Today I learned about Paulo Freire. He was a Brazilian educator and considered one of the founders of critical pedagogy. “Freire believed that all education in the broadest sense was part of a project of freedom, and eminently political because it offered students the conditions for self-reflection, a self-managed life, and particular notions of critical agency (Giroux.)” As Stanley Aronowitz stated, “for Freire literacy was not a means to prepare students for the world of subordinated labor or ‘careers’, but a preparation for a self-managed life.”

I agree with the heart of Freire’s philosophy. Higher education should be about giving students the tools they need to lead self-fulfilled, fully realized lives, and prepare students to think critically in all areas. It should be about more than just being another cog in the machine or making a certain amount of money. While jobs and money are important things in our society, they are not the be all and end all, even though I do think higher education should help prepare students for the work force. That doesn’t necessarily mean teaching them the skills they need for a specific job, but teaching them broader skills that can be applied to many different facets of their lives. There are merits to learning for the sake of learning, self-improvement, and just being a better person to elevate our society as a whole.

As a society and culture everyone suffers when the focus on higher education is only to get a job and make money. It leads students to major in areas of study for the wrong reasons. I’ve known people who have picked majors only because they thought they were easy as well as people whose choice of major was only because they viewed it as the most marketable. I think that sort of mentality is far removed from what the true purpose of higher education should be. People should be pursuing higher education as a means to become the best versions of themselves. In doing so not only do they achieve something that’s monetary value can’t be quantified but it also makes them better prepared for the various challenges life brings yet still gives them the tools to be valuable assets in the work force. I don’t think it’s an either or situation.

There’s a Forbes article called “What’s The Purpose Of College?” by Brandon Busteed. In it he proposes that we consider the purpose of college instead of asking if it’s worth it. He breaks down the false dichotomy between the two perceived purposes of college. One of which is preparing a person for work while the other is preparing a person for life, “to be an engaged and enlightened citizen capable of thinking critically and communicating clearly, ultimately able to thrive in their well-being (Busteed.)” He pushes the notion that it’s not one or the other but both. I think that’s the most realistic approach. He also points out the need for people to have a purpose, which they often find through their work, and in doing so improves their overall well-being.

Education, at its core is also about freedom. The freedom to make informed decisions and essentially be in control of one’s own destiny. The better educated the public is the better they can make choices that not only improve their own lives but the lives of everyone in society. It’s unfortunate that many supposed institutions of education fail to realize that or deliberately subvert it. “Pedagogy is by definition directive, but that does not mean it is merely a form of indoctrination (Giroux.)” I’ve experienced firsthand, especially in K-12, that many educators don’t encourage critical thinking and only want blind obedience. I often got in trouble for questioning why we were learning something or for even just wondering the relevance. It was like we were robots being programmed to perform specific tasks and anything outside of that scope wouldn’t be permitted. Ultimately education should be about cultivating self-awareness and the freedom to make well-informed and conscientious decisions.

                                        Works Cited                                                       

Busteed, Brandon. “What’s The Purpose Of College?” Forbes, 10 Apr. 2019,
          http://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonbusteed/2019/04/10/whats-the-purpose-of-
          college/#57b310bf354e.

Giroux, Henry A. “Rethinking Education as the Practice of Freedom: Paulo Freire          
           and the Promise of Critical Pedagogy.” Policy Futures in Education, vol. 8, no. 6,
          2010, pp. 715–721., doi:10.2304/pfie.2010.8.6.715.