Paulo Freire Banking method of education PDF

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A good summary of the book of Paulo Freire on pedagogy of the oppressed....

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Paulo Freire: Banking Concept of Education in Ontario

In Chapter 2 of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, the author addresses what he terms as the “banking concept” of education (1970, p. 72). This concept may be familiar to many of us as students of standardized education. Essentially, the banking concept of education suggests that a teacher deposits material into students, who essentially become containers for information (Freire, 1970, p. 72). Engagement in critical thought is not accepted in this system of education, which Freire suggests is a form of oppression that effectively silences students (Freire, 1970, p. 72). Freire provides an alternative to this system, called problem-posing education, where both students and teachers learn and are taught through critical thinking activities, along with engagement with one another and the world around them (Freire, 1970, p. 79). Ontario’s education system contains compulsory courses and electives, STEM and humanities, and essentially

contains elements of both of systems in an effort to provide a well-rounded education to youth. However, recent developments with our current government are cementing the banking concept of education firmly in place in elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools across the province. The banking concept of education relies on memorization to gather information, rather than engagement to enhance knowledge (Freire, 1970, p. 71). It is deeply disconnected from the way human beings learn, through communication, creativity and curiosity (Freire, 1970, p. 71). As Freire notes, “knowledge only emerges through invention and reinvention” (Freire, 1970, p. 72). It also sets up a power dynamic between teachers and students. The teachers are positioned to hold all the power and all the information, while students are framed as ignorant beings waiting to be informed. This power hierarchy justifies the existence of the teacher – without them, the students would be at a loss (Freire, 1970, p. 72). However, it also disadvantages the teacher, who is essentially used as a tool for the state for the transmit whatever information they deem appropriate (Freire, 1970, p. 72). It dehumanizes both educators and learners. Banking education demands that students accept a passive role in their education, without questioning or critical thought(Freire, 1970, p. 75). According to Freire, “the more students accept the passive role imposed on them, the more they tend to simply adapt to the world as it is” (1970, p. 73). This is the ultimate goal of the state imposing banking education – the “educated” person fits in better with the world around them, essentially becoming good workers and citizens, easily molded and led by the oppressors, and effectively, silent to the injustice around them (1970, p. 76). This was the primary purpose of the standardized education system introduced in the 1600s (Davis, Sumara, Luce-Kapler, 2015, p. 3). Factory owners needed literate workers, so a factory-style system of education was created (Davis et al., 2015, p. 3). Creating capable workers has remained the primary role of formal education ever since, despite the introduction of arts and humanities courses at various levels of education. These types of courses consistently come under threat in the name of fiscal responsibility and are deemed as “unessential”, as we are currently seeing once more with the Ontario government’s changes to elementary and post-secondary education funding. Freire proposes an alternate system of education to liberate both students and teachers. Problem-posing education allows teachers to learn from students and students to learn from teachers while engaging in critical

thought. It involves “a constant unveiling of reality” (Freire, 1970, p. 83). Problem-posing education breaks down the barrier imposed between man and reality achieved through banking education, and instead insists that knowledge occurs only through authentic reflection with the world (Freire, 1970, p. 81). Throughout my education I’ve been exposed to both a bankingstyle curriculum, and one more in line with problem-posing that encourages critical thought. This is due mainly to the fact that I pursued a post-secondary education in the humanities. The skill of critical thinking is as essential as reading or writing. However, current developments within the Ontario government have been enforcing a more strictly banking style concept of education. During the first half of 2019, the Ontario government successively announced a series of funding changes to elementary, secondary and postsecondary education. Elementary and secondary schools received funding cuts and new mandates that have resulted in larger class sizes, a smaller selection of elective courses, mandatory online courses, and the layoffs of teaching and support staff (Collaco, 2019.) As Freire notes, banking education uses “distance between the teacher and the taught” as part of its oppressive process (Freire, 1970, p. 76). This distance will be imposed by larger class sizes, fewer teachers, and mandatory online courses in the upcoming school year. Additionally, a majority of the elective courses cut for fiscal purposes are those in the arts, humanities and social sciences – effectively all subject areas that encourage creativity, critical thought, and questioning the world around you through historical and contemporary topics (Jones, 2019). These changes, in addition to a “Back to Basics” math curriculum, are all in line with the banking concept of education (Rushowy, 2019). The Ontario government is seeking to, in the words of Paulo Freire, oppress the students, and impose/maintain an unbalanced power relationship between teacher and student. The students are once again to be thought of as empty vessels to be filled with information, rather than thinking, feeling human beings who interact with the world. Older students have been equally affected by changes to education funding. The Ontario government imposed a 10% university tuition cut while simultaneously eliminating free tuition for low-income students and cutting OSAP grant funding by 60% (McCabe 2019). The tuition cut will cost universities and colleges $360 million in lost revenue, which means a reduction in programs and services, as well as job losses (Rushowy, 2019). 60% of future funding will be tied to key performance indicators, including

graduate earnings, skills and competencies, and the number of graduates employed in a related field (Crawley, 2019). This puts pressure on postsecondary institutions to shift their attention to programs that guarantee higher wages and directly related jobs, something more difficult to find in humanities and social science programs. Once again, the Ontario government takes a banking concept approach to education, and implements policies designed to edge out programs more closely associated with problem-posing education. The government’s aim appears to be to eliminate courses that encourage students to engage in critical thought, rather than simply information consumption. Education for education’s sake is not this government’s mandate. Freire wrote of how banking education works to oppress both students and teachers, by enforcing a paternalistic attitude, discouraging critical thought and creativity, and disassociating the learner from the real world. For hundreds of years standardized education maintained this status quo, but the turn of the 20th century saw a shift towards more authentic education, which involved learning from real experiences, and an embrace of curiosity and creativity (Davis et al., 2015, p. 65). Room was made in the Western curriculum for courses Paulo Freire may consider to be problem-posing. But since education is regulated by the government, it’s core mandate shifts as governments change. The newly elected Ontario government has implemented a number of policies to impose a strictly banking approach to education, effectively turning the youth of our province from people to grow from knowledge and experience into receptacles to be filled with standardized information. References Collaco, C. (2019, May 14). The high cost for Ontario high school students of cuts to elective courses: Lawson. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/elective-cuts-ontario1.5135008 Crawley, M. (2019, May 6). How the Ford government will decide on university, college funding. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-doug-ford-universitycollege-post-secondary-grants-1.5121844

Davis, B., Sumara, D., Luce-Kapler, R. (2015). Engaging minds: cultures of education and practices of teaching. New York: Routledge. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed: Chapter 2. In M. Begman Ramos, Continuum, 2000, pp. 71-86. Retrieved from https://commons.princeton.edu/inclusivepedagogy/wpcontent/uploads/sites/17/2016/07/freire_pedagogy_of_the_oppresed_ch23.pdf Jones, A. (2019, April 3). Boards tell minister larger classes sizes could mean arts, trade classes are axed. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/boards-tell-minister-largerclass-sizes-could-mean-arts-trades-classes-are-axed-1.5083465 McCabe, S. (2019, June 21). Ontario students dismayed by cuts to financial aid. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ontariostudents-dismayed-by-cuts-to-financial-aid/. Rushowy, K. (2019, March 13). Premier Doug Ford says education is ‘going back to the basics’. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2019/03/13/premier-doug-fordsays-education-is-going-back-to-the-basics.html Rushowy, K. (2019, January 16). Ford government’s tuition cut to cost universities $360 million and colleges $80 million. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2019/01/16/ford-governmentstuition-cut-to-cost-universities-360-million-and-colleges-80-million.html...