Instructor Kerry Jones
Paulo Freire was a Brazilian educator, philosopher, and influential theorist of critical pedagogy. He is best known for his influential work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, which is considered one of the foundation texts of the critical pedagogy movement. The Banking Concept of Education, New York: Continuum, 1993 which was translated by Myra Bergman talks about an authoritarian way of teaching.
In the essay, The Banking Concept of Education, the teachers merely deposit information into the student's brains and the students do not absorb anything being taught to them because of the way the information is given. The students are like an empty bank account and the teachers make deposits into the account. The teachers are not concerned whether the students are actually learning, absorbing and understanding what is being taught. The only concern of the teacher is that they are depositing as much as possible into the brains of the students and that they are memorizing the information. The student should be submissive and allow the teacher to dominate. "The teacher teaches and the students are taught." (Freire 2) The students should not communicate or talk to the teacher or to other classmate, their main focus is to memorize the words they are hearing. "The teacher talks and the students listen- meekly." (Freire 2) The students will hear but not logically understand the meaning of the words. "The banking approach to adult education will never propose to students that they critically consider reality." (Freire 3) It will merely give students too much information they will not know what to do with it. The information received is only perceived as words with no meaning. The Banking Concept of Education does not allow the students to comprehend the difference between a goat and a rabbit; it just teaches that they are simply different words. Freire says "Indeed, the interests of the...
Cited: The Banking Concept of Education,” from Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire. New York: Continuum, 1993. Translated by Myra Bergman Ramos.
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