Peter Markano

Peter Markano

Blog #2 “Pedagogy of the oppressed”

“Pedagogy of the Oppressed”

“His task is to “fill” the students with the contents of his narration-contents which are detached from reality, disconnected from the totality that engendered them and could give them significance. Words are emptied of their concreteness and become a hollow, alienated, and alienating verbosity” (Freire 3).

In this quotation Freire is discussing the general concept of “banking” education. Freire shares his ideas of how “banking” education makes the students more like containers that are to be “filled” with knowledge rather than receiving a “real” education through teacher student interaction. “His” (the teacher) style of teaching is inadequate as well as disconnected from the reality of a true learning experience. When Friere states that, “Words are emptied of their concreteness…” (Friere 3) he is basically conveying that the teacher is not fully explaining and elaborating the information students are to obtain in a correct fashion. With “alienated” and “hollow” vocabulary, the students as well as the teachers are unable to learn the true meaning and express their ideas of the particular subject hey are studying. Basically, the concept of banking education prevents true understanding and learning of a subject.

I think that Paulo Freire’s outlook on the topic of “banking” education is very intellectual. Through my own experiences with very good teachers as well as not so good teachers, I can connect on a personal level with Freire. I enjoy in engaging in discussions that convey my ideas and all of those around me (including the teacher) because it brings out a plethora of new outlooks and ideas towards the subject we may be talking about. I disagree in a sense with Friera’s idea that students must take arms so to speak against the teacher. In Friere’s article “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” he states, “To resolve the teacher-student contradiction, to exchange the role of depositor, prescriber, domesticator, for the role of student among students would be to undermine the power of oppression and serve the cause of liberation” (Friere 5) as a way of showing that the learning process between students and teachers should be mutual. I completely agree with Friere’s position that the student-teacher learning process should be mutual, however, I believe Friere is being slightly radical in calling the teacher an oppressor, and domesticator. I believe that there still needs to be a sense of authority in the teacher’s teaching process, for students need to learn to adapt to authoritative figures as they will be encountering them their whole life. Freire has a completely valid position on preventing the concept of “Banking” education, I would most definitely promote the concept of “Problem solving” education any day. I would, however, not take this concept to the extremes of calling the teacher an oppressor, or describe them as necrophilic.