Practice of Freedom

“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.” (Shaull, 2003, p.34)

Shaull, R. (2003). Foreword. In P. Freire, Pedagogy of the oppressed: 30^th Anniversary edition. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc.

This is one of my favourite quotes. How do you as an early years educator encourage the practice of freedom in your classroom? Children today need to be prepared for life in an unknown future. This requires time for them to engage in long periods of self-directed, authentic, collaborative, and exploratory activities that focus on the process, and not necessarily the product.