Neutrality Is the Devil

Questioning things and always having that feeling of wonder is something that makes us human. We’ve had that feeling of “what if” since we were little. But as we get older and become adults, we take those feelings and make them into theories. Freire writes, “Your theory determines what you want to do in terms of helping people grow. So it’s extremely important that you have a theory about it that helps you decide” (100). Having a theory about something, allows for you to have direction and a goal to reach. For example, when there is a theory or an already written narrative about the kids club such as “the students at the kids club are expected to fail and not reach higher education because they are academically behind in their educational career,” then you can take that theory, figure out where these kids are actually at academically and either do something to help them grow, or not do anything at all. Freire makes sense of this by later saying that, “You’ll just have a circle that stays flat if you don’t have a theory about where you’re going. The problem is where does that theory come from. Is that a valid theory? The only way you can answer that is to test it out” (100).

Neutrality is something that we hear quite often when people would rather not formulate an opininon about something that is controversial. Horton writes, “As soon as I started looking at that word neutral and what it meant, it became very obvious to me there can be no such thing as neutrality. It’s a code word for the existing system. It has nothing to do with anything but agree­ing to what is and will always be — that’s what neutrality is. Neutrality is just following the crowd. Neutrality is just being what the system asks us to be. Neutrality, in other words, was an immoral act” (102). When choosing the position of neutrality, not only are you choosing to not make a change, but you are also contributing to the problem. Freire goes on to say, “It is impossible for education to be neutral, educators have to confront some practical problems. A biology teacher must know biology, but is it possible just to teach biology? What I want to know is whether it's possible to teach biology without discussing social conditions, you see. Is it possible to discuss, to study the phenomenon of life without discussing exploitation, domination, freedom, democracy, and so on. I think that it's impossible, but I am also sure that if I am a teacher of biology , I must teach biology” (104). By taking the time to discuss possibilities of things that are out of the norm, and challenging the minds of young students you are testing out theories that are created. We need to get out of the neutrality dump, so that many others are more inclined to state an opinion and formulate meaningful words on subjects that need to be talked about more seriously.

My role in the struggle for social justice is an active fighter. When I go to the kids club, I choose to do all that I can in my power to change the lives of these kids, and rewrite their single story. In my opinion, if you care about something, then it should be second nature to help make whatever it is that you care about, stronger and better. When being neutral, you’re simply stating that you don’t care and have the lack of motivation to make a solid difference. Freire writes, “Neutrality. This is why neutrality is the best way for one to hide his or her choice, you see. If you are not interested in proclaiming your choices, then you have to say that you are neutral. But if in being neutral, you are just hiding your choice because it seems possible to be neutral in the relationship between the oppressors and the oppressed, it’s absolutely impossible” (103). Being neutral in a place thats fighting for social justice just isn’t an option. The kids club went from being a place where I complete my service learning hours, to a place where I have made multiple friendships and created bonds with students so that I can help make a change in their lives. To me, being neutral is, and never will be an option when fighting for this substory to the many social justice fights we have.