Pedagogy for the Reign of God:

A Theological Perspective on the Educational Philosophy of Paulo Freire

Drick Boyd, Associate Professor, Eastern University

Introduction

Paulo Freire is known worldwide as one of the most significant educational thinkers of the 20^th century. His ideas, such as the banking concept of education, teaching as dialogue, and conscientization,[1] are common parlance in educational circles today (Roberts, Structure). Those who have studied his life and work speak of the radical social and political nature of this thought, and his life long commitment to education as a means of human liberation.

What is less known, but equally important, is the influence of Freire's Christian faith on his overall educational philosophy and vision. Students of Freire familiar with theological terminology can sense a resemblance in his writing to the language and spirit of theological thinking. While there are only a few works in which he writes forthrightly about his religious beliefs, those writings make clear that Freire's faith in Christ and belief in the God of human history were absolutely central to his educational philosophy and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the spiritual and theological springs of Freire's educational philosophy, particularly as they relate to his view of hope and human history. Freire's vision of hope will be analyzed in light of current theological thinking on the Reign of God[2], specifically from the liberation and Anabaptist perspectives. The overarching thesis presented here is that Freire's vision of hope is consistent with the Reign of God language found in the New Testament, and that a focus on the Reign of God adds depth and strength to Freire's compelling vision of the future. Finally, some suggestions will be offered as to how Freire's vision can inspire Christian adult educators in their efforts to work for justice in contemporary North America.

Personal Background

Denis Collins writes: "How is one to account for the optimism of Paulo Freire?… Freire's life and work as an educator is optimistic in spite of poverty, imprisonment and exile…. On a planet where more than half the people go hungry every day because nations are incapable of feeding all their citizens, where we cannot agree that every being has a right to eat, Paulo Freire toils to help men and women overcome their sense of powerlessness to act on their own behalf" (Paulo Freire 3). Indeed, when one looks at the life and work of Paulo Freire, one does not see an armchair intellectual promoting groundless theories, but rather a man who has experienced suffering firsthand and who forged his educational philosophy on the concrete, and sometimes painful,realities of life.

Born in 1921 as the youngest of four children to middle class parents in the Brazilian port of Recife, Freire experienced poverty firsthand when the economic depression of 1929 forced his family to move to the nearby town of Jabotao. When hewas 13, his father died prematurely, which caused his widowed mother to struggle as a single parent (A. Freire and Macedo 13). The stress, hunger, and impoverishment of those years caused Freire to fall behind in school and to be diagnosed by some of his teachers as mentally retarded. Consequently, he barely qualified for secondary school. He particularly struggled with spelling (which may have been an influence on his eventual interest in literacy work). This experience of poverty and discrimination impacted him to the point that the remainder of his life was spent in service of educating those rejected and disregarded by the larger society, and no doubt shaped his perspective on education (Horton and Freire 23-27; Elias 3; Jeria 9-11).

Freire studied law and philosophy at the University of Pernambuco, but only briefly utilized his law degree. After graduation he taught high school Portuguese and in that role developed a special interest in grammar and linguistics. He began developing his literacy methods while meeting with other teachers and parents of his students. Thus, he began a lifelong educational involvement with adult students. Eventually, he devoted his work full time to adult literacy training among the poor of Recife where he began to develop the now famous "Freire method" of literacy training. In 1959 he completed a doctoral thesis on literacy training and was appointed as a professor of history and philosophy at the University of Recife. He continued his literacy work and even involved students in many literacy projects (Elias 1-16; Jeria 21-32).

His appointment as the director of Recife in 1962 was followed a year later by his appointment as the director of literacy for all ofby the newly elected socialist government of Joao Goulart. The success of Freire's literacy programs was well known, having enabled thousands of rural campesinos to read in a matter of weeks. Freire's program was modeled after a successful program in Cuba and as a result he was criticized widely in politically conservative circles as subversive. From his perspective Freire was trying to empower and train illiterate rural peasants to read and think critically, so that they could fully participate in the democratic reforms taking place in Brazil at that time (Elias, 3-5; Jeria 21-32). He believed that in order for the poor to effectively partake in the democratic process they needed an approach to education that honored their experiences and insights while at the same time teaching them to look critically at the socio-economic and political situation in which they found themselves (Freire, Education 33-40).

However in 1964 a military coup deposed the Goulart government, and those connected to the government were either jailed or exiled for "bolshevizing the country." Freire was in prison for a period of 75 days until he was exiled to Chile. First in Chile and then in the United States at Harvard University, he continued to teach and began to write about his experiences. In 1970 he went to work for the World Council of Churches,through which he was able assist with the educational programs of several developing countries such as Peru, Angola, Mozambique, Tanzania, Nicaragua, Grenada, and Guinea-Bissau. At the same time he became a widely sought after writer and speaker in the developed nations (Elias 7-13; Jeria 49-58).

In 1980 with a change of administration, Freire received amnesty and was allowed to return to Brazil as a full professor at the University of Pernambuco and in 1989 he was appointed Secretary of Education for the city of Sao Paulo. In 1992 he retired from public service and dedicated himself to writing, speaking, and consulting until his death in 1997 (Freire, Freedom 19-26).

Freire married twice. In 1943 he married Elza Mariea Costa de Oliveiria, an elementary school teacher. Together they had five children. Elza was a tremendous encouragement and support during his career, and served as a guide, proofreader and a dialogue companion (Jeria 12). Freire said of her: "Elza was an 'artist' whose respect for me shaped who I am (Horton and Freire 63). Elza died in 1987 and Freire went through a difficult time of mourning. However, in 1988 he married again, this time to a former student, Ana Maria Araujo or "Nita", who like Elza was a companion in his work and edited a collection of his works after his death (A. Freire and Macedo 25).

Freire gained international recognition in 1970 with the English publication of the book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, which is still his most widely read and best known work. Freire's ideas were discussed and disseminated among radical educators, social activists, and political theorists.Later, Freire accounted for the broad acceptance of Pedagogy of the Oppressed by suggesting that the book had emerged"at an intensely troubled moment in history " (Freire, Hope 120). In that workFreire clearly linked his educational philosophy to a Marxist political perspective, and thus the book became a primer for many seeking to battle the effects of racism, sexism, militarism and oppressive political practices (Roberts, Education 10).