Deep Thinking or Resistance? On Finding a Middle Ground between Paolo Freire's Critical Pedagogy and John Dewey's Pragmatism

Today's educational system is in a quandary. On the one hand, colleges produce deep thinkers who possess skills necessary to adapt to an ever-changing world, but are less committed to the cause of resisting inequalities. On the other, there are students who have the passion for social reform, but are less concerned with higher order thinking skills. This investigation proposes a compromise by connecting the problem-posing method of Paolo Freire and the philosophy of education of John Dewey. This study uses the neo-pragmatic approach of Richard Rorty to open a space that seeks to overturn elitist school systems. It is argued that there is no necessary tension since critical pedagogy and liberal education are actually against institutional oppression and the authoritarian ways of elitist or dominant educational paradigms that emphasize the instrumental rather than the humanist purpose of learning. The right approach can be found in the belief that each person has a transcendental value. The freedom of every man makes manifest the vital role of liberal education in emancipating society from unjust and unequal systems through inclusivity and pluralism.