The inherent oppressive character of education

(a plea for constant educational reform)

play-based learning during a concept tessellation workshop, photo flaleman, 2022

Rethinking education is nothing new. In fact, the history of education reads like a history of reform movements. In Politeia, Plato positions education as the cause or ground for the change of society, culture, and individuals — which implies that rethinking education directly influences how society, culture, and individuals are made to change (Oelkers, in: Smelser & Baltes, 2001).

if education causes society to change, then educational reform causes the change in society to change

Modern educational reform movements have been focusing either on redesigning educational institutions, or on reviewing the perceived role of education within the changing context of society as a whole, or of society and its specific educational needs.

While most of the attempts to rethink education have failed (Oelkers, in: Smelser & Baltes, 2001), ostensibly not having found entry points to tie into the public discourse and challenge a heavily institutionalized status-quo — the work of Brazilian educationist Paolo Freire has fared much better. Building on the Platonic insight of there being an intimate connection between education and how society, culture, and individuals are made to change, Freire re-identifies education as a…