Education as the practice of freedom--as opposed to education as the practice of domination--denies that man is abstract, isolated, independent and unattached to the world; it also denies that the world exists as reality apart from people. Authentic reflection considers neither abstract man nor the world without people, but people in their relations with the world. In these relations consciousness and world are simultaneous: consciousness neither precedes the world nor follows it.

The behavior of the oppressed is a prescribed behavior, following as it does the guidelines of the oppressor.

There is no true word that is not at the same time a praxis. Thus, to speak a true word is to transform the world.

Teachers and students (leadership and people), co-intent on reality, are both Subjects, not only in the task of unveiling that reality, and thereby coming to know it critically, but in the task of re-creating that knowledge. As they attain this knowledge of reality through common reflection and action, they discover themselves as its permanent re-creators.

The role of the educator is one of tranquil possession of certitude in regard to the teaching of not only contents but also of 'correct thinking.'

Dialogue cannot exist, however, in the absence of a profound love for the world and its people.

The oppressors do not favor promoting the community as a whole, but rather selected leaders.