The Problem With The Education System

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).

In their work, Plato and Paulo Freire have offered harsh critiques of education and learning. Plato compares people to prisoners in a cave of darkness in relation to knowledge, and Freire refers to a “Banking Concept” of education in which teachers put their thoughts and information into students’ minds much like money is deposited into a bank. Instead of this money being of value, Freire and Plato acknowledge that the value declines. Although many people refute the concept of accepting new knowledge and admission of mistakes, I claim that both Plato and Freire produce valid points about the corruption of education because people cannot learn unless they have an open mind and truly desire to learn. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the effectiveness of learning and continuing the cycle of education.

Education has existed throughout history in one form or another. The process of passing down accumulated information from one generation to the next has been present in every human society, past and present. From the young listening to the stories of the elders around the hearths of the ancient world, to pupils being instructed in the alphabet in a one room schoolhouse on the American frontier, to the present day online teaching sessions; the tradition of teaching and learning has been a constant in the ever changing world. Education has been and continues to be used for many purposes, chief among them being the creation of an educated citizenry, the empowerment of that citizenry, and improvement of the

America possesses the necessary requirements for a country of well establishment, but there is always room for improvement. Each year, America attracts foreign citizens that lack the academic qualifications to climb the up the industrial hierarchy; this lack of education only enhances the need for more intellectual individuals. As a minority, I will proceed to better America by becoming a determined and educated African American female. The desire to improve our surroundings through innovative ideas and inspiration is there; however, people lack the drive to make these dreams happen. America needs more determined citizens, who see that this country has endless possibilities that need to be take advantage of. Through education, people can better

“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

America’s education system is a disaster and the government has over the years spent millions on fixing the education system. The government has failed in fixing the education system because they are not the real people who can fix it. The government has made many different programs to fix the education system, like the No Child left behind program. Most people blame the government for spending millions to fix the education system and failing. What our society does not understand is that the government can only fix so much. It is time for all students, parents, and teachers to take responsibly and fix the education system in the way they want. Students, parents and teachers can make the education system better by students taking control of their own education, parents who care for their kid’s education and teachers who make amazing learning environment for their students.

This “flawed” concept in education today is the oppressive “depositing” of information (banking education) by teachers to students. “Banking education (for obvious reasons) attempts, by mythicizing reality, to conceal certain facts which explain the way people exist in the world…” (p.224) The “banking concept” is an act that hinders the intellectual growth of students by turning them into “receptors” and “collectors” of information that have no true connection to their lives. The “banking concept” is essentially turning humans into objects. “Banking education inhibits creativity and domesticates (although it cannot completely destroy) the intentionality of consciousness by isolating consciousness from the world, thereby denying people their ontological and historical vocation of becoming more fully human.” (p.224) This type of education

While reading the piece, “Straight from the source: What works for fist-generation college students” I was somewhat conflicted. I applaud the state of Texas for taking steps in order to increase enrollment of first-generation students in higher education institutions, However, I feel like these steps aren’t addressing the bigger issue; that being the broken education system in America. Until this bigger issue is addressed and the problem is dealt with from the root, anything that is done will only be addressing the symptoms caused by the real problem which is America’s broken education system.

The banking concept causes a symbolic complex which completely decimates sovereignty in terms of thoughts and communication. The symbolic complex is created by promoting a single way of thinking because educators explain a lesson without complications or allowing questions. They tell their students that this is way it is. Students follow a single-file line down the path of education, careful not to stray from the person in front of them. Freire argues that because the banking concept

What is it that’s making our country suffer from excelling in education? Very few would argue about the importance of our education system today. Issues such as lazy teachers, lack of parent involvement, and teaching useless information in class may hinder progress in today’s education system. An education plays a crucial role and is an essential tool, unfortunately, with all the jaded judgments; our students are not able to value their education. A proper education can open the doors to many opportunities that would have never been possible if it had not been for the knowledge and preparation that one received while in school. With the growing economy and desperate times, it is more important than ever for our country’s children to receive the proper education and training that is needed to allow them to acquire a good job and produce the revenue needed to live. Today's education system is flawed in many ways, and these flaws should be eliminated to ensure a good education for our future generation.

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,

What do students obtain through education? Freire in his essay ‘The Banking Concept of Education’ argues that students gain useless and meaningless knowledge through education, and I agree with Freire because education has become an act of depositing meaningless information into students. Freire believes the current educational system is flawed due to the “Banking Concept”, which Freire describes as, “an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor”(Freire 72). Freire implies that teachers are only telling students what to know rather than conversting with them, which explains why Freire insists that “education is suffering from narration

Education can be defined as a learning process in which a student and a teacher are involved. The work of the teacher is to pass on the message to the student while the student understands and applies what has been taught. It is also considered as a process of developing skills, knowledge and character of an individual. Education, whether formal or informal, has a function both to the individual and the society, these functions are either manifest or latent. There is a distinction between the manifest and latent functions in that the manifest functions are those that are intended whereas the latter are the unintended functions (Douglas, 2003).

Education is not to teach children how to learn; no, it is to make factory workers. Students are expected to memorize facts the teacher narrates and recite them back later for an exam, quiz, or

Katherine thought she prepared well for this first class, but she does not know what is about to happen. During her first lesson, she began showing slides of the art, and to her surprise, one student shouts out the answer. Then the next picture comes up, and the students appear to know all the answers. She asks if any of them had taken art history before, thinking that they have since they know all the answers. It turns out none of the students have, but they all took it upon themselves to read the entire text before class. This is where we start to see “The Banking Concept.” Since it was on the syllabus to read, they went ahead and read the whole book and everything else on the syllabus to know the information. They gave the teacher a run for her money and basically ended up teaching the whole class themselves. They acted as though they did not need their teacher at all to learn, but their idea of learning had nothing to do with growing. They were taking in all of this information and just memorizing it, but not actually trying to understand what the meaning behind the information was.