Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Chapter 2 -- Blog Post #6
The use of metaphors right off the bat to describe the banking system of education intrigued me, particularly the concept of the teacher being the subject and the students being objects similar to grammar agreements. The deposit system where students store everything isn't really learning, it's memorizing and it doesn't really benefit the students.
It may seem like they're learning because they spit out the facts from a previous lecture but within the context the meaning of the lesson was lost. I agree with Freire that this system is misguided at best and that students aren't meant to be filled up, they're meant to build up their knowledge from learning and understanding, not receiving. Teaching isn't a simple give and take process nor is it one-sided learning.
With the banking system, students don't think about what they're storing which loses its qualifications for the technique to be considered teaching. Freire doesn't want students to merely store information and move on, he wants them to think for themselves and learn through thought and practice. The parallels drawn between the oppressors and the oppressed draws a fine line between those in Freire's society and those that are within it but do not take part.
The ones that are alienated are those that not only question the system but they're learning and have more thank likely learned more from their deposited friends. As a teacher the outsiders in this situation are preferred though the balance from being more open-minded and the many different situations Freire have listed has made it unbalanced. Merely because some of aspect of it are out of the teacher's control - yes, the curriculum to some extent is in our power but until the students are in the classroom, we don't know what's the best method to teach them that most benefits them.
The "oppressors" in this case are not defined simply as a teacher, but those that embody the banking system and prefer to keep it in place. The aspect of being stripped down to less than human as one of the aspects of the banking system is disconcerting and alarming. Students are fully human and capable of feats and mistakes when it comes to their learning. As are teachers who serve instill the knowledge in a way that they can grasp and understand. The concept of liberation isn't a foreign idea, in this case, the liberation from the banking system into a more free-thinking and creatively defining system based on deviating from the norm is one I support.
Students can acquire knowledge but learning it effectively is another task altogether. The concepts of humans being detached from the world and other people or dichotomy is a term that's worrying in a classroom as well. Students are only human and humans are social creatures by habit, saying that they no relation to the world and others may support the structure of the fact-based, no questions method but it doesn't resolve the prospect of acquiring vs learning. Making the banking system the easy way out for those who merely want memorization and not infer their own conclusions.
The purpose of evaluating using verbalistic lessons and reading requirements are a good start but the importance writing and analyzing will make the process more sufficient. Providing thought and reflection, inferring rhetorical reading and writing. Communication through discussion also needs to adapted into the equation for not just well-rounded students but a well-equipped teacher. Education isn't the problem, how we go about educating others is how we define the world and the next generation.
Teachers are the catalyst for students to learn and grow, not simply a subject and several objects in a room like a stagnant pool of water. As the world adapts and evolves, so must education and reflection. The movement of critical pedagogy embodies the liberation of the oppressed not just as students or subjects of the society but as products of their own, living breathing environment in which they have the ability to learn and grow and become the change they wish to see in the world if they just have the chance to.
The use of metaphors right off the bat to describe the banking system of education intrigued me, particularly the concept of the teacher being the subject and the students being objects similar to grammar agreements. The deposit system where students store everything isn't really learning, it's memorizing and it doesn't really benefit the students.
It may seem like they're learning because they spit out the facts from a previous lecture but within the context the meaning of the lesson was lost. I agree with Freire that this system is misguided at best and that students aren't meant to be filled up, they're meant to build up their knowledge from learning and understanding, not receiving. Teaching isn't a simple give and take process nor is it one-sided learning.
With the banking system, students don't think about what they're storing which loses its qualifications for the technique to be considered teaching. Freire doesn't want students to merely store information and move on, he wants them to think for themselves and learn through thought and practice. The parallels drawn between the oppressors and the oppressed draws a fine line between those in Freire's society and those that are within it but do not take part.
The ones that are alienated are those that not only question the system but they're learning and have more thank likely learned more from their deposited friends. As a teacher the outsiders in this situation are preferred though the balance from being more open-minded and the many different situations Freire have listed has made it unbalanced. Merely because some of aspect of it are out of the teacher's control - yes, the curriculum to some extent is in our power but until the students are in the classroom, we don't know what's the best method to teach them that most benefits them.
The "oppressors" in this case are not defined simply as a teacher, but those that embody the banking system and prefer to keep it in place. The aspect of being stripped down to less than human as one of the aspects of the banking system is disconcerting and alarming. Students are fully human and capable of feats and mistakes when it comes to their learning. As are teachers who serve instill the knowledge in a way that they can grasp and understand. The concept of liberation isn't a foreign idea, in this case, the liberation from the banking system into a more free-thinking and creatively defining system based on deviating from the norm is one I support.
Students can acquire knowledge but learning it effectively is another task altogether. The concepts of humans being detached from the world and other people or dichotomy is a term that's worrying in a classroom as well. Students are only human and humans are social creatures by habit, saying that they no relation to the world and others may support the structure of the fact-based, no questions method but it doesn't resolve the prospect of acquiring vs learning. Making the banking system the easy way out for those who merely want memorization and not infer their own conclusions.
The purpose of evaluating using verbalistic lessons and reading requirements are a good start but the importance writing and analyzing will make the process more sufficient. Providing thought and reflection, inferring rhetorical reading and writing. Communication through discussion also needs to adapted into the equation for not just well-rounded students but a well-equipped teacher. Education isn't the problem, how we go about educating others is how we define the world and the next generation.
Teachers are the catalyst for students to learn and grow, not simply a subject and several objects in a room like a stagnant pool of water. As the world adapts and evolves, so must education and reflection. The movement of critical pedagogy embodies the liberation of the oppressed not just as students or subjects of the society but as products of their own, living breathing environment in which they have the ability to learn and grow and become the change they wish to see in the world if they just have the chance to.
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