Paulo Freire The Banking Concept Of Education Summary

The Bank of High School
Paulo Freire’s essay “The Banking Concept of Education” talks about two methods of teaching. These methods are the banking concept and the problem-posing method. When it comes to the topic of education, most of us will readily agree that Freire makes a good point by saying students are used as “patient listening objects”. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how the teacher and student roles can be reversed. Whereas some are convinced that teachers and students can learn equally from each other.
Throughout most of my education, unfortunately, my classmates and I were used as banks. The banking method comes to mind especially when I think back on jr. high and high school. My classmates
I think the way Freire describes oppression is exactly what it felt like in this class. “Oppression- overwhelming control- is necrophillic; it is nourished by love of death, not life.”(220) The way a lot of teachers run their classroom is through complete control. There is little room for change and communication. Especially when students are required to read pages from a textbook and memorize all of the information. It’s overwhelming having to read a few pages and have to engrave it into our minds so we can get a decent grade on a test. This teacher made us feel like we were all on a lower level than him. He really loved making his students feel like we didn’t have any idea about anything and had no motivation. He went as far as saying he was worried for our generation and he was seriously concerned we weren’t going to make it in the world. He told us he was scared what was going to happen in the future with the world in our hands. He was just filling our minds with these really discouraging thoughts and definitely not using the problem-posing method to treat us like
The freedom makes students want to learn and want to voice their ideas. We don’t have to sit back and just listen to what our teachers are trying to make us memorize. In problem-posing education students get the opportunity to create original thoughts and explore different ideas.
If problem-posing education is to be achieved, teachers need to let their students think for themselves and work with them as equals. Teachers should always try to involve every student in the class and get everybody’s idea. Every opinion should be considered and not shutdown. The whole class should work together to find the right answer or interpret a reading. It is rewarding for both the students and the teachers when a student succeeds.
If my teacher had used any of Freire’s methods I think the class would have been much more interesting and his students would want to show up and actually learn. Learning is completely different from just memorizing material from a textbook or notes from a power point. Students should not be used as “containers” and “patient listening-objects”. Teachers need to involve their students in a way that means something to them in order to have a successful classroom. Teachers aren’t the only ones who have a voice; students deserve to be