Paulo Freire's The Banking Concept Of Education

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In Paulo Freire’s essay The “Banking” Concept of Education, Freire highlights two differing forms of education: “banking” and “problem posing”. The banking concept is one in which the students are simply being “filled” by the teachers’ transferal of information, rather than actually learning material (Freire 216). This type of education resists dialogue and suggests that the students are simply objects in a passive setting that they have essentially accepted. Often this causes certain facts to be concealed and a lack of true critical thinking, especially about reality. On the opposite side of the spectrum, problem posing encourages communication. In this style of education, there is an evident student-teacher relationship in which both the student and the teacher are being taught. Students are being challenged by the teachers, but at the same time, there is a conversation involving feedback allowing the teachers to grow (Freire 222). These forms of education contrast dramatically, however there may be situations in which one form is more useful than the other, for instance in a STEM class versus a humanities course. While banking may have its benefits in some areas of study, it often leads to boredom and a lack of interest for students in an environment that should be fostering knowledge and thinking. Before entering my first semester of my freshman year at the University of Scranton, I was told I would be taking an Intro to Philosophy class. I was not thrilled to hear

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