Chapter 3: Paulo Freire and John Dewey: Community and Practice

While I know that education occurs not only in the classroom, I nonetheless feel, as well as educators in general do, that children belong in schools. I also feel that schools are the sites we need to work with to effect social change. As I write this chapter, I experience a tension with the educational ideal of providing education for all. That is why, at this point, I think it is important to take a step back and examine the philosophical roots of what I believe is important in education in Honduras. I work within the theoretical framework of critical pedagogy developed by Paulo Freire (2003) and John Dewey’s (1938) notion of experience and education. I use both philosophers’ ideologies as a framework to understand grassroots community schools in view of the fact that they both believed, as do I, that society could be reconstructed through education. The overall purpose of utilizing Freire and Dewey’s work is to provide a sound philosophical foundation for what comes next in this book. I feel a particular attachment to Freire’s work as he strives for liberation and equality within societies and his philosophy has struck a chord with me since I first heard about him as an undergraduate student in Honduras. Dewey’s emphasis on learning, democracy and communities has contributed to my understanding of the kind of school Esperanza School is and the kind of education needed in Honduras.