September 12, 2013
English 1101
Sequence 1: Assignment 7
Education: Reality vs. Fiction Throughout our lives we have always believed education is the key to knowledge and power. As we progress through life we find ourselves at a vulnerable state in which we begin to question our purpose. We begin high school with the belief that the teachers will guide us and help us attain the knowledge that is required to progress to a college or a university. The students sit in class expecting to be taught in a manner in which they can comprehend and grasp everything that the instructor has to give. But in reality todays educators tend to teach by having students copy down a full board of notes filled with the information that the instructor is supposed to immerse the students into.
Because of instances like this you have writers like Freire, Pratt, Rodriguez, and Miller questioning the true motives of those in the profession of the literate arts. Freire feels as though educators have a critical role in each and every student’s life. Education for Freire is not a neutral process; it is often assumed that teachers have something that the students lack. When teachers present a subject to their students, they present a point of view on that particular subject.
Freire demands that teachers either “work for the liberation of the people and their humanity or for their domestication, their domination.” Paulo Freire argues that “the teacher has knowledge and makes deposits – like moving money from a wallet to the bank vault.” Paulo argues that this method is malicious and that humanity is at stake if this concept is to be kept alive by literate arts teachers and educators alike. When Paulo makes that statement it lets me know how serious he is about the subject. He believes that being an educator is a fragile position to have.
When educating their students, the teacher must put forth a better effort so that every student understands