On Paulo Freire’s philosophy of praxis and the foundations of liberation education

self to reflect critically on the strengths and limits of his theory (Freire, 1994b). Freire’s death in May 1997 stilled his own voice and halted his personal contributions to critical pedagogy, leav-ing it to us, the survivors, to sustain his legacy, translate his vision, and complete the tasks remaining to build just, democra-tic societies. A pedagogy of the oppressed is as needed today as when Freire first articulated it. Global economic forces and domestic politics press U.S. public education toward ever more narrow and conser-vative agendas, thus reinscribing and justifying poverty and pow-erlessness through their association with particular (il)literacies and failure on standardized tests (Shannon, 1998). Low-income Amer-icans face an increasing education gap as the testing stakes get raised and as public school resources are more broadly privatized. Vouchers and school choice plans reinforce and extend educa