Rodriguez and Paolo Friere

Education: Banking or Problem Posing?

Richard Rodriguez and Paolo Freire write of education as the core factor in one 's life. They feel that education itself lends people to either "achieve" greatness or fall into the majority of "bankers." "The Achievement of Desire" by Rodriguez and "The Banking Concept of Education" by Freire greatly resemble each other; however, they also differ on some points. Despite their differences, both texts come to the same conclusion – education makes a person who he/she can become.
Rodriguez and Freire both state that education is vital for success. Rodriguez writes that he is the way he is because of his education. Rodriguez came from a working class Mexican family. When he was introduced to education, he became ashamed of this and chose to change his path from falling into the same social status. Rodriguez is known as he is today because of his ability to step back; out of the present situation or environment and reflect on it almost immediately. Rodriguez agrees that banking does nothing to better education or society itself. If no new ideas are ever surfaced, then progress will never occur. He was the same as everyone else until he started to analyze texts and paraphrase more than just summarize. This made him the "scholarship boy" that he was. By learning to use his education wisely and make connections between different texts, he heightened his intelligence.
A key element that Rodriguez and Freire both speak of is banking education. Freire feels that this type of education is almost useless. Banking is no more than just listening to someone speak at you and then regurgitating the information. Both speak about education in the context of the student-teacher relationship. The banking theory of education only allows for the teacher to rule over the classroom and allows for little interaction with students. Banking turns students into "receptacle" (pg 260) bins that are crammed with information that the teacher chooses to fill them with. "Education thus becomes an act of depositing." (pg 260) The teacher almost becomes a dictatorial figure and only lectures. In banking education, the "teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his or her own professional authority." The teacher student relationship must be resolved in order for problem posing education to occur. If the teacher is authoritative and the student is subject to whatever is taught by the teacher, no liberating or conscious acts are being performed. Banking education is almost oppressive. A problem with banking education is that the one being taught is almost being dominated. The oppressed must also adapt to the situation set forth, instead of them adapting the situation. This process pushes towards a minority who conquer the majority. One who is a subject of solely banking is also subject to fit most perfectly into the majority of people. The problem with this is that greatness will never be achieved by the majority, only by those who stand out of it. This minority can set forth rules and regulations and as long as the majority does not question these due to their imprinted "only listen, don 't ask" education, they can reign supremely. Without your own thoughts and ideas, you can never reach your potential. As much as being above the banking system one may be, it tends to make one feel alienated. However, this feeling is good and will pay off in the end once one reflects on the achievements one has made because of it. To analyze and critique and expand one 's mind gives the power to those who can.
Rodriguez has achieved what he has by utilizing what Freire calls "problem-posing education." "Problem posing education bases itself on creativity and stimulates true reflection…" (pg 268) Banking crushes hope in the student, problem posing challenges the student. Problem posing education "enables teachers and students to become Subjects of the educational process by overcoming authoritarianism and an alienating intellectualism." (pg 269) Problem posing education allows a student to grow; it is the realization of being "conscious" or aware. The greatness of the problem posing concept is that "no one teaches another," the taught are teaching and the teaching are being taught. One who understand problem posing should not only be "in the world" but "with the world," not a "spectator", but should be a "re-creator." Problem posing allows one to understand the connection between themselves in the world and how it affects the way they affect the world.
Paolo Freire and Richard Rodriguez 's texts significantly resemble each other in their purpose to expose the reality of the education process. They both propose the idea that banking education, the route taken by most, is the poorer choice and to take the "road less traveled by" is much wiser. Problem posing education requires critical thinking, necessary for the achievement of excellence. Problem posing education can change the world, but those who can master problem posing and can reflect on the world are the ones who can revolutionize it. (pg. 265)

Bibliography

Bartholomae, David, and Anthony Petrosky. Ways of Reading. New York: Bedford/ St. Martin 's, 2002.

Bibliography: Bartholomae, David, and Anthony Petrosky. Ways of Reading. New York: Bedford/ St. Martin 's, 2002.