The Banking Concept of Education Essay Example for Free

The Banking Concept of Education Essay In the banking concept of education Freire explains how the relationship between students and teachers suffer from narrative sickness (Freire). Freire describes the bond between students and teachers as if the student is like a bank where they are the depositories and the teacher are the depositors hint the â€Å"banking concept†. Another term that stuck out to me is how he say that learning should have something to do with your past experiences. He compares two concepts of education, banking and problem posing; in the banking concept teachers assume students don’t control what they learn. In his theory of the banking concept he fells some teachers feel like students are empty vessels that need to be filled. Both concepts can be true but, no two finger prints are alike. Everyone doesn’t learn the same. So the theory of banking or problem posing being better or worse depends on the student and teacher. Freire goes further to express how he feels banking is a negative way for students to learn. How â€Å"banking† is composed and based upon just memorization and not really learning; in this concept students are receiving, memorizing, and repeating. Also in the banking concept students aren’t able to put to use any of what they have learned to use in every day life. â€Å"The more a child or students can apply and adapt to situations that allow them to use what they have been taught the better the student will manage.†(Freire). Freire also talks about authentic thinking. The teacher cannot think for you nor can he/she force you to think or see as he or she does. Problem posing opposed to banking is a way for both the student and the teacher to learn at the same time. For example asking questions in class and engaging in classroom conversations, but at the same time allowing the teacher to know that the student is understanding the information. Freire describes problem posing as the better solution to aiding the students in learning. Problem posing is a way for students to establish mutual respect. What Freire trying to say is when a student understands the material instead of trying to memorize he/ she will be more successful in life. For example in grade school you learn basic math. The child then goes to the next grade to learn multiplication, division, adding, subtracting etc. When a child grasps the concept early on they are able to build on what they have learned in a previous setting. With the knowledge they have acquired they will be very successful in math that requires more steps to get to the answer. Now on the other hand you may have a child that did not understand math early on so he or she may struggle because he or she memorized what was needed to pass, not building on what he or she should have learned. In today’s education system some can agree with problem posing because you need to have an education to get somewhere in life. So pursuing your education after high school is in a sense almost mandatory to obtain a high paying job. So gaining knowledge in high school by allowing teachers to help you learn will only prepare you for college and then the real world. I agree with Freire theory on education only from self-experience. But I have experienced both sides. Banking and problem posing; Banking because there have been times when I memorized key terms for a test and left the classroom and not remembered anything. Problem posing because there have been classes where engaged in the conversation and really understood what it was the teacher was trying to help the class understand. Freire makes a huge point when it comes to education because you cannot survive on memorization along. It is necessary for you to know and understand information to really acquire knowledge.