So why a name so unique?  While our name might be often mispronounced (we say Free-air-ee), we selected it because the educator, Paulo Freire, is the man whose ideas inspired us to be a different kind of school.  Paulo Freire believed in the value of a classical education (liberal arts and sciences) yet argued that most schools failed to provide this instruction in an effective manner.  For him, education instead promoted the values of the dominant class, creating a “culture of silence” where oppressed individuals lost the means to think critically about their place in the world.

 

In traditional schools, Paulo Freire condemned the “banking” model of education as one of the biggest contributors to this oppression and the lack of free thought.  He argued that students should not be passive learners who have pre-selected knowledge deposited in their minds by a teacher.  Simply transmitting mere facts into an empty account (or mind) should not be the goal of education, for it denies the learner an active role in learning.  Instead, Paulo Freire advocated for the teacher-student dichotomy to be abolished and to have teachers and students made relative equals.  He deemed it essential that both parties take an active role in the educational process and realize that they can each learn from the other.

 

For some people accustomed to their own high school experiences, this lack of a teacher-centered education supported by Paulo Freire seems unnatural.  At the Freire Charter School, however, this is a part of who we are.  We believe in a student-centered education.  Students evaluate teachers on a routine basis to ensure effective teaching.  Students have a voice in the design of the curriculum.  Students have a seat at the table of the Board of Directors.  We view your sons and daughters as having intelligent, insightful minds that we want to stimulate and challenge individually rather than simply filling them full of facts and teaching them all the same.

 

With some background about who we are, please review the rest of the pages to find out even more about the Freire Charter School!