The Banking Concept

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In “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education” Paulo Freire addresses the inefficient and oppressive nature of modern education. Freire explains that the way in which teachers conduct educating is harmful to the students as well as the teachers. He proposes an alternative method to the banking concept called the problem-posing method. This method treats the teacher and students the same and allows for knowledge to flow in both directions. What Freire tries to convey in his work is that the way the act of educating is performed has a profound impact on the way the students materialize into the real world and how education can be used, intentionally or not, to control the students.
Freire begins by positing that modern education is of narrative manner, …show more content…

The first thing that must be considered before entering into this form of education is the teacher-student contradiction. The teacher-student contradiction, the idea that the students are absolutely ignorant and the teachers absolutely knowledgeable, must be reconciled. The contradiction must be reconciled to the point that both the student and the teacher are both simultaneously playing both roles, the “teacher” is a student and the “student”, a teacher. This is impossible in the banking concept, as the oppressor and the oppressed are set equal. Both the “teacher” and the “students” are engaged in a mutually enlightening dialogue and the flow of information goes both ways. This role requires the students to take an active role in their education. The “student” must think critically and use reason to solve problems, not merely recite the answers.
I do think that Freire’s idea of problem-posing education is superior to the banking method. A comingling of ideas and the flow of thoughts in both directions is the best for both parties involved. Freire makes excellent points in favor of his method over the banking method, for example, the idea that the banking concept can be and is used for the oppression of the students. This idea coming from the idea that students are but mere receptacles that oppressors can fill with their ideas. The students are taught to not challenge the idea

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