ABSTRACT
For Paulo Freire, life was unquestionably his most enduring passion. Freire's brand of love stood in direct opposition to the insipid "generosity" of teachers or administrators who would blindly adhere to a system of schooling that fundamentally transgresses every principle of cultural and economic democracy. Through the courageous vulnerability of his humanity-with all its complexities and contradictions-Freire illuminated our understanding of not only what it means to be a critical educator, but also what it means to live a critical life. In his eyes, fear and revolutionary dreams were unquestionably linked. Without question, when Freire spoke of the "ruling class" or the "oppressors", he was referring to historical class distinctions and class conflict within the structure of capitalist society-capitalism was the root of domination. The ability of teachers to practice their pedagogy within the dialectical tension between patience and impatience represented for Freire a significant leap in an educator's development.
