Paulo Freire The Banking Concept Of Education Summary

Education is an instrumental part of any society that wishes to advance and function. The function of education should be to foster citizenship. Although the idea of teaching seems a simple one- teacher teaches student- there is much more to it than that, it seems because of the variety of students, resources, and teaching staff. A teacher must not lead the classroom tyrannically, they must create a healthy learning environment and level playing field for students who may be polar opposites. Paulo Freire, in his article called “The Banking Concept of Education” explains how teachers are failing to achieve these things and my personal experiences only solidify my belief that they are not always able to achieve a healthy learning environment.
“Teacher teaches students are taught… teacher knows everything and students know nothing”(paragraph 8 The “Banking” Concept of education). This quote clearly displays the oppressive nature of the Banking concept. In this style of teaching creativity and students’ opinions are not valued, the students may only comply to the teachers’ demands. To the teachers, the students are mere depositories; “students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor”--this is where the name “Banking” is derived from. On the other hand is his ideal model by which schools and teachers should abide; the “problem-posing” method of education. The Problem- Posing method of education is opposite of the previously discussed “Banking” method. This method promotes an analytical, discussion-based learning environment where everyone matters and everyone is involved. Freire describes it as a “Constant unveiling of reality”(4), a place where students can “develop their power to perceive critically the way they exist in the world with which and in which they find themselves”(5). As the last two quotes show, this method of education asks more relevant questions, and forces the
The method I have experienced more commonly is the Banking concept. However in all cases is this form of education bad? In a class where the criteria is based solely on facts and there is no place for one's opinion, I believe this classroom environment is not bad. Another reason I believe The Banking Concept is not always a bad thing is because no matter what class there still has to be a line drawn between teacher and student, if the students do not have the maturity to have an open class seminar then the teacher has the right to fully rule the classroom. However I have experienced what it is to be in an “oppressive” classroom led by the “oppressor”(teacher) and I have been the oppressed. In these classes the teachers did not care for our understanding of questions, just merely if we could regurgitate it on the test(depositories). They did not let students have any input on lessons or class “discussion”- which was just them talking. There was no creativity or consciousness or identity among the students I took the class with, they would just memorize the bare minimum for the test, no real, meaningful learning took place in the class. In a class i took my sophomore year the banking concept of education was the main experience of the students in the class. The work we did was mostly from powerpoints, packets and textbooks, little