Freire's Filosophy

Reading chapter 2 of Friere's Pedagogy of the Oppressed allowed me to see the difference between banking education and problem-posing education. It caused me to reflect on the classes where I was treated like a bank used for deposits and classes where I was given autonomy and encouraged to wrestle with concepts on my own. Freire refers to the flatter approach as "education as the practice of freedom" versus the former approach as "education as the practice of dominance." I don't know very many teachers who would say that their goal is to establish dominance over their students; however, their teaching style might contradict their intentions. I don't mean to sound condescending toward them in any way. Teachers have, for the most part, been trained to be knowledge depositors and for a long time the sign of a successful teacher rested in their ability to successfully transfer as much content as possible.

For the most part, my education (especially when I attended a private school from K-8th grade) has taken the form of banking education. My teachers would lecture for the full 50 or 60 minute period and would only stop lecturing to clarify material when a student raised their hand. It wasn't until my senior year of high school when I was in an AP World Literature class (at this point in time I attended public school) that I was able to take part n a discussion-based format that encouraged me to form my own ideas, opinions, theories, etc. In fact, this class was the most beneficial for my growth as a student and a person. As a future teacher, I plan to apply the problem-posing education model. It is my goal for my students to become independent thinkers who apply their knowledge and interpretations in a responsible manner.