Freire, Paulo. (1998). Teachers as Cultural Workers: Letters to Those Who Dare Teach. Reviewed by Peter Ninnes

Freire, Paulo. (1998). Teachers as Cultural Workers: Letters to Those Who Dare Teach (Translated by Donaldo Macedo, Dale Koike and Alexandre Oliveira). Boulder: Westview Press. Pp. xxii + 100       US$22.00 ISBN 0-8133-2304-5. Reviewed by Peter Ninnes University of New England (Australia) August 4, 1998           This small book, Freire's last, provides a neat and useful distillation of Freire's ideas developed over more than two decades from Pedagogy of the Oppressed to Pedagogy of Hope, and a number of helpful insights of relevance to teacher education students. It comprises twelve short chapters including ten letters of six to twelve pages in length which focus on what Freire believes to be crucial issues for would-be educators.           The book commences with some "First Words" in which Freire reflects on the dynamic relationship between reflection, action and writing, and the need to acknowledge this relationship in order to critically approach the acts of learning and teaching. He then summarises the purpose of the book, which is to "demonstrate that the task of the teacher, who is also a learner, is both joyful and rigorous. It demands seriousness and scientific, physical, emotional, and affective preparation. It is a task that requires that those who commit themselves to teaching develop a certain love not only of others but also of the very process implied in teaching" (p. 3). His central themes, then, are first that teachers must dare to teach in this way, despite the apparently negative aspects of teaching such as low salaries, low status, and the over bureaucratization of education systems; and second, that teaching is not a passive acceptance of these negative aspects but, to be credible, must also involve an active political engagement in the struggle for democracy and freedom. An example of the nature of this political struggle in the Brazilian context is the need to counter the dominant discourse which represents teachers as coddling parents. Freire presents a pursuasive argument that such a discourse is disempowering for teachers and therefore disadvantaging to students because it precludes the possibility of teachers taking political action, such as strikes, to improve educational conditions.           The first letter provides some important reflections on the nature of studying, particularly the notion of reading as a critical struggle not only to comprehend text but to reflect on the relationship between the text and lived experience, or as the chapter title says "Reading the world/reading the word". Freire says "If I am really studying, seriously reading, I cannot go past a page if I cannot grasp its significance relatively clearly" (p. 18). This chapter, in fact, would make a useful beginning reading for university subjects such as those in the social foundations of education which require students to read more thoroughly and critically than they otherwise would.           The second letter entitled, "Don't let the fear of what is difficult paralyze you" follows up this notion of the critical struggle to comprehend a text by arguing that if we fear that we will be unable to comprehend and apprehend a text, we should seek some form of help (e.g. teachers, other texts, reference works, other readers of the same text) to aid our comprehension, rather than giving up on the text and abandoning our struggle for comprehension. Freire argues that overcoming fears of not comprehending also involves disciplining ourselves, maintaining our curiosity about the text, rigorously investigating, rather than ignoring, our affective responses to the text, and actively engaging imaginatively in meaning making when reading.           A brief discussion of the motivation for students entering teacher training courses in the third letter leads Freire to a passionate argument concerning the political and social importance of teachers' work. He argues that if students enter teacher education courses simply because there were no other more attractive options or as a preoccupation while waiting for marriage, then they will have no reason to engage in political struggles to enhance the status and funding of teachers, schools and education. Such motivations will perpetuate the situation in Brazil in which there are "alarming quantitative and qualitative deficits" in education (p. 35) a situation which Freire attributes to wasteful social practices and the "arbitrariness of the powerful and the arrogance of administrators" (p. 36).           The fourth letter deals with Freire's ideas about the "indispensable qualities" of progressive teachers. He discusses humility, which he contrasts with authoritarianism; lovingness, both towards students and towards teaching; courage, which is derived from the process of controlling and educating one's fear; tolerance, which teaches respect for the different without permitting disrespect or aggression; and security. The latter quality, security, embodies decisiveness, a joy of living and a dynamic tension between patience and impatience, which Freire characterizes as impatience tempered by wisdom. In Freire's view, dynamic tension guides strategies and tactics for progressive change.           The fears and insecurities which teachers face when they first meet a class and some useful strategies for understanding individual students and the class as a whole are elucidated in the fifth letter. The sixth letter explores the relationship between the teacher and the learners, with particular reference to the need for teachers to match their words with actions; the value of teachers being authoritative rather than weak and insecure or authoritarian; and the importance of developing an open dialogue with students. The theme of open dialogue with learners is continued in the seventh letter, in which Freire advocates a balance between "talking to learners and talking with them" (p. 63). Again a distinction is made between the progressive and democratic teacher, on the one hand, and the permissive or authoritarian teacher, on the other. Freire maintains that only through talking with and to learners can teachers contribute to the "[development of] responsible and critical citizens, which we need so badly and which is indispensable to the development of our democracy" (p. 65). In the final three letters Freire explores the relationship between education, culture, human agency and identity; the relationship between theory and concrete practice; and finally the role of healthy, democratic, and ethical discipline in the pursuit of knowledge.           Although the book is written in the context of the infant democracy in Brazil, the ideas that Freire presents should enhance teacher education in a range of social contexts, albeit with some additional input for students who are unfamiliar with the original context in which the ideas were developed. Although it is possible to reiterate some of the established criticisms of a number of Freire's ideas and underlying assumptions, such as his apparently monolithic conception of social class, the strengths of this book outweigh these weaknesses. Freire's vision of a humane and democratic teaching force is inspirational and provides would-be teachers with both practical strategies and sound philosophical foundations for pursuing their careers in education. About the Reviewer Dr. Peter Ninnes, Lecturer Department of Education Studies University of New England, Armidale, Australia. Interests include culture, power, knowledge and education; migrant education; internationalization of higher education.