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Educational implications of paulo freire theory
Educational implications of paulo freire theory
Paulo freire and goals of education
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In the American education system, classrooms often turn into a dictatorship in which the teacher is the leader that the students blindly follow. Paulo Freire’s article, “The “Banking” Concept of Education”, illustrates this dictatorship by describing the oppression students undergo and how it, in turn, leads to a passive learning environment. Static classrooms keep students from learning and reaching their full potentials. In high school, classes were usually in lecture format. Students, who were thought to know nothing, were forced to take the same opinions of supposedly knowledgeable teachers. Classes such as math and psychology did not allow for the freedom of thought. Students were told that a problem was to be solved a certain way and
Why do children graduate high school without fully understanding concepts that relate to the core subjects of Math, English, Science, and History? Because education is unequal in America. Sociologist Doctor James W. Loewen and award winning writer Jonathan Kozol agree that classicism is to blame. Loewen also believes that history textbooks take some of the blame, for the student’s ignorance of inequality within education. Loewen and Kozol make great points on classicism, and it is important to understand how classism and textbooks affect education, and also to think of solutions to the problem.
It’s no surprise that there are faults within our schools in today’s society. As both authors’ point out if our educational system is
In the 1997 article, “On The Uses of a Liberal Education: As a Weapon In the Hands of the Restless Poor,” published by Harper’s Magazine, the social critic Earl Shorris described how political power could be achieved by a rather non-vocational educational discipline, the humanities. He emphasizes on how the knowledge of a liberal Education can be used as a form of weapon within the lives for the poor.
In Plato 's "Allegory of the Cave" Socrates is teaching his pupil Glaucon how people are like prisoners in a cave who have a hard time perceiving reality and thinks that shadows are as real as objects. He goes on to explain that it 's not until one leaves the cave when one can discover truth, but to attain the truth requires one 's own personal journey. In Paulo Freire 's "The Banking Concept of Education" he explains the oppressive way that students are currently being taught through a depositing and receiving type of method where the teacher is the depositor and the students are the empty vessels in which those deposits are put into. He explains how the education
Labaree discusses how the United State’s education is in a school syndrome, as people in America want schools to teach society’s ideals as well as let people express their individuality. These two demands are polar opposites that cannot be achieved. As the focus goes towards balancing these in hopes of improving society as a whole, the bettering of actual student learning is put on pause. Labaree talks about the beginning of education reform, in the 19th century, being the most successful in developing society; however, as education reform continued throughout time, its effectiveness wore off. He then addresses how the desire for education reform is more about improving society than it is about learning. He finishes his argument by providing possible solutions to fixing this problem, but states that fixing this problem will never happen because no one is willing to give up both demands. Overall, Labaree goes in wonderful detail explaining the problems of education reform. What made me choose this article was that he addressed the desire that people have on school systems in promoting both society normality and individuality. This correlates well with my topic in whether public school systems promote conformist ideals or individuality.
One teacher may adopt the banking concept while the other may utilize the problem-posing concept. However, while problem-posing education generates creativity by giving students the ability to communicate, banking education does not. Freire asserts that in the “banking” concept of education, “the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it” (217). Freire indicates that students, who are victims of banking education, have no control over how an instructor chooses to teach. Therefore, creativity is destroyed by the fact that it was not even permitted in the first place. Students are not able to express their opinions or solve problems using their own methods because in order to pass the class, students not only need to adapt to the teaching style of their professors but think like them too. Freire’s quote relates to experiences I have had with “banking” teachers throughout my twelve years of formal education. Those teachers only taught using textbooks, therefore, they insisted that the textbook was always right. If I were to solve a math problem using a technique different from the book, then I would not get points for the problem even though my answer was right. And if I were to interpret an open-ended essay different from how my teacher would then my interpretations would be wrong. By doing this, my teachers destroyed my creativity. I was prohibited from my own thoughts and penalized if I expressed them. The only alternative for me was to become a “robot” that followed the orders of authorities, but being a “robot” was not something I was ashamed of. In fact, my role as a “robot” led me to better understand the “drama of Education” in which teachers attempt to “regulate the way the world ‘enters into’ the students”. I was able to figure out that my own teachers had tried to handle the way the world “entered into me” by
The banking concept is “ a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those who they consider to know nothing'; (Freire 213). The goal of the ‘banking’ concept is to deposit as much information into the students as possible. This results in disconnected memorization without the real understanding and discouragement of creative thought.They cannot think for themselves. As Marx writes, just as there are two types of learning, ‘banking’ and problem-posing, he explains that society is this way also. There is the upper class and subordinate classes. They both struggle for economic and political power and the primary way the upper class keeps its power is through their beliefs and values. They are allowed to think. The subordinate classes believe they are subordinate due to the upper classes prestige and way of thinking. Like Freire’s ‘banking’ concept, education is the way to keep students down and this works because the students accept all knowledge from the teacher, just like the dominant class in Marx’s ideology, keeps the subordinate classes submissive.
