Can We Be Neutral?

Freire believes that in order to be able to teach, teachers must know about how the students speak and find ways to go beyond their state of thinking. Freire says, “But I also know that without practice there’s no knowledge; at least it’s difficult to know without practice” (98). He urges teachers to understand the practice of the people so that they can be more relatable. Once teachers have practiced, they have to theorize different ways of learning that are “beyond the circle,” (98) as Freire says. When practice and theory are applied, only then will a teacher successfully be able to teach anybody.

Horton defines neutrality as, “It has nothing to do with anything but agreeing to what will always be…Neutrality is just following the crowd. Neutrality is just what they system asks us to be,” (102). Horton believes that by staying neutral, we do no voice our opinions on things and we do not choose sides on issues in society. By doing this, in a way you are not against the issue at hand, but you’re also not helping it. Freire believes that neutrality is a way for a person to hide his or her choice, but it is impossible to stay neutral when there is a clear divide. Freire believes that if social conditions are considered when teaching biology or physics, that “…the students end up gaining the critical understanding that biology and all the disciplines are not isolated from the social life” (108). This is important because teachers need to be able to relate what students are learning to their regular lives, or else students will just think it’s irrelevant.

I believe that my role in the struggle for social justice is just to be a supporter for any groups who need it. Sometimes I feel that I’ve become neutral because I don’t voice my opinions often, and I’m just hiding like Freire says. Being in colloquium and actually helping out in the community has made me think about my neutrality; I’ve learned that being neutral can be good and bad. Neutrality is good because I can look past stereotypes that the students that Venetia Valley have been given, like when society thinks that low income Latino kids won’t ever make it to college. Working with and helping these kids has taught me that they’re more than just a stereotype, and they all have the ability to break it. Although, in much bigger situations like racial discrimination, I also tend to stay neutral, which doesn’t help the fight at all even if I support people’s rights. Thinking back to Romeo is Bleeding, I support all the things that Dante advocates for, but I don’t think I’ve done anything to show for it, other than watching the documentary and reflecting on it.