Random Props

Just want to give a shout out to my man Paulo Freire. Nothing prompted this other than some nostalgic reflections. Freire's pedagogical theories are nothing short of the bomb. He critiques what he terms the "banking method" of education--the notion that the instructor has the sole perspective on the subject matter, and must transmit (deposit) it en toto while the students must passively receive. In constrast, Freire sets forth the "problem posing" method that begins where the students are, w/ the instructor as co-learner, and together they push back the bounds of knowledge through critical questioning of everything. Rather than passive acceptance, active use of and engagement with tradition takes place as they seek to elucidate the current state of affairs. Freire was actively involved in literacy work and community organizing in Brasil and elsewhere. His theories are strongly influenced by Marxian critique.
His method should certainly give pause to Christian educators--in what sense are we to hang onto some non-reducible deposit to be passed on in pristine form? In what sense can theological education be transformation and not just transmission? Is the gospel a set of propositions (or at least beliefs) to be safeguarded and transmitted (Paul seems to say this to Timothy, no?) or can it be alternatively conceived so as to maximize the subversive and revolutionary potential of the kerygma?