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In reading the second half of Freire's book, I too was struck by the first quote that Hannah mentions. Throughout the text, the concept of action and the need for the oppressed to assume an active role in their transformation has been salient to me, since I can easily relate this idea to the expectations that I intend to have for my students. In Chapter 4, Freire isolates dialogue as a specific and necessary type of action. He writes, "Its [revolution's] very legitimacy lies in that dialogue. It cannot fear the people, their expression, their effective participation in power. It must be accountable to them" (128). As Freire's discussion of action allowed me to develop ideas regarding what I will expect of my students, his discussion of dialogue caused me to further consider my role as a teacher. How will I facilitate the genuine transformation of my students without imposing specific action on them? How will I ensure that they are independently engaging in "reflection and action", rather than merely acting on the reflections that I have presented to them? Essentially, how do I make sure that my students are being truly empowered through the learning process, and deriving personal meaning and significance, rather than simply being passive recepticles of information?     

Ultimately, I agree with Freire's assertion that dialogue is the key. Although Freire does not specifically identify the student as the oppressed and the teacher as the oppressor, I think that dialogue is a vital component of the teacher-student relationship and an essential tool in motivating students to assume and active role in their own learning. It is through such open and honest conversation that students and teachers enter into a partnership; a dynamic of mutual respect with an understanding that both parties can learn from the other. As Hannah mentioned in her post, the teacher cannot enter the relationship and primarily be concerned with her own interests or what she perceives as being the interests of the population with whom she is working. Rather, she must engage in a dialogue with this population and encourage them to tell her, in their own words, what their best interests are. It is through recognizing these interests that the population (in this cast the students), will assume responsibility for achieving them. Once they establish a desired outcome, they can begin to develop the process necessary to achieve it. This process should be developed in tandem by the teacher and her students, but should be driven by the goals of the students rather than the teacher alone.