Freire, Paulo. “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education.” Ways of Reading: An Anthology for Writers. Ed. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. 8th edition. St. Martin’s Press, 2008. 242-255. Print.
SUMMARY:
In “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education”, Paulo Freire critiques the traditional educational model where the teacher is one who imparts knowledge to students who simply receive knowledge. Freire calls this “the banking concept”, as it assumes students are empty receptacles who need to be filled and the teacher is a “bank clerk” making deposits of information. The teacher is active and students are passive; the teacher is the narrator and subjects while students are reduced to objects. Freire considers this form of pedagogy a type of oppression, which keeps the masses subject to the dominating class while pretending to give them the tools to be included in society. In contrast, Freire proposes the “problem-posing” education method, which creates a dialogue in the classroom where the teacher is also a student and the students are also teachers. This method, Freire argues, will not serve the purposes of the oppressors, as it will encourage inquiry and bring about revolutionary change.
QUOTES:
Yet only through communication can human life hold meaning. The teacher’s thinking is authenticated only by authenticity of the students’ thinking. The teacher cannot think for her students, nor can she impose her thoughts in them. Authentic thinking, thinking that is concerned about reality, does not take place in ivory tower isolation, but only in communication. If it is true that thought has meaning only when generated by action upon the world, the subordination of students to teachers becomes impossible (p. 247).
Through dialogue, the teacher-of-the-students and the students-of-the-teacher cease to exist and a new term emerges: teacher-student with student-teachers. The teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teach (p. 249).
Banking education resists dialogue; problem-posing education regards dialogue as indispensable to the act of cognition which unveils reality. Banking education treats students as objects of assistance; problem-posing education makes them critical thinkers… Problem-posing education bases itself on creativity and stimulates true reflection and action upon reality; thereby responding to the vocation of persons as beings who are authentic only when engaged in inquiry and creative transformation (p. 252).
FOR DISCUSSION:
- How is the banking concept of education manifested in basic writing instruction?
- As an alternative to the banking concept, Freire proposes a “problem-posing” model of teaching. What implications does this have for curricula and methodology in basic writing instruction?
- When limited by a class with a short-term goal, such as a remedial writing course that students are required pass in order to proceed into the rest of their education, how can an instructor leave room for that joint dialogue?
- Across disciplines, are there places where the instructor is the final authority? For example, in mathematics, or even science and history? How open should the instructor be to detours and challenges from students?
[composed by Brittany Zayas and Michael Rymer]
On Teaching, Writing, and Teaching Writing 