Allegory Of The Cave
Education is the root by which each type of mindset grows. Across the modern globe, children are taught in a variety different styles. Some live within a singular uniform from the day they are born while others explore and connect all corners of the world in their lessons. Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave” discuss the influence that some of these various teaching methods have on an individual. Freire’s work names and describes two specific approaches which are referred to as the banking method and the problem-posing method. Similarly, though in a vastly more abstract way, Plato outlines two other ways of learning about the world through metaphoric prisoners within a cave. Though my own educational
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Freire’s work described “banking” as a lesser, oppressive form of education (Freire 58). In this an instructor feeds the information to the students and expects them “to memorize mechanically the narrated content,” which leaves little room for independent thought and constructive learning (Freir 58). Being in a private, Christian school the lessons often felt exactly like Freire describes, most noticeably in Bible class. We would read verses of the bible together, be told what they meant by the teacher, and then asked to take our teacher’s interpretation and turn it into something demonstrative like a comic strip. A week or so later, this information would be regurgitated in a test. The test’s answers to the dense scripture we read were always as the teacher believed them to be. In my years at this school I was immersed in an immensely closed, “banking”-like …show more content…
As I furthered my scope of the world and discovered more truths about society, my family still within the world of the private, Christian school remained stagnant. When I presented them with my newfound knowledge and ability to question, they fought against me. Instead of listening and desiring to understand my thoughts, they kept to their memorized interpretations and aged truths, especially when the conversations covered politics or religion. These encounters caused me to doubt my actions. Similar to Plato’s prisoner as the light of day hurt their eyes, I wondered if “the shadows [I] formerly saw [were] truer than the objects which” I had now begun to see (Plato 2). I wondered if I had made a mistake by leaving the closed world of my private school and family behind. Nevertheless, I continued to learn, grow, and develop the strength I needed to stand my ground. I was able to not only build my knowledge, but also my capability to withstand future oppressive teachers and
Freire’s work described “banking” as a lesser, oppressive form of education (Freire 58). In this an instructor feeds the information to the students and expects them “to memorize mechanically the narrated content,” which leaves little room for independent thought and constructive learning (Freir 58). Being in a private, Christian school the lessons often felt exactly like Freire describes, most noticeably in Bible class. We would read verses of the bible together, be told what they meant by the teacher, and then asked to take our teacher’s interpretation and turn it into something demonstrative like a comic strip. A week or so later, this information would be regurgitated in a test. The test’s answers to the dense scripture we read were always as the teacher believed them to be. In my years at this school I was immersed in an immensely closed, “banking”-like …show more content…
As I furthered my scope of the world and discovered more truths about society, my family still within the world of the private, Christian school remained stagnant. When I presented them with my newfound knowledge and ability to question, they fought against me. Instead of listening and desiring to understand my thoughts, they kept to their memorized interpretations and aged truths, especially when the conversations covered politics or religion. These encounters caused me to doubt my actions. Similar to Plato’s prisoner as the light of day hurt their eyes, I wondered if “the shadows [I] formerly saw [were] truer than the objects which” I had now begun to see (Plato 2). I wondered if I had made a mistake by leaving the closed world of my private school and family behind. Nevertheless, I continued to learn, grow, and develop the strength I needed to stand my ground. I was able to not only build my knowledge, but also my capability to withstand future oppressive teachers and