Remembering Paulo Freire

     Paulo Freire was born in Recife Brazil in 1921. Early on in his career as an educator he started working with adult illiteracies in North-East Brazil and began to develop the principles of conscientização for which he is well known.

 

He was a professor of History and Philosophy of Education at the University of Recife, and later during the '60s, he began work on a movement to end mass illiteracy.

 

Freire was imprissoned in 1964 when the government was overthrown. The regime believed his teaching was subversive to their rule; therefore, they put him in jail. After being exiled to Chile, his theories and practices spread throughout the region. 

 

While holding many leadership positions in educational philsophy and cirriculum, Freire continued to advise on educational reform. He became well known in the education community and began pursuing his scholarship on critical literacy and pedagogy.

 

Eventually he returned to Brazil and was appointed Secretary of Education. Throughout his life his, work has been published by himself in books such as Pedagogy of the Opressed or through interviews with others. Paulo Freire passed away May 2nd, 1997 in Brazil, but his work and influence continues to this day.

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(Paulo Freire Biography, 2015)