"The Banking Concept of Education"
by Paul Freire
This first reading of the semester is a famous and influential critique of educational practice. Many teachers, perhaps even some of yours, studied Freire's ideas during their training. Chances are that your education was modeled partially on the "banking concept" which Freire critiques and partially on the problem-posing style of education that he advocates. In other words, you were probably educated in an environment where some teachers adhered to the banking models and