Freire is mentioning the unjust world of education and how the education system is a system of oppression. The metaphor presented is that education is like a bank where information is continuously deposited into students, but then that information just sits there and thus education becomes an act of power by giving all the power to the depositors (teachers). Freire says “education [is] the exercise of domination… indoctrinating them to adapt to the world of oppression” (3). In a school setting, the students usually don’t question the material that’s being presented and by being fed information without asking to apply it in the outside world, the educators are suppressing our consciousness and awareness of reality. If we are oppressed from the start of our education, we are less likely to question matters outside of an educational setting. So, Freire suggests education should be more of a collaborative learning experience between teacher and student.
Interpretation of “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education
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I definitely agree the education requires a more action-oriented approach. With mass agency ingrained into our education system, we are leading students towards more conformist mindsets with excessive amounts policy and evaluation, but do not inspire the curiosity and motivation to learn new and more creative approaches to how one should be educated.