Extending, Refining, And/Or Challenging Freire

Extending, Refining, and/or Challenging Freire

Teachers and students can better understand each other through communication and understanding. I have many instances in which the teacher, unaware of their actions, inevitably bestows their beliefs upon the students. For example, two years ago my law teacher proposed a comparison between liberals and conservatives. Everyone’s excitement level rises because we all love class interaction. The discussion goes very well because all of the students participate in giving their opinions on a variety of current issues the United States' government faces. Life holds meaning only through interaction and communication with other people (263). However, the teacher or person of authority should not attempt to instill their beliefs and theories upon someone (263). People are entitled to form their own opinions and mold their own futures.

Furthermore, the following day in class, everyone in their seats looks bored and do not know what to do because the teacher is not here yet. Five minutes later, a substitute walks in the door and asks about our discussion in class yesterday. After all of us explain the debate and where we left off, she explains her own personal views and why liberals are wrong and why they do not know anything about the country's international problems. My classmates and I sit in our seats insipidly listening to this woman. She shock builds up at her assessment that some of our political views are utterly wrong. Furthermore, my law teacher, Ms. Jones returns the next day in complete disbelief at the substitute teacher’s actions. The next day, begins with analyzing the differences and forming our own beliefs about what we think the future of our country holds and what we can do now to improve our protection.

Similar to most classrooms I enter, my class loves debates. The debates accompany different political views and everyone cannot wait until we continue them tomorrow. In addition, students must remember to remain conscious that they are conscious of what they begin to adopt as their own beliefs. Remember to stay true to yourself and not let others change your mind because of the rhetoric they use to present their idea or theory. A lot of ideas may sound appealing at first but people need to look at the larger scale and try to see the future in the idea instead of the immediate results. Educated people know what they want to enter their lives and know the ideas and morals that will change and/or mold their lives for their greater good. Therefore, educated people that are better adapted to the world are better �fit’ for the world as well (263). People that do not constantly change their minds and know what they stand for and their beliefs provide to be better people for themselves and others around them.

On the other hand, after a teacher proposes a new idea it may cultivate a new wave length of thinking. It could eventually cast a more educated and refined life style. The teacher may enlighten the students about something they have never thought about before thus changing their views, morals and overall approach to situations. In that, the educators’ role is to regulate the world and everything that may enter the students (263). Educated people continue to help inform others of the current state of affairs in society. Furthermore, educators owe it not only to themselves but to others too, loosely translated: people helping people. They owe it to themselves because the United States is a democratic country and we not only need the educated people’s votes but for them to count we need everyone else’s too. Educated people work hard to improve their country and society as a whole and to put their ideas to work we need the support of the entire country. Therefore, education of the world you live in is key to a successful civilization. However, we must also always remember not to mold others and let people form their own perspectives.

Similarly, a cosmic majority of students in this generation simply memorize what some teachers say to merely pass the test. They do not think of who thought of the idea first, where or when the information comes from and the ultimate question:

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