture in education. The traditional education system often ignores the student’s experiences, culture, and context. This approach reinforces the existing power structures and creates a dichotomy between the teacher and students.
This Oppressed education system at least question to the power-laden education system that’s why its significance can’t be ignored. However, we read about the pedagogy of Oppressed but act undemocratically and live the quagmire of capitalism. It’s like making ripples with pebbles!
That’s also a laudable way to unmask the ugly face of existing education system.
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Shoukat Lohar is Assistant professor in English at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology Jamshoro. He can be reached at Shoukat.ali@faculty.muet.edu.pk
