Freire and the Banking Model of Education

In his 1968 book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire compares the transactional interactions between teacher and student to the transactional banking system wherein “education becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor” (Giroux 717). An important feature of this theory is it highlights the imbalanced power dynamic between the teacher- the owner of the knowledge (power), and the student, who is the empty vessel (oppressed). This dehumanizes and conditions students to believe professors know everything and they know nothing. Freire noted that this imbalanced structure negates an open process of inquiry which should put the teacher and the student on equal footing providing for a two-way exchange of sharing knowledge in both directions. 

 

Image:  Jean-Marc Cote http://publicdomainreview.org/2012/06/30/france-in-the-year-2000-1899-1910/ - A reproduction of the early 20th century, scan

HIDDEN AND NOT-SO HIDDEN POWER DYNAMICS

According to Freire, a teacher’s purpose should be to support and develop the student’s sense of self, which makes them less easy to be dominated, and more likely to stand up for themselves and their own dignity. This, of course is not in the interest of the oppressors. The oppressor's goal is only to conform the mindset of the oppressed– not the conditions that are oppressing them. 

Professor Zia Ahmed of Cornell University raises a comparison with the school system in Pakistan where even today, the general principle in the classroom that “students are said to be “good” when they keep silent as they take notes, and never raise questions” (Ahmed). 

According to Freire, the absence of questions and answers, or even open debate in a classroom creates a slavish mentality. Teachers who see themselves as the sole possessors of knowledge,” and their students as empty vessels in need of filling, perpetuates a sort of “colonization” culture where the dominant culture is correct and valuable, and the victims of this colonization considered ignorant and inferior— savages in need of “saving.”

CRITICAL PEDAGOGY

Paulo Freire championed what’s commonly known today as “critical pedagogy," where the teacher doesn’t just disseminate knowledge to their students, but is also an active learner while engaging in two-way dialogue together and with their students. 

The image on the right illustrates the difference between traditional composition rhetoric and the interactive dialogue proposed by Freire’s critical pedagogy. In the first image, the teacher commands an oppressive and authoritative role wherein she dictates all the information she believes the student needs to know. She alone decides and controls what the student will learn. The student’s role is merely to memorize and repeat what the teacher wants him to know. This method assures the student will never grow into anything more than what she (and society) wants him to be. 

The second part of the image, however, illustrates how teaching and learning can be a two-way dialogue. When the teacher first considers the student’s position— what they know, and how they learn, then she is able to guide the learning in ways that create greater understanding and knowledge that were not previously possible in such a restrictive environment. . When students feel that they have an active role in their learning, they gain a sense of empowerment that encourages further growth and learning. 

In critical pedagogy, the student’s actions aren’t limited to receiving, and storing the teacher’s banking deposit. Freire’s perspectives were based on mutual respect between teacher and student, and benefits them both.

Image Source: http://jackiegerstein.wikispaces.com/Pedagogy+for+this+Era+of+Learning