vol 42 # 3 2019 3 Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the English translation of PO, the translation that propelled it into instant fame as a foundational text for adult literacy, radical education, critical literacy, and many radical and progressive social professions and movements. But who could face struggling through that melange of Humanism, Hegelianism, Marxism and Fanon again? Not me! But I have good news: there is more to Freire than PO. He was not a one book wonder. Freire: does he matter? by Rob McCormack Every adult literacy educator has heard of Paulo Freire, but is he still relevant? Can we still learn from him? Be inspired by him? If you’re like me, the only book you have glanced at is Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire, Macedo, & Shor, 2018; henceforth cited as PO). And, like me, you probably put it down many times and then never finished it: it’s so unrelentingly abstract! needed to confront impending ecological disaster. In short, PO was just one short episode in a long and varied life of educational praxis. To demonstrate that PO did not encompass the full scope or richness of Freire’s educational praxis nor of his eforts to articulate the grounds of this praxis in his writings and discourse, I will stage this article in three parts: • Freire: life and times describes Freire’s educational journey. • Freire’s theorising will argue that Freire is primarily concerned with inviting readers into an educational community of shared ideals. • Freire’s praxis comprises two sections: the first is an examination of the ‘Freire Method’ of Adult Literacy, the second speculates on what Freire might say to us today. Freire: life and times Right from his earliest memories, education figured prominently in Freire’s life. He was born in 1921 in a middle-class setting in northeast Brazil. Before going to school, he had enjoyed learning to read and to create grammatical patterns from his mother, who taught him under the mango tree in the backyard of their comfortable home. But when he was eight, the world depression hit north Brazil and his family was forced to move to a cheaper rural town on the fringes of the city. Tis was his frst encounter with children growing up in marginalised lifeworlds: cultures and dialects radically different from the world of middle-class schooling, culture and literate language he enjoyed. Worse, when Freire was 13, his father died, leaving the family so impoverished that Freire’s older brothers had to leave school and become breadwinners, while Freire himself had to postpone his secondary schooling. Finally, aged 18 and feeling like an oddball, Paulo began his secondary education seated alongside 11- and 12-year-olds. Yet even this late entry into secondary school only happened thanks to his mother persistently begging city secondary schools to ofer her son a scholarship. Later in his secondary schooling he would tutor and teach younger students as repayment. Tere are other, more readable texts by Freire written after PO in a more refective, engaging, and less dogmatic voice, including Education for Critical Consciousness (Freire, 2013), Pedagogy of Hope (Freire & Freire, 2004), Letters to Christina (Freire & Macedo, 1996), Pedagogy of Freedom (Freire, 1998), and Teachers as Cultural Workers (Freire, 2005). Moreover, these writings point us to Freire’s long journey as an educator: to the 17 years as a manager of community services before PO; to his post-PO refections and educational endeavours as he engaged in dialogue with activists and educators all over the globe; to his work as CEO of São Paulo’s public education system; and to his last writings focused on what kind of education will be The Penguin paperback English language edition of Pedagogy of the Oppressed has been reprinted many times. Originally published in Fine Print, the journal of the Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council. For permission to reproduce, please email info@valbec.org.au