I've always been interested in the history of oppression in general, so I really enjoyed reading Friere's work for today. I think he had a really good point when he talked about considering the history of oppression and its impact on our teaching practices today. Throughout history, there has always been a group in power and a group oppressed by those in that power, and this includes in the realm of education as well.
I would even go so far as to say that as TESOL educators, the issue of oppression is more relevant to us than other educators. Every teacher will encounter some instances in his or her classroom that they will have to cope with, but as TESOL educators, we have chosen to specialize in cultural relations, which is inherently tied to the issue of oppression. Members of different cultures constantly separate the world into "us" and "them," which is the root of all oppression, and it is our job as educators to overcome that xenophobic separation and build functioning, cooperative communities in our classrooms.
I agree it is important for us especially as TESOLers to make sure we are aware about the issue of oppression. And that it is our job to help eliminate it as much as we can. I also enjoyed reading about this and felt like it helped me remember that oppression is an issue we still have and need to deal with.
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