Blog Post 6: Blog Post-It

I thought one of the most important parts of Freire’s argument in “The Banking Concept of Education” was on page 106 where he says “From the outset, her efforts must coincide with those of the students to engage in critical thinking and the quest for humanization.” Here and throughout the chapter, he highlights the need for students and teachers to be partners in the education process. This means that the teacher is not simply the omniscient educator installing knowledge into the students without their say or participation. Instead, learning is happening on both sides of the equation. The student learns from the teacher, and the teacher learns from the student in many ways as well. I think that this is one of the main problems with the banking concept that Freire is trying to convey. Another point in this chapter that I specifically post-it noted was on page 109 where he says “But one does not liberate people by alienating them. Authentic liberation-the process of humanization-is not another deposit to be made in men.” Here, Freire wants to show that the fix to this problem cannot be hypocritical. The cycle of banking must be broken completely. It does not make anything better if you use the banking concept to end the banking concept. My partner and I discussed that based on our experiences as students, and our individual field observations, it seems we have mostly come away from this banking concept in grade schools and high schools, but we personally are experiencing this banking concept now as college students. We wondered what Freire would have to say about that and if he would stand by his opinion as conveyed in this chapter or if he would claim that college education is different.