“No one knows it all; no one is ignorant of everything. We all know something; we are all ignorant of something” (page 72). This is a reassuring statement by Freire that should be obvious to us, but unfortunately, it is not. We cannot be our best as teachers unless we admit that we have much to learn from our students. Life takes us down many paths, and everyone is a traveler with different stories, different experiences, different attitudes, and different perspectives. If we don’t remain teachable we deprive ourselves of rich opportunities.
Freire writes about tolerance as “the virtue that teaches us to live with the different. It teaches us to learn from and respect the different” (p. 76). Some of my Southern Baptist friends years ago had a disdain for this word because they thought it meant condoning unacceptable behavior. I’ve long tried to explain to them what is meant by true tolerance, but Freire has given me the words. He says that tolerance “does not mean covering up disrespect; it does not mean coddling the aggressor or disguising aggression.” (p. 76). It is recognizing that others in this world are not exactly like me, and that I can accept and celebrate those differences.
I enjoyed reading about Freire’s eight qualities that produce better performing teachers. They all go together, though. I don’t think any one alone would be effective without the others intertwined in that cord that supports and defines successful teaching. Freire challenges us as parents, teachers, and citizens to develop and fight for these qualities.
