Assignment 1b

One of Paulo Freire's most important theories was his attack on what has been called the "banking system" of knowledge. He argued that students were not simply "empty accounts" that teachers could "deposit" virtually endless amounts of information into. He proposed the view that education using that method, of simply filling people's minds with facts, is not nearly as effective as education that goes further and deeper. He believed that the goal of education should not be merely teaching people facts. These beliefs were the framework for what is now known as "critical pedagogy," or the teaching method that seeks to instill critical consciousness within its students. Its goal is to encourage pupils to think for themselves and to not necessarily accept everything that's taught to them as if it's an absolute truth. Freire believed that education was not complete if the only thing it entailed was the transmission of information.

Secondly, Paulo Freire had the strong belief that effective education must be based on deeper purposes than solely acquiring knowledge. Instead, education should have the intent of preparing students so that they can make a difference in this world. One concept that Freire had a significant part in is called "informed action." He saw that it shouldn't be simply one or the other; neither information or action alone are necessarily positive. However, when both are involved, action backed by information, the results are far more promising. Along the same lines, he saw that action should also be linked to values. Similar to his theory about the banking system of knowledge, he believed that dialogue shouldn't have the singular goal of deepening understanding. Understanding should, first of all, be paired with values and eventually manifest itself in action that can make a lasting difference.

Finally, Mr. Freire felt that the teacher-student roles, as they were presently configured, were ineffective. He saw the teacher to student relationship as one-sided and that to be more productive, roles should be student to teacher just as much as they are teacher to student. He saw that the most effective method of education was "conversational" or "dialogical." In this kind of teaching style, a teacher does not simply "talk at" or lecture his or her students, he begins a discussion and let's the students learn from each other. He also felt that a teacher should even be open to learning from their students, and not be locked into it always being the other way around. Furthermore, Freire felt that students were too often being seen as objects instead of subjects, which was not healthy or beneficial. He believed that education should not be based on someone acting on someone else, but instead on people working together.

Sources:
-Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Freire
-Infed - http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-freir.htm