Besides the classroom, nowhere in modern society emphasizes learning for the sake of knowledge. In society, the people who receive praise are the ones who did not have a solid education. America has become obsessed with success stories that forgo education because educational knowledge no longer contains any value. American leaders do not make an extra effort to try and fix the failing education system, so if the world powers of America do not care to make progressive improvements for the education system, why should citizens of America even care about the education system? The students in school have picked up on these thoughts and instead of listening to the classroom teacher the students listen to the world teachers. Barber defines these world teachers as “the nation’s true pedagogues, are television, advertising, movies, politics, and the celebrity domains they define.” (Barber, 2014, p. 2.). These leaders have different values than the values set as the standard by the education system. The education system values wisdom, knowledge, critical thinking, and the ability to articulate one’s thoughts and ideas convincingly. While the American system contrasts these ideas: “We honor ambition, we reward greed, we celebrate materialism, we worship acquisitiveness, we cherish success, and we commercialize the classroom. . . We recommend history to the kids but rarely consult it ourselves. (Barber, 2014, p. 4.). This reasoning lays the foundation for the destruction of the school system. Adults do not find value in education, but they encourage their children to try and find value in area the adults do not. Children have caught on to this and decided the absolute best option for them to success is to flee the classroom setting and surround themselves in the world where they can learn firsthand the steps to become successful. The societal influence cultivates children more effectively than the classroom
Why do children graduate high school without fully understanding concepts that relate to the core subjects of Math, English, Science, and History? Because education is unequal in America. Sociologist Doctor James W. Loewen and award winning writer Jonathan Kozol agree that classism is to blame. Loewen also believes that history textbooks take some of the blame for the student’s ignorance of inequality within education, while Kozol believes it is ignorance from well educated people that are two blame. Although Loewen and Kozol are correct in citing classism as a problem in the education system, little is acknowledged about a solution.
In his essay “Against School,” John Taylor Gatto illustrates his view point that the American population would be better off by managing their own education. He compares the school system to the concept of boredom; that students as well as teachers are victims of the long ago adopted Prussian educational system: “We suppress our genius only because we haven’t yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women. The solution, I think, is simply and glorious. Let them manage themselves.” In other words, Gatto believes that the main reason for the existence of schooling consists in that it trains our children to be obedient citizens who can’t think on their own. His point is that as a society we cut off the intelligence and creativity
There is a “fear of being unorthodox…rooted in the American teacher’s soul” (Burgess 237). Burgess stresses the prohibition of an American teacher’s competence to instruct students using any type of experimental approach other than the standardized design. In consequence, America is unable to breed eccentric geniuses and has no capacity to create a burning desire to learn within their students. The reason this dilemma has been continuing for so long is because America has been blinded by their previous accomplishments, such as the landing on the moon. On behalf of their successful progressive past, the American people are in denial of how poor the education system is now and have a state of mind that the nation is still advancing just as it was decades ago when it is in fact, the exact
Have you ever thought what may happen by the time public schools agree to liberate students from the regurgitating approach to education? In America, teachers are expected to follow on students’ tests. Public school systems believe that students acquire knowledge through self-repetition, but information can’t be learned through the test-taking strategy; Therefore, a digestion approach to education is the best plan to follow. The regurgitation approach to education teaches students to spit out information, whereas a digestion approach to education allows students to retain and understand the information teachers give.
In today’s society, schools in wealthy communities are better than those in poor communities, higher income schools are simply better at preparing their students for their future. In the reading “The Banking Concept Of Education As An Instrument Of Oppression” by Paulo Freire, he believes that teachers are depositing information into their students. He states that there are two educational systems, the “banking concept” is when teachers are filling their students up with information but the students aren’t fully understanding the material. On the other hand, the “problem posing concept” is when the teacher lets the students communicate with each other. It opens the classroom to a learning environment. Especially when students are more comfortable enough to ask the teacher a question. Esentionally he prefers the problem posing concept. Futhermore, “Social Class and The Hidden Curriculum Of Work” by Jean Anyon an educator at Rutgers University, Newark. She researches how students of different economic backgrounds are interacting with school work and teacher interaction in their elementary schools. Also, she supports her research by looking at the various ways public schools provide particular types of knowledge and educational experiences of the different social classes.
In the 1980s, one of the main concerns that was facing the United States was its education problem. The reason why the 1980s bared such a downturn in school performance was due to the attitudes developed in 1970s. In the 1970s, the attitude that school wasn’t important to one’s life swept across the nation. This attitude led to the terrible curriculum that was being taught, lower educational standards, and the public rejection of those who campaigned for reform of the educational system. However, once the 1980s came about, a new tide of national effort under the leadership of Secretary of Education, Terrel H. Bell. Bell appointed the National Commission on Excellence in Education to examine the state of education in the United States. They concluded that the United States was on a path to destruction because of a “rising tide of mediocrity1.” Surely, Mr. Clark `1recognized that this “rising tide of mediocrity” was sweeping across Eastside High, destroying the minds and futures of those students. The reason why Mr. Clark believed there was a “rising tide of mediocrity” was because of the lack order in the school. He made it clear on his first day as principal that if they continue to treat the students like animals, that’s
Freire states “Freedom is acquired by conquest, not by gift. It must be pursued constantly and responsibly” (Freire, 2000, p. 47). Therefore; students must be aware of their oppression and fight for their freedom and autonomy in the school system. Freire also suggests a method of education that will help solve this issue: problem-posing education. The dynamic concept of problem-posing education integrates both teachers and students role’s to create a unified teaching process in which the teacher teaches the student, and the student teaches the teacher. This process “reinvents” knowledge, and teaches the student critical thinking. Instead of knowledge being deposited to students, problem-posing education presents information to students but allows them to draw their own conclusions and form their own, unique