Critical Reflection #2

What?

Freire says that “without practice, there is no knowledge.” I agree with this because it is one thing to learn by reading or talking, but its another thing to actually do it and you have a whole new understanding of something when its interactive. He also says that your theory determines what you want to do in terms of helping people grow. I also agree with this. Having some kind of idea gives you a starting point and puts you on a path and you learn along the way.

So What?

Myles says that he does not agree with the idea of neutrality. He describes it as only agreeing to what is and will always be, and just following the crowd. He does not agree with being what the system wants us to be and refusing to oppose injustice or agree with unpopular opinions. TO him, being neutral is pretty much immoral. He’s more interested in being good for something as opposed to just following the norms. Freire says that neutrality is a good way to hide choice and not claiming choices only works in the favor of the dominant. I also think that it’s important to stand up for what you believe in. If no one speaks up then things will always stay the same and important changes will never be made.

Now What?

I think I have always wanted to help people. I’ve always been involved in things that allowed me to do that and I just always loved knowing that I was learning and spreading that knowledge to help make a difference. It’s one thing to talk about something in a classroom setting but when you actually get to go out there and do something about it you feel so accomplished. When I was in high school I was in this club that tackled community problems and social norms, did research on them within the school, and shared what we learned to change people’s attitudes. Every year we would create a short film about gambling and go to Anaheim for a film festival with all the other clubs in California. It was a great experience and that was when I really knew that this was the kind of work I loved doing. It just so happened that I ended up being in a major that helped me to do the same thing, which also led me to the community action and social change minor. Service learning is another opportunity that I get to connect with people in different communities and learn about them.