Freire uses the preface to provide a background to his work and the potential downsides. He explains that this came from his experience as a teacher in Brazil and when he was in political exile. In this time, he noticed that his students had an unconscious fear of freedom, or rather: a fear of changing the way the world is. Freire then outlines the likely criticisms his book will face. Furthermore, his audience should be radicalspeople that see the world as changing and fluidand he admits that his argument will most likely be missing things. Basing his method of finding freedom on the poor and middle class’s experience with education, Freire states that his ideas are rooted in realitynot purely theoretical.