Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
- In Freire’s critique of the banking model of education, he argues that students are posited as receptacles or depositories (pp.72 of original text). For Freire this is problematic because he considers the banking model inherently oppressive. Do you see a way or ways in which this metaphor can be appropriated and/or re-envisioned as something positive and or generative?
- Why is it in the best interest of the oppressor to “change the consciousness of the oppressed, not the situation that oppresses them (pp.74)”?
- Freire argues that the inherent contradictions, which he feels are constitutive of the banking model of education, will eventually lead the oppressed to “turn against their domestication and […] attempt to domesticate reality (pp. 74 of original).” What are the inherent contradictions that he is referring to? And, what would an attempt to domesticate reality look like?
- Freire argues for a problem posing pedagogy in order to subvert and counteract the damage caused by the banking model of education: what are the primary differences within these educational paradigms (pp.79)?
Freire & Macedo, Literacy: reading the word and the world.
- On page 98 of the original text, Freire argues that: “…the notion that literacy is [only reducible to] learning the standard [i.e., dominant] language still informs the vast majority of literacy programs…” Freire clearly has a problem with this; why?
- On page 99 of the original text (fourth full paragraph), Freire appropriates Althuasser’s (1971) conception of the ideological state apparatus (i.e., ISAs, which we discussed briefly in class) to describe the educational atmosphere in former colonies. Is the analysis of the situation that he describes limited to former colonies or can it also be applied to contemporary local and National contexts? Please explain.
- In this chapter, Freire lists four approaches to literacy: the academic approach, the utilitarian approach, the cognitive development approach, and the romantic approach. Do you see parallels between Freire’s approaches and Scribner’s metaphors? Please explain.
Freire is correct when he argues that the banking model of education is oppressive. The fact that many people have a negative relationship with education due to the current educational system reflects this truth. What Freire fails to do is envision a new analogy, built off of the old, that is empowering of students instead of oppressing students. The analogy I propose is the gardening model of education. It takes from the banking model the idea of the teacher as a repository of knowledge and experience, but where the banking model holds that students are vessels empty of knowledge, the gardening model holds that students are already filled with valuable knowledge and experience that provides a fertile soil for the seeds of knowledge that the teacher imparts. Furthermore, where the banking model is simply interested in the regurgitation of knowledge as it was imparted, the gardening model expects students to take the seeds of knowledge they are given and grow them into flourishing plants that are more than just the seed that was given to them. The reason why this analogy is better than the banking model or Freire’s problem-solving model is that it takes the strengths of both and hybridizes them into something much stronger than the sum of its parts. The banking model does have strengths that Freire ignores. It does provide a structured environment that is helpful for learning. Also, it recognizes that good teachers are repositories of knowledge and experience that can be useful to students’ education. Just as Freire overlooks the benefits of the banking model, he overlooks the weaknesses of his own system. Just because a student desires to engage with a subject, doesn’t mean that student has enough background information to intelligently engage in discourse with it. I have been in classes where I was expected to engage with the course with the teacher providing virtually no structure or focus. It was miserable due to the fact that it was an introductory survey class on a topic with which I had no experience. In that case, I was an empty vessel that would have benefited from a more traditional educational model. The gardening analogy prevents the excesses of both the banking model and the problem solving model.
ReplyDeleteIt is in the best interest of the oppressor to change the consciousness of the oppressed, not the situation that oppresses them is to ensure they maintain control. By placing ignorance onto others the oppressor nullifies the idea of gaining knowledge and education as a process of inquisition. If the oppressed do not question anything they are accepting their situation.
ReplyDeleteThe banking concept of education minimizes students’ innovative authority and increases their gullibility, giving the oppressor more power. The more students force them themselves to hoard information given by their teachers (oppressor) the less they develop a critical consciousness. Encompassing a critical consciousness allows one the ability to obtain power and change things. When the oppressed continue to accept a flaccid role they give up their aptitude to change the world around them and simply adapt. The easier the oppressed adapt to their situation the easier it is for the oppressor to dominate them more efficiently.
Changing the mindset of the oppressed to have no inquiry about the situation that continues to restrain them, causes them to believe their situation is normal, making them possess no urge to change anything. It is way more powerful for the oppressor to influence the consciousness of an individual than anything else, it allows them to have full control.
ASTRID ACKERMAN
ReplyDeleteThe architecture of classrooms is a tangible representation of the power of the teacher. Students seat in ordered and organized rows facing the teacher which has the control over the classroom. Students have no voice and their opinion does not count. As long as the teacher enjoys a privileged position in relation to the students, a classroom dialogue cannot be accomplished. This scenario describes the banking model of education. The primary difference between this model of education and problem posing pedagogy is that the latter defines learning as an endless process. The banking model of education prohibits human creativity and treats education as a fixed set of universal truths and knowledge. Problem-posing pedagogy erases the boundaries between the student and the teacher; creates equality between them. This equality in status is the basis for the co- constructing process between them. Problem posing leads to humanization of the student and the teacher, while the banking model aims to destroy it and objectify both the teacher and the student. Problem- posing is a reproductive process that, enjoying an atmosphere in which no one has a privileged position, different answers to different questions are found. The teacher, instead of being a dictator, becomes a facilitator of the learning process. Problem posing brings the educational experience to its highest because it connects it with real life experiences. Problem posing transforms classrooms into learning communities. The best solutions are attained by the contributions of every single student. The function of education is to create better understanding, and to be a door for human liberation.