"Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity 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."
Paulo Freire
To the oppressed,
and to those who suffer with them
and fight at their side
and to those who suffer with them
and fight at their side
Critical Consciousness
Paulo Freire uses the term "critical consciousness" in his analysis of the current model of education in action at this time in nearly all modem countries.
Identified by him as the "Banking
Concept of Education", Freire exposes the educational system,
Many, is not all, students are very familiar
with this type of "education", as we have all experienced it at one point or
another.
This is, in fact, the standard, way of teaching that any of us have ever been exposed to. I personally, until recently in my academic career, have only experienced this type of education.
This is, in fact, the standard, way of teaching that any of us have ever been exposed to. I personally, until recently in my academic career, have only experienced this type of education.
Without much difficulty, I can recall numerous
teachers who taught through this method, as recently as this semester. In
one particular class I took this semester, the instructor perfectly
demonstrated this concept with his unfaltering routine. Every class period
he stood at the podium with his book and notes open, waiting for the class
to begin.
As the clock signaled the beginning of class, he
began talking, without regard to anything else going on in the classroom.
He lectured from his book and notes until the
very last minute of the assigned class time and then shut his, folded his
notes, put both items into his black handbag, and walked out of class. Not
once in the entire 50 minutes of lecture did he ever stop to ask the
students questions or allow time for vice versa.
Not once the entire semester did we ever do
group work of any kind, class work, or even homework. Every third Friday
there was an exam on the chapters that had been covered thus far and then a
new series of chapters began. And not surprisingly, this is what the entire
class expected from him. We have been trained to receive (from lectures),
memorize (on our own time), and repeat (during the examination periods) from
the foundation of our academic education.
Freire continues his analysis to conclude that the educational system mirrors the oppressive society as a whole; students are oppressed by being completely denied the opportunity to think for themselves, and therefore grow and progress through the levels of the model of critical consciousness, which will in itself be discussed shortly.
Freire continues his analysis to conclude that the educational system mirrors the oppressive society as a whole; students are oppressed by being completely denied the opportunity to think for themselves, and therefore grow and progress through the levels of the model of critical consciousness, which will in itself be discussed shortly.
As students are trained from the very onset of
the educational experience to simply receive, memorize, and repeat, as
anyone reading this very paper is all too familiar with, they are not
actually being educated.
They are instead being groomed, to graduate
through this educational system and thus take their appropriate position as
the "educated" oppressed in society, all the while never actually knowing
that by attempting to accumulate higher education and conforming to the
educational system along the way, they are actually only further entrenching
themselves as the oppressed in our current societal model.
This is demonstrated a countless number of times in everyday life.
This is demonstrated a countless number of times in everyday life.
Even I have been caught up in the "American
Dream" I, like many others before me and many to come, go to college to get
a degree solely in order to get a better job and thus receive a higher
income. So we graduate, get an entry level job, and progressively move
through the employment chain, receiving more responsibility and pay with
each promotion and subsequently upgrading our standard of living along the
way.
The first major purchase tends to be a car, then
a home, then a boat or a second home or a Harley Davidson or whatever the
particular toy of choice is for that individual.
Then when all this has been achieved, along with
the family and other factors, we have finally achieved the "great American
dream". But some dream it actually is.
To be able to afford this kind of
lifestyle, one must take on an incredible amount of debt. This is not
freedom. What kind of freedom is it to be under that kind of (economic)
pressure and obligation to others solely to achieve what has been pushed
upon you as "The Dream".
How pathetic, in my humble opinion.
The undertaking of debt only further completes
the cycle that Freire introduced. By accumulating higher education, and
obviously conforming to the system along the way in order to excel, in the
end they only further entrench themselves as the oppressed, through economic
obligations in this particular example.
And it is through this educational system,
Freire is saying, that
those in power are continuing the process of
oppression, and that the oppressors purposefully and intentionally
perpetuate this educational system in order to control the consciousness of
the oppressed. It is at this point that Freire introduces the concept of
critical consciousness.
Critical can commonly be defined as having the
characteristic of being crucial or decisive, or in relation to a state of
emergency or crisis. While all of theses are indeed true, it is also
of importance relevance that critical can also be qualified a indispensable
or essential.
It is in this light that we will apply the
concept of critical to the idea of critical conscious. Consciousness is
obviously the state or condition of being conscious. But is also much, much
more.
