The American Dream: A Can of Coke and a Lexus
Following the crowd in 2001 is the American way. Our lives have been infected with directions on who, how, and what we should be and do. Every day our televisions blare out talk shows, sitcoms, and soap operas to stagnate our minds. Our radios scream obscenities and false hopes with a beat that permeates our thoughts. Magazines, newspapers, billboards, televisions, and radios continually tell us what we need and want. Fashion dictates the way we dress, what styles we wear, and even the food we eat. We must follow rigid exercise routines in expensive gymnasiums, drive only the best automobiles, and buy only certain brands of products for our families to consume. The media constantly inundates our subconscious with messages that instruct us how to behave, what to say, and gives directions on what is necessary to be accepted in the elite privileged society that we perceive to be the American dream. This is the education we get from the world around us.
Where has this propaganda come from? Why are we not able to see the forest for the trees? Why do we accept all that is handed to us without questioning the motives? We have been led to believe that “they” are always right. We have been taught to fear our own judgment, to accept life without question. Such programming begins at birth, is exemplified by our elementary education, and snowballs as we continue to learn. We are a society of sheep, waiting for slaughter.
Paulo Freire describes this kind of education in his essay “The Banking Concept of Education” as:
Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories, and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiqués and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat. This is the “banking” concept of education, in which the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits. (349)
Schooling in American society has become a process of transferring a pre-arranged amount of information to our children. It begins around age five and continues through the late teens, or until the students have successfully completed the courses required of them. Teachers force-feed a curriculum determined by the state, the county school board, and the school itself.
The Challenges Of Nineteenth-Century Asylum Psychiatry In North Carolina." North Carolina Historical Review 86.1 (2009): 32-58. Academic Search Elite. Web. 22 Jan. 2014.
“Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiqués and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat” (Freire 213).
The Treaty of Versailles, initially created to keep peace in Europe and ensure that another war like World War I wouldn’t happen again, had in fact, backfired and spiraled the world down into a deeper, bloodier battle. The treaty discriminated strongly against Germany, with the loss of territories, military restrictions, economic reparations, and the War Guilt Clause. It caused humiliation and anger within Germany, and led to Hitler and the Nazi Party coming to power. World War II was not only started by Adolf Hitler and Germany, but had a lot to do with the humiliation that Germany felt when the terms for the Treaty of Versailles were laid down. The harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles may be indirectly related to the cause of World War II, but nonetheless was a huge factor in starting the war.
Schooling has a lot of problems that need a lot of solutions. Many of these problems stem from the fact that the American school system is notorious for wasting the time of students and teachers. Students rarely get the chances to learn and experience topics that not only interest them but are also topics that have the potential for being important in their future careers. Time is also wasted during standardized tests that do not give American students an accurate representation of their intelligence compared to the intelligence of others worldwide.
Education is not only the most necessary way to inherit knowledge, but also the most significant factor to determine our human being’s future. Nowadays, the most widely education model is called banking concept education in the whole world. The banking ‘concept’ of education is characterised by the storage act of relationship between teacher and student in schooling. For instance, the “banking” education is regarded as a banking system in schooling. The teachers do the act of teaching like a depositor to “banking” knowledge to students. Meanwhile, the students in banking education are like depositories to fully receive what teacher taught in class, and do their best to regurgitation. This kind of education model in Paulo Freire’s essay is called
Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the American educational system has undergone much transition in response to our changing society. Though there have been many problems raised throughout the years in regard to what our school systems should be teaching our children, there have also been many developments.
There is no doubt our educational system is more complex than ever before. There is much to consider when looking at the balance between theories, proven methods, and the reasons why we chose to invest such time into our children’s education. In this paper I will touch on these theories, methods and the importance of the education.
Education is defined as, “The act or process of educating or being educated, the knowledge or skill obtained or developed by a learning process, a program of instruction of a specified kind or level, the field of study that is concerned with the pedagogy of teaching and learning, as well as an instructive or enlightening experience” (No author). People begin their education from day one till the day they die. Every day we learn new things in different ways. Whether someone is just telling us some random fact or you are sitting in a classroom being lectured by a professor. The main focus of this classical argument involves the learning that is done in the classroom or lecture hall in the schools of America today. The question arose as to which style of teaching is most effective in sparking the minds of the receivers to make them become transformers of their education? Would the “banking concept” of teaching be more effective, where “the scope of the action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits” (pg. 260). Or would the “problem posing” style of teaching be the most effective, where by “responding to the essence of consciousness—intentionally—rejects communiqués and embodies communications. It epitomizes the special characteristic of consciousness” (pg. 265). In this essay I intend persuade you the audience to take in my experiences and the experience of two other authors, whom I will be showing you later, and take a look from my point of view.
The Banking Concept of Education, revolves around the concept that education and the teacher, student dynamic is supposed to indoctrinate the teacher into believe they are only meant to teach, and that the student is only meant to learn. Friere describes the teacher as a depositor of knowledge into a receptacle, the student without really going into complex details in a way that’s detached from
Document A from Mini-Q packet on "How did the Treaty of Versailles help cause World War II"
In today's times, apart from having information flying at us from almost everywhere we turn, we also get to sit in a chair for nearly seven hours while someone tries to feed us even more information. Although it is true that our society needs some type of educational system, there is a real problem with the fact that although we are constantly changing and evolving into a brand new world, education has stayed still. In a way, we attempt to teach our children by putting them ...
Freire, Paulo. “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education.” Composing Knowledge; Readings for College Writers. Ed. Rolf Norgaard. Boston:Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2007. 239-251. Print.
The second chapter described the "banking" approach to education in which Freire suggested that students were considered empty bank accounts and that teachers were making deposits into them and receiving nothing back. The banking concept distinguishes two states. In the first, the educator cognizes a cognizable object and prepares a lesson. During the second, he expounds to his students about it. (67) Freire argued that the underclass could be empowered through literacy. He also pointed out that education could be used to create a passive and submissive citizen, but that it also has the potential to empower students by instilling in them a "critical consciousness." (45) Freire wanted the individual to form himself rather than be formed.
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the factors that led to the inevitability of World War Two. The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty that occurred as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that was held after Germany was defeated in World War One. The Treaty was put into action and required that Germany should accept responsibility for the war; of course Germany was humiliated by this. They were required to pay colossal war reparation payments. This was one of the main reasons the treaty had a severe impact on Germany; it crippled the German economy and critically reduced the living standards of the people. This made it virtually impossible for the German economy to function productively. The effects that the treaty had on Germany directly led to the rise of Hitler who he capitalised on German resentment at their treatment. He provided a focus for the German people and their desire to take back what they once had, and to restore their pride once again becoming a glorious nation.
Education plays a large part in the socialization of children into society. Most American children spend the required 180 days each year in school from the first grade through high school. Most of a child's day through these years is devoted to activities involving school such as attending classes, doing homework, and participating in extracurricular activities. The school format is designed to teach children to be productive members of society.