The first step of critical literacy involves bringing awareness, or “consciousness” as Freire terms it, to those who are mistreated and to those who bring about this mistreatment through promoting unfair ideologies via politics and other positions of power, such as schools and government.[1] This is because Freire and Macedo hold that written texts also represent information that has been built on previous schemas about the world since the mistreated often are not conscious that they are oppressed, viewing their poverty or marginalization as a natural part of life.[9][2] Thus accepting their unjust hardship, they do not know the necessary steps they can take to change their circumstances and as a result, remain in their oppression.[7]