In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire outlines his concept of banking education: the notion that, ‘knowledge is a gift bestowed by those (teachers) who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those (students) whom they consider to know nothing. (2014, p.2) To Freire, banking education is problematic as it, ‘negates education as a process of enquiry,’ (2014, p.2) through the assumption that each student is completely ignorant. He asserts that: ‘Education must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction, by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students’ (Freire, 2014, p. 3) In the following essay I intend to show how Freire’s solution to banking education has been beneficial in my own educational experiences. I will also explain how in some instances difficulties have emerged.
Freire asserts that any contradictions to what a student is taught under banking education methods may lead to revolt against the constrictions afflicted upon them in a particular subject area. (2014, p.6) He suggests that a liberal educator would welcome such questioning: ‘her efforts must coincide with those of the students to engage in critical thinking.’(Freire, 2014, p.6) As a student I have found that when the process of critical thinking is present in both students and teachers, it is beneficial to the learning process. For example, in English studies I have often been asked to research a chosen subject area and communicate my finding to my peers and teacher. Through this I have learned methods of research, collation of materials and presentation skills. The teacher is also been subject to critical thinking a he or she is presented with knowledge that may be alien to them. I also had to be prepared for any questions on the subject I had done the presentation on, which offered both pupils and the teacher the opportunity to critically engage in the knowledge shared. In this instance, all parties involved were able to engage critically, making Freire’s notion of simultaneous teacher/student roles beneficial in methods of education. Next, I discuss potential negative effects of this relationship.
Freire suggests that if teachers allow students to critically engage with knowledge it would: ‘undermine the oppressors’ purposes; hence their utilization of the banking concept of education to avoid the concept of student conscientizacao.’ (Freire, 2014, p.5) I agree with his statement and offer example of how undermining the teacher’s purpose and the knowledge he offers may be detrimental within the confines of our educational system. Suppose a teacher was sharing the concept of string theory -one theory of how the universe is made up- to a class of pupils. A student who is aware of other theories of the universe may question the use of this knowledge as a theory. The teacher may then engage with the pupil and explore other theories in class time, deviating from string theory. The exam at the end of the module, however is completely based on the concept of string theory. As the teacher has been engaging in other concepts with his pupils, he has not had the time to fully outline string theory and prepare them for the exam. Therefore, the teacher being open to knowledge from other sources within an academic environment proves problematic in this instance.
In conclusion, Freire’s suggestion that instead of banking education methods, students and teachers should simultaneously view themselves as teachers and students proves both beneficial and problematic. In my experience of educational tasks such as presentation work, which involved playing both the role of student and teacher have been beneficial as I was able to learn presentation and research skills while my teacher was subject to a particular knowledge they may not otherwise have engaged with. Unfortunately in an academic environment, the dual role can be problematic. Even if a teacher did want to engage critically with other concepts that a student may present, they may be too constricted by the pressure put on them to teach pupils concepts related to a particular exam that they are unwilling to accept critical thinking in their chosen area of teaching.
In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire outlines his concept of banking education: the concept that knowledge is something which is possessed by the teacher and is given to the ignorant student. (2014, p.2) To Freire, banking education is oppressive as it, ‘negates education as a process of enquiry.’(Freire, 2014 p.2) This in turn hinders a student’s capability to achieve educational autonomy, which Freire considers to be a fundamental component of humanism. (2014, p.5) In the following essay I will explore both banking and other education methods I have experienced as a student. I intend to critically evaluate these experiences, commenting on whether they allowed or discouraged me from critical engagement with the world around me.
Freire argues that methods such as ‘verbalistic lessons’ and ‘reading requirements,’ used in banking education hinders critical thinking by encouraging students to catalogue information for use in that particular field of study. (2014, p.7) While being taught language in elementary education, I was subject to these methods. For example, in order to learn grammar, my teacher issued us with books that contained learning exercises. The majority of these exercises would contained several examples of particular grammatical symbol use in a sentence. We were asked to copy unfinished examples, placing the grammatical symbol in the correct position in the sentence. Just as Freire suggests, I was able to, ‘receive, memorize and repeat’ the process. (Freire, 2014 p.4) However as he rightly argues, I was not encouraged to critically engage with the information I was provided with. (Freire, 2014 p.2) There was no explanation of why I had to use these grammatical symbols. Furthermore I was never informed that this language (English) was one concept in itself and that these methods would not suit other languages. Rather, this book offered up the notion that English was the language rather than a language. Freire suggests that: ‘The more completely they (students) accept the passive role imposed on them, the more they tend simply to adapt to the world as it is and to the fragmented view of reality deposited in them.’ (2014, p.4) As a young child I definitely did accept these methods without truly understanding their significant in relation to other knowledges such as other languages. My desire to critically engage with the world only materialised when I was taught in secondary education, which I will discuss next.
As discussed, Freire argues that to be truly human, one must be able to critically engage with the world around them. He therefore suggests that banking education constricts humanism by disallowing critical thinking. Therefore, once the subject of banking education realises this, they will then, ‘engage themselves in the struggle for their liberation.’ (2014, p.5) I agree with this statement as I remember being liberated from banking education. At that time my maths teacher and his wife had recently had a baby boy. He explained to us that although the child was under a year old he could count; while playing with his building blocks he could determine which pile had more blocks than the others. This was the first time I acknowledged that the numbers we used in maths class were simply names given to a particular amount of units and that furthermore, these units were present regardless of the names they were given. It was the first time I remember recognising mathematics as a concept utilised in reality rather than a concept that was reality. After this lesson my concept of learning changed and I actively wanted to engage in lessons that promoted critical thinking rather than banking education approaches.
One class I excelled in was languages, in particular German. When I first learned German, banking methods were used. For example, we were provided with booklets that listed particular German nouns next to a picture of what the noun was i.e. a picture of a rabbit was placed next to the word Kaninchen (rabbit in German). Through this I was able to memorise and repeat the information I was provided with. It was effective in helping me remember names of things in another language. I was studying German for a number of years before non-banking methods were utilised. In my final year of study, focus was heavily placed upon grammar and tense of the language. My teacher taught us this in relation to the grammar and tense of English, communicating the differences in order to highlight the use of grammar and tense in German. My teacher actually found that by doing this, she had to teach most of us why we used particular tenses and grammar in English! (Most likely due to the banking education most of us were taught in English) Through learning both concepts at once and in relation to one another, I was forced to recognise that the use of language was subject to who you were speaking to and what you are trying to communicate. My teacher also explained to us that we were learning particular vocabulary to pass a particular exam, clearly indicating that other vocabulary could be learned outside of our academic environment if we wished.
In conclusion, banking methods of education allowed me to retain information. After learning English I was able to use grammar effectively. I was also able to retain vocabulary of other languages. However I could not apply the concepts taught to me in any other way than the way I was taught. Non-banking methods of education I experienced in lessons such as German made the knowledge I received more tangible and I was able to recognise each knowledge as a concept rather than a fact. Through this I realised that knowledges can be engaged with through a wide spectrum, out with the constraints of a lesson plan.
References
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed 30th Anniversary Edition.. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.
