Coda: My Own Letter to Paulo Freire

This letter explores the author’s own political-pedagogical trajectory and its intimate connections with Paulo Freire’s educational philosophies. The letter also shows how Freire’s work represents a utopia, designed to use education to build better futures, and thus the infeasibility of success of education being measured by standardised tests. Using a personal style, the author narrates his first encounter with the Pedagogy of the Oppressed in his adolescence, during the clandestine meetings of the underground political party he had joined to fight against the Brazilian dictatorship. As he pursues university-level training in education, he attends classes with Freire’s associates, thus deepening his connections with Freire’s work. The author then describes his experience of becoming a critical teacher when working for the São Paulo Educational Department during the years when Freire was the city’s Education Commissioner. The letter finishes with a reflection on the value of the letter writing exercise, which is not only a literary representation of critical dialogue but also a method where the writer can merge theory and practice, hence realising the Freirean praxis.