Philosophical views on violence continued

In an earlier blog, Professor Harvey Shapiro lifted some knowledge from one of the chapters in his book Handbook on Violence in Education, as provided by contributing authors Hilary Cremin and Alex Guilherme. After a discussion on the philosophies from Johan Galtung and Frantz Fanon, we continue feature more proponents here, which again allows us to understand the culture of violence in schools as a necessary step in solving it.

1. Paulo Freire

Paulo Freire, a renowned educationist from Brazil, is credited for commenting on how education was used by the elites of the country to “domesticate” the lower

classes through “banking education,” which is a metaphor that likens students to containers which educators must fill with knowledge, explains Professor Harvey Shapiro. Freire argued against this as he observed the model to rather reinforce a lack of critical thinking and knowledge ownership in students, which then reinforces oppression. This goes squarely against Freire's understanding of knowledge as the result of a human, creative process.

2. Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault then zeroed in on understanding education and schools as instruments of violence. His wisdom is centered on seeing schools as institutions of power, as detailed in his book, Discipline and Punish. From a poststructuralist perspective, he argued that relations of power objectify individuals, attacking their singularities and normalizing them at the same time. Professor Harvey Shapiro further explains that they then become incapable of fighting against the very object which dominates them. Foucault points out that this is a form of structural violence, specifically of coercion that causes people to behave in a particular way, while they conform to their realities, and become unable to question the status quo.

Professor Harvey Shapiro teaches courses on sociopolitical contexts of education and the relationships among faith, ethics, and educational leadership at the Graduate School of Education of the College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University. For more related reading, visit this page.