Consciousness also includes a sense of one’s
personal or collective identity, including the attitudes, beliefs, and
sensitivities held by or considered characteristic of an individual or
group. When these two terms are combined, we are left with an idea of a
quality that is essential to one’s personal and collective identity.
Or you may chose to identify it as a level of
consciousness that is characterized by a state of in-depth understanding
about the world and the resulting freedom from oppression. It may also be
more easily characterized as the ability to first perceive social,
political, and economic oppression and then to take action against the
oppressive elements of the society.
Either of these explanations aim to get at the
heart of the same matter, although one may be more easily absorbed than
another by any individual.
Subsequently, as may already be evident to the
active reader at this point, it is through this element of critical
consciousness that individuals seek to change their situation as the
oppressed, or to change the entire societal system as a whole.
In further delving into the concept of critical consciousness, I have referred to a text in which Freire deals almost exclusively with the topic of such, Education for Critical Consciousness (see Pedagogy of The Oppressed).
In further delving into the concept of critical consciousness, I have referred to a text in which Freire deals almost exclusively with the topic of such, Education for Critical Consciousness (see Pedagogy of The Oppressed).
In this text, Freire describes the development
of critical consciousness as a five-part model:
At this point in the paper, examples of critical
consciousness would be most helpful in further discussion and understanding
of this fairly vague concept.
The first level of critical consciousness is
very easily illustrated. The homeless man who has no responsibilities to
others is in this state. He is preoccupied only with his own survival, and
this is a prime example of the semi-transitive state.
In the next stage, the transitivity of consciousness, the average adolescent is found here. The teen knows that he is here, and is able to reflect on that fact and on how he interacts with society, thus demonstrating some level of consciousness. Yet the adolescent’s mind has not developed nor is he mature or experienced enough in life to begin to understand the ramifications of his actions or even his mere presence.
The third stage of naive transitivity is where the average man lies.
In the next stage, the transitivity of consciousness, the average adolescent is found here. The teen knows that he is here, and is able to reflect on that fact and on how he interacts with society, thus demonstrating some level of consciousness. Yet the adolescent’s mind has not developed nor is he mature or experienced enough in life to begin to understand the ramifications of his actions or even his mere presence.
The third stage of naive transitivity is where the average man lies.
This man is aware of himself, society, and
problems relating to both, though this man does not have the educational
level to analyze either. The catch 22 is that the man, at this point of
consciousness, is not yet aware of the fact that he is not aware enough to
analyze personal and societal problems and may indeed attempt to do so.
It is in the next stage, the level of critical transitivity, that is where the so-called educated man lies, according to Friere. Although it is Walker Percy, in his text
It is in the next stage, the level of critical transitivity, that is where the so-called educated man lies, according to Friere. Although it is Walker Percy, in his text
The Loss of the Creature, who
conveniently provides us with such examples.
I will begin with the example
of the lost tourists.
An American couple, while vacationing in Mexico,
decide to drive themselves from Guanajuato to Mexico City. They decide to do this because, after traveling
five thousand miles to experience a new and unbridled culture, they have
come to find themselves surrounded by a dozen other American tourist
couples.
Being aware of themselves, their roles, and
responsibilities, the couple knows that they are directly in the middle of
the (oppressive) system and are experiencing exactly what they are meant to,
so they decide to get off the beaten path in order to enlighten themselves
beyond the perpetuated commercialism of prepackaged experiences.
In driving themselves to their next stop, Mexico
City, they become lost and find themselves in a tiny valley not even marked
on the map. In doing this, they stumble upon an Indian village that is
conducting a religious festival of some sort. The couple spends several days
merely observing the Indian culture, and they are in turn, observed
themselves (Percy 472).
This is where the concept of critical
consciousness can be applied.
The American couple, the tourists, had and,
The American couple, the tourists, had and,
"in-depth understanding about the world and the resulting freedom from oppression."
This is illustrated by the couple’s ability to
perceive the lack of genuine, or authentic, experiences that were being
produced and sold through the commercial tourist industry machine and in
realizing this, were also able to obtain freedom from oppression by taking
action against those oppressive elements.
