PRAXIS - Paulo Freire Institute

Praxis Spring/Summer 2010: Volume 3, Issue 1
I have been an educator, primarily at the community-college level, for nearly ten years.
Most recently, my most rewarding classes have been those in which I have been able to
teach English composition as part of a Chicano/a Studies cohort. Because I am the
daughter of a first-generation Mexican immigrant who grew up in a working-class home
and neighborhood, I have continuously felt a close connection to the struggles and
survival strategies of many of the students I have encountered over the years. My
teaching methodology has been tremendously influenced by the work of Paulo Freire,
mostly by Chapter Two of Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Freire’s identification of banking
as the Ideological State Apparatus’ primary tool of oppression speaks to my own
experiences as a young Chicana maneuvering through a school system polluted by
insensitive teachers, a curriculum detached from my own reality, and a system focused on
suffocating my creativity. I see students entering my classes facing similar obstacles—a
generation later. Freire’s work encourages me to embrace education as a tool of
liberation rather than oppression.
The time spent in the classroom, especially in Chicano/a Studies classes, is devoted to
encouraging students to excavate those problems they see as relevant to their own lives
and communities. Problem-posing continues to be revolutionary insofar that those
students who are set up to fail—by the legacy of institutionalized racism and inequality—
do not. As we engage in dialogue about the mechanisms of power that have caused us to
feel isolated, invisible, inferior, and worthless, we come to realize the importance of
taking action against the injustice done to us personally, those closest to us, and those
surrounding us in our communities. Praxis, the relationship between reflection and
action, is what propels me to continue to see my role as an educator primarily as a role of
being of service. I serve my students, my community, and my raza when I listen,
carefully, to their needs and choose to serve them.
Below are just a few empowering comments that have been spoken by students in my
classes. Gracias, Paulo, por sus enseñanzas que me han servido en mantener la integridad
de mi profesión:
“It [the Chicano/a Studies Cohort] has raised my self-esteem up and it made a
difference in my life knowing what you really are in life.”—YQ
“It makes me more proud of myself. The more positive self-esteem I have, the
more better I’ll do in my future academic success.”—BT
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