A Comparison of William Brickman and Paulo Freire (1921-1997)
Paulo Freire (1921-1997) was an advocate for the liberation of the oppressed through the process of critical thought. He learned at an early age that conventional education is a vehicle for oppression and to escape that oppression, one must develop critical consciousness. Freire believed that students should be “given encouragement and opportunity to engage in critical thinking in the quest for the humanization of both learner and teacher” (Flanagan, 2005, p. 189). This quest for humanization and the transcendence from oppression is attained when both teacher and student is neither subject nor object but equal in the process of exchanging learning. Freire’s methodology endures today in quality education at all levels as student creativity is both encouraged and enhanced through dialogue and lived experiences. William Brickman is known as the founder of the Comparative Education Society. His greatest contribution to the field of education was his extensive research in diversified education. Through his participation in various cultures and exchanges with foreign scholars, William Brickman led the charge for comparative education. He promoted his belief of academic freedom and championed the idea that “there was no one correct way of doing comparative education” (Brehm, W.C., and Silova, I., Summer 2010, p. 23). As with any pioneer, both Freire and Brickman struggled with resistance to their methodologies. According to yourdictionary.com, a biography of Freire cites that the President of Brazil appointed Freire to lead the National Literacy Program in 1963. Paulo Freire’s program was so successful that it drew attention from conservatives who felt that his “method for developing literacy was stirring up the people, causing them to want to change society, and formenting[sic] subversion.” (Freire,