In all reality, the couple had the opportunity
to take the guided tour and arrive safely at their destination in Mexico
City, visiting the standard sights along the way,
"accept [ing] the passive role imposed on them… and the fragmented view of reality deposited in them." (Freire 258),
...meaning that the guided tours and sights
accompanied with such are not the reality of the entirety of Mexico.
The couple was able to have a much more
authentic, and desirable, experience by challenging the system and not
passively accepting that which is presented.
Another such example of attaining critical consciousness may be illustrated by the camper at the Grand Canyon. In this case, a tourist wants to experience the Grand Canyon in all its majesty, though on his own terms. In this sense, the camper is much the same as the American couple tourists, although the camper has come to this consciousness before he even began the journey.
Another such example of attaining critical consciousness may be illustrated by the camper at the Grand Canyon. In this case, a tourist wants to experience the Grand Canyon in all its majesty, though on his own terms. In this sense, the camper is much the same as the American couple tourists, although the camper has come to this consciousness before he even began the journey.
So he planned exactly how he was to purposefully
avoid the oppressive system.
The camper set up camp in the back country,
arose before dawn, and approached the South Rim through the wild terrain
where there were no trails present and no railed-in lookout points (470).
He saw the canyon, in its reality, by avoiding
the ways the oppressive have deemed appropriate for seeing the canyon. The
other tourists simply once again passively accepted the reality presented to
them without questioning the subjectivity behind it. The camper has
demonstrated a level of critical consciousness by first perceiving the
social oppression and then taking action against the oppressive elements
present.
In her essay entitled Arts of the Contact Zone, the author herself, Mary Louise Pratt, demonstrates the ability to utilize the power of critical consciousness in the educational system, as Friere suggests ought to be done.
In her essay entitled Arts of the Contact Zone, the author herself, Mary Louise Pratt, demonstrates the ability to utilize the power of critical consciousness in the educational system, as Friere suggests ought to be done.
At one point in her academic teaching career,
Pratt was the professor of a Western-culture requirement course that
centered on the Western culture both here and in South America and the
multiple cultural histories in each that have intersected through various
points in history to lead up the cultural melting pot that is prevalent in
this global economy.
This course did not function as is traditionally
conceived, in the notion that the banking system of education was not
present at all, nor would it have been able to be present even if Pratt had
desired, which she did not.
The course was a constant battle of give and
take, of breaking down perceptions and of reshaping barriers.
I lay claim to this by Pratt’s own admonition
that, due to the cultural diversity that this course attracted, she had to
constantly work in the knowledge that whatever was said, by student and
teacher alike, was going to be received in "radically heterogeneous" (Pratt
528) ways that were neither able, nor entitled, to predict.
That is, she never knew how the particular
discourse was going to be received and interpreted and this forced her to
abandon the traditional university standardized banking concept of
education.
You see, Pratt does not believe that the
faculty’s traditional task, or imagined as she claims it, is to,
"unify the world in the class’s eye by means of monologue that rings equally coherent, revealing, and true for all."(Pratt 528)
This type of traditional, standardized thinking
goes hand in hand with the banking system of education and serves only to
hinder the development of critical consciousness by producing a series of
products with similar thoughts and (substandard) thinking process, thus
further serving as a tool of the oppressors.
Once again, I revert to the
example of the "great American dream" to illustrate how this tool can be
effectively used.
Pratt instead, revels in her work in the Cultures, Ideals, Values (Pratt 528) course and in the knowledge that both students and teacher were forced to become aware of the oppressive element and take action against such in order to effectively communicate across the cultural, social, economic, and political barriers in the classroom, or contact zone as Pratt refers to such.
Pratt instead, revels in her work in the Cultures, Ideals, Values (Pratt 528) course and in the knowledge that both students and teacher were forced to become aware of the oppressive element and take action against such in order to effectively communicate across the cultural, social, economic, and political barriers in the classroom, or contact zone as Pratt refers to such.
This would be a direct consequence of critical
consciousness and is an excellent example of how the application of such can
be a powerful tool, especially in the midst of the very structure designed
to suppress such action.
When referring back to the criteria previously
set forth, one can easily see how Pratt’s example of what she terms a
"contact zone" can also be used to illustrate the concept of critical
consciousness, an essential element of one’s personal and collective
identity.
The students in this class, who were finally
forced away from the traditional banking concept of education, were exactly
that, forced, to perceive things differently and in doing so, obtained a
level of consciousness of which they were once naive of.
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