Freirean Interpretation of My Partner’s Story

Ruoyu Dong
Advanced reading and writing
Dr. Paul Woolridge
11/10/2013
Freirean Interpretation of My Partner’s Story

Freire's article the "Banking Concept of Education" depicts how education influences human beings as well as restrain peoples’ free thinking and creativity. Essentially it is an act that hinders the intellectual growth of students by turning them into. Figuratively speaking, comatose “receptors" and “collectors” of information. On a deeper level, Freire is actually talking about three kinds of relationships: between students and teacher, and between individuals and society, between self and world. Governors or dominator use this mode of education to control people’s ideology and maintain people in a certain social position. Different from this education system. Freire indicates that the "Problem-Posing" education system will develop peoples’ critical thinking. "Problem-Posing" education is a revolution and innovation education mode. It gives people authentic awareness towards themselves and the world. Freire's ideas have shaped the modern concept of and approach to education. I am going to combine my partner Wang's educational experience story with Freire points.

To start with, I will focus on discussing the pedagogical level. In the banking concept of education, the teacher is like the depositor and students act as empty banks. The teacher deposits knowledge of students without considering whether students accept it or understand it. In this mode of education, the teacher uses personal existential experience to educate students that the world is static and unchangeable; students are alienated from knowledge. Because they haven’t independent study ability. Students consider teachers as the authority; they mechanically receive knowledge and try only to remember everything taught by the teacher. On a deeper level, I want to explain the relationship between individuals and society under the "banking" concept of education in contrast with the relationship shaped by the problem-posing education. To some extent, the students and the teacher’s relationship in the "banking" concept of education are the oppressor and the oppressor. In our society, the elites dominate the knowledge, news and information; they use the "banking" concept of education to make individuals believe that they deserve their social position; it makes sense to the working class that they should serve the oppressor. I also want to quote Freire's word to depict the relationship between individuals and society is akin to the oppressors and the oppressed under the "banking" concept of education:
Education as the exercise of domination stimulates the credulity of students, with the ideological intent (often not perceived by educators) of indoctrinating them to adapt to the world of oppression. This accusation is not made in the naïve hope that the dominant elites will thereby simply abandon the practice. Its objective is to call the attention of true humanists to the fact that they cannot use banking educational methods in the pursuit of liberation, for they would only negate that very pursuit. Nor may a revolutionary society inherit these methods from an oppressor society. The revolutionary society which practices banking education is either misguided or mistrusting of people. In either event, it is threatened by the specter of reaction.(323)
Freire mentions two words” revolutionary society” and “liberation”, which reveal the purpose of education. Here, ”revolutionary society" means a society aims to be of freedom and democracy. In “revolutionary society”, the governor should abandon the “banking” concept of education in order to reduce the oppression and inequality in society. Freire also means that the ultimate aim of education is “liberation ”. in order word, the quotation means that governor uses the "banking" concept of education to control peoples’ ideology about their own towards the world The oppressed are taught to be passive and submissive so as to they have no chance to doubt their attitude and social position.

Teacher and students contradiction leads to oppression of the social level as well according to Frenice, That Frenice criticizes the banking concept of the education for bring oppressive and dehumanizing student potential consciousness of the world around us plays an important role in his critique he defines consciousness， oppression as manipulation people’s awareness and thought, obey the original purpose of education system.
In the banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing. Projecting an absolute ignorance onto others, a characteristic of the ideology of oppression, negates education and knowledge as processes of inquiry. The teacher presents himself to his students as their necessary opposite; by considering their ignorance absolute, he justifies his own existence. The students, alienated like the slave in the Hegelian dialectic, accept their ignorance as justifying the teacher’s existence—but, unlike the slave, they never discover that they educate the teacher.(322)
What I think Freice means here by“Projecting an absolute ignorance onto others”, only the students are ignorance, teacher will hold more power, teacher Is that the teacher only cares about the exam score instead of what students already known and what they gain from the knowledge. And teachers even totally ignore the genuine purpose of the study of asking questions. If students cannot develop the inquiry ability appropriately, it is hard to discover new things. He also mentions that “the students, alienated like the slave in the Hegelian dialectic”. That means students have lost their rights like a slave they just accept what teacher said without critical thinking, the word” slave ” also reflects the degree of oppression is very intensive, and unreasonable.

Different from “banking concept education”, “problem-posing education” didn’t have oppressive, in contrast it can help student create critical thinking and creativity, My partner Wang’s educational experience is a good example for the “problem-posing education” Wang has prepared a presentation of Millennium Development Goal in the Economics courses. Her accomplishments depend on Professor Adam’s pattern organized and communicate with students instructive. Adam often encourages Wang to develop new idea and think that made her presentation different from other students. Her success depends on the “problem posing education”, Education is supposed to start with the contradiction between students and the teacher, though communicating; they will eventually reach an agreement. Students gained knowledge and the teacher will also learn something from students. and then I will compare this two different education system.

In the “banking ” concept of education, people do not have critical consciousness of themselves and the world. They only have one-dimensional perspective towards this relationship. People are not aware of their awareness of themselves and the world. However, in the problem-posing education, human is educated to be conscious beings. They not only have the capability to reflect the world, also, they have dual perspective towards themselves and the world. To quote Freire's analysis of this dual perspective: "It epitomizes the special characteristic of consciousness: being conscious of, not only as intent on objects but as turned in upon itself in a Jasperian split "consciousness as consciousness of consciousness" (323). Indeed, with the problem-posing education. Human being knows their position in the world and they know how to interact with the world.

Education has a huge influence on us and the world. Thus, the teacher should actively use the problem-posing education to teach knowledge and try to treat students as friends. It is essential for people to own the awareness to supervise that the elites do not use education to control the individuals and establish a free democratic society. People also ought to keep clear minds to tell the right from wrong and bravely critique the improper mode of education existing in society. It is human beings’ responsibility to fight for justice and equality in society. People should shape a correct consciousness towards the relationship between themselves and they should correctly be conscious of their consciousness.