A Students View Of Paulo Freires Pedagogy Of The Oppressed Essay

A Student’s View of Paulo Freire’s "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" Freire was one of the most radical insistent educational thinkers of his time. He proposed his own educational theory for society. His argument was for an educational system that focused on creative learning and freedom. Freire’s method was known as "the problem posing" concept. It would allow students and teachers to communicate through dialogue while both are equally responsible in the learning process. Freire’s assessment of education did not support a system that mechanically deposited and reproduced pre-selected information with no communication or dialogue from the student. He feared this would manage and oppress society. This method was known as the "banking" concept. I am of two minds about Freire’s claim that the problem posing concept is most effective. On the one hand, I do agree that the problem posing concept is often effective in the freedom of creativity in certain subjects such as art and creative writing. On the other hand, the banking concept is a necessary evil because it sets down the foundation of education in subjects such as English, science, and mathematics. In the problem posing concept the teacher and the students work together through communication. The teacher no longer just teaches and the students no longer just listen. They both are in dialogue and are able to teach and learn from each other. With this method the students are allowed to share their own ideas and freedom of expressions. When a student expresses his/her thoughts with others he/she is challenged and becomes more aware of his/her own reality, allowing transformation into the world of freedom and not domination. Jone Lewis cites Freire who says, "Education either functions... ...ed to being shaped. The student must be able to be creative and see the world freely as a reality in progress. Freire also claims that this concept may be resisted by the oppressing classes to any changes in class. He insists that the banking concept of education is a ready- to- wear approach. A student is an object to be filled with pre-selected information. This approach he believed minimized a student’s creativity thus making him/her adaptable and more manageable in society. My feelings on these issues are truly mixed. I do believe that a student should be able to do more than reproduce pre-selected information while learning. On the other hand, I feel that it is important to learn the basic facts first. I do agree that the problem posing concept is effective in some subjects, however I think other subjects of education are better served with the banking concept.