Periagoge
Concept
1 min read

Defending Against Intellectual Silencing

Recognition that children are systematically prevented from questioning, expressing ideas, and developing critical thinking through authoritarian education and social control.

Juana
Why It Matters

Sor Juana's defiant response to institutional censorship illuminates how power structures silence intellectual voices, particularly those deemed threatening. Children face similar silencing through curricula that discourage questioning, punishment for unconventional thinking, and suppression of their voices in decision-making. This concept identifies silencing as a violation of children's rights to intellectual freedom and self-expression. Sor Juana's use of wit and hidden meanings to preserve her intellectual integrity offers strategies for recognizing subtle forms of suppression in schools and families. For children's rights, this framework advocates pedagogies that invite questions, create safe spaces for dissent, and protect young thinkers from retaliation. It establishes that respecting children means valuing their emerging critical consciousness and creating institutions that amplify rather than suppress their inquiries and perspectives.

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Juana
Identity & Justice
Peri
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