Field Post 3: Heights HS

At Heights HS, I was in a 3^rd level sign language class, so there was little to no talking. The teacher communicated entirely by sign language. It was extremely interesting to see because the teacher held discussions about what seemed to be the politics of the 2016 election. I thought it was really cool how they could communicate and discuss such meaningful and educated topics solely through sign language and without words. I was extremely impressed. In reference to Paulo Freire’s chapter “The Banking Concept of Education” found in Educational Foundations, I would like to ask if the sign language teacher struggles with succumbing to the “banking concept” the Freire discusses. I feel like sign language would be a lot of memorization of gestures and meanings, which could lead to relying on the “banking concept”. However, from my observations of the class during my visit, I would say that this particular teacher combats the “banking concept”. In one way, he must use it to some extent to first teach the students the basics of sign language, but the teacher was breaking away from it by using the signs learned to have meaningful discussions in class. So, the teacher probably did have to somewhat use the “banking concept” in the beginning to learn foundational material, but he did not stop there. He took it a step further by engaging students to use sign language to discuss issues and topics affecting our world today, which I think is one of the points that Freire was trying to make.