Pedagogy of The Oppressed Analysis Ch.2 Essay

Freire begins Chapter 2 of Pedagogy of the Oppressed by stating his interpretation of the educational system between teacher and student, focusing primarily on the “banking” system, which is exceptionally biased due to oppressive teachers who direct their own misguided inquiries upon their oppressed students. Freire continues on by maintaining “knowledge is a gift bestowed by those

Freire talks about the “banking concept of education”, explaining that students in this system are receptacles that are to be filled with the “content of the teachers narration”.(Freire, 1) These receptacles are expected to regurgitate information given in class, on tests, quizzes, and anything that requires an answer that is “word for word” what the teacher says. In a banking classroom, the teacher is the authority and the students are oppressed. Freire writes, “The more students work at storing deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of that world.” (Freire, 2).

Chapter 2 of Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed discusses a failed teaching method between the student and teacher. It’s a common mistake for teachers to treat the teaching process as a “banking concept”. Freire discusses how this concept takes away creativity from students by forcing them to memorize facts as the teacher “deposits” them into their minds. It’s not expected of the student to comprehend what they’re learning. It’s expected of them to take what the teacher is saying as fact without critically thinking about the meaning behind it. Freire explains,

To solve the problem plaguing the education system, Freire offers a solution which involves a “problem-posing education”. In this system the roles of teachers and students become mixed and left more open to interpretation. Both the teacher and student actively participate in effective communication to gain an understanding of the information being taught instead of just memorization. According to Freire, “Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient,

Freire feels that the students should not be passive and that they should always be actively learning but also always helping others learn as well. He also thinks that students should be able to voice their opinions when learning and also be able to challenge others knowledge and not just accept and repeat the facts that are being told to them. Additionally, Freire thinks that all learning should be active. Active learning is a big element to truly learning. If you are not actively having a dialog and learning from each other, you are using the “banking concept of learning,” only receiving information and not challenging the knowledge. “In problem-posing education people develop their power to perceive critically the way they exist in the world with which and in which they find themselves,” the problem-posing model is used to help students think more critically and in-depth about what they are learning. The problem-posing education model “regards dialog as indispensable to the act of cognition which unveils reality.” Freire wants the students to be able to form their own opinions and thoughts on subjects, not just repeat what was told to them about the topic. Freire’s goal with the problem-posing concept is to get students to actively and critically think about what they are learning and why they are learning about it. “the teacher cannot think for her students, nor can she impose her thoughts on them,” this is why students need to be actively thinking, they need to form their own opinions to truly

In the excerpt from “The Banking Concept of Education” the author, Paulo Freire explains the critical flaw in the current education system. He continues by offering his believed solution to this problem. The two concepts Freire discusses in this excerpt are the “banking concept” of education and the “problem-posing method” of education. The “banking concept” is talked about rather negatively, whereas the “problem-posing method” is talked about highly. Freire believes in the “problem-posing method” and that students should have free-will to a certain extent in the classroom with less authoritative power from the teacher during discussions.

Write a brief reflection on the activity (no more than 3 pages). What did you learn about yourself and others? What implications might this have on your own classroom practice?

In our Society, we deal with many form of oppression in our daily lives. Unfortunately, different groups of people are more oppressed than others. Oppression is the unjust treatment of a group of people. I believe, our government is a major culprit as they are responsible for oppressing most of society. This involves many groups, such as single mothers, the working class, African Americans, gays and lesbians. In my paper, my personal views will be addressed incorporating ideas from several readings pertaining to different forms of oppression. A summarization of each article will be provided as well.

In the poem "Oppression" by Jimmy Santiago Baca, the author gives readers an understanding of oppression, its psychological impact upon endurance, and one's ability to seek emancipation. Within the first stanza of the poem, Baca defines oppression as "being trampled under" and expresses that those who endure oppression "are human". Baca continues to explain that the act oppression "[i]s a question of strength" of the oppressor, and a question "of unshed tears" of the individual enduring oppression. In this stanza, the author is stating that oppression is a fight for power in which the oppressor uses fear through the form of violence or terror to oppress individuals, while the individuals being oppressed show their strength by remaining calm

Freire then introduces problem-posing concept, where the portrayal of students and teachers become less structured and both take part in interactions, to learn from one another. He states, “Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other” (1). In other words, Freire believes that the true understandings of what they're are being taught can only be molded through conversation, questioning, and sharing each other’s

The relationship between the teacher and the student can be associated with two different methods of learning. Paulo Freire suggests the “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education”, in which the teacher “fills the account” of the student with information and knowledge they have (318). Freire also explains the concept of “problem posing” learning that contradicts the “banking” concept. This way helps the student become more involved with their education, and they are able to become a more well-rounded student. But Freire ignores to add any supporting detail to his points based on how a student feels about each method of education. Determining the best way of an education is all

My continuation of Pedagogy of the oppressed inspires frequent reflection of the experiences had throughout my career. One particular supervisor often comes to mind. According to Freire (2000) “It is in the interest of the oppressor to weaken the oppressed still further, to isolate them, to create and deepen rifts among them” (p. 141). Being the only two in our department, I escaped her subjugation. However, the rest of the organization was fair game. Her diabolical actions added tension to an already strained relationship with union members. Salaried and hourly employees were pitted against each other. Activities and rewards that gave the employee recognition and on-the-job purpose were discarded. She wanted that control and needed to have

In “The Banking Concept of Education”, written by Paulo Freire, the author analyzes the modern day education system by comparing students to “containers” or waste receptacles that are meant to be “filled” by the teacher, or the depositor. The idea that teachers are meant to teach and students are only to listen is the main problem is today’s society. The concept is that a teacher is deemed more reputable “the more she fills the receptacles” while students are better the more they “permit themselves to be filled” (Freire 1). In turn, the “banking” concept of education is born suggesting that education becomes only an act of depositing instead of communication between both students and teachers. When students are denied their creative freedom,

The original Social Contract tradition has had many authors, but for the purposes of this paper I will focus on John Locke’s work as one political system that might be used by a nation and the problems it entails that would have to be discussed for modern uses. Locke begins by describing a state of nature that entails equality and a state of perfect freedom for mankind to live as they want within the laws of nature (Locke 2009, 370). Locke’s work argues for his view of property, where a man has the right to the fruits of his labor but not to another man’s (Locke 2009, 372). In his view, the government is meant to prevent on man from seeking punishment that is unfit for the committed crime and that people join together for protection for themselves and their property (Locke 2009, 371-372). He argues also that no one man should be in charge and that a democracy should be used instead (Locke 2009, 371).

Throughout history, many men and women have made important contributions to the world of education. Amongst these is the Brazilian scholar Paulo Freire, whose influences on the world have been both broad and deep. A true believer in Marxist theory, his central ideas regarding education revolve around the concept that the experience and learning process of education are more important than the "facts" or concepts that are being taught. Consequently, traditional teaching methods (known as "Banking") train students to be passive, unthinking, and subservient to their superiors; instead, teachers should "free" their students by employing "problem-posing" techniques, where teachers not only present concepts for students to analyse, but