Paulo Freire

"To deny oppressed people their ontological vocation of becoming more fully human is to do them an injustice."

"Language is never neutral."

"Critical thinking is aroused by the questioning attitude."

"We cannot separate ourselves from the history we are making."

"The pedagogy of liberation must be forged with, not for, the oppressed."

"My presence in the world is a presence that questions the world."

"What characterizes hope is that it is always directed toward the future."

"To impede spontaneity is to kill the roots from which humanization springs."

"The greatest gift the teacher can give is the courage to question."

"When we truly commit to love, we commit to change."

"Authentic faith does not run away from social and political struggles."

"The role of the intellectual is not to say what people should think."

"Humanization is the vocation of all people, not just the oppressed."

"The truth cannot contradict itself, but oppressive truths do."

"If men and women are not free to think, speak, and act, they cannot be free to become."

"Each generation must discover its mission and fulfill or betray it."

"Cultural synthesis is an achievement of free people."

"The moment we understand our situation, we can transform it."

"To act is to transform the world deliberately, with purpose."

"Problems are not solved by false consciousness."

"Conscientization happens through dialogue, never through monologue."

"The verb means action; humans are verbs, not nouns."

"In a word problem lies the potential for liberation or domination."

"To speak truly is to reveal reality and call others to transformation."

"Denying humanity to others inevitably denies it to ourselves."

"The struggle for humanization, for the emancipation of labor, is the struggle for the word."

"A culture of silence cannot produce the conditions for learning."

"I am not, we are. Therefore, to be is a participatory verb."

"Reflection without action is mere verbalism; action without reflection is mere activism."

"The teacher must be humble enough to learn from those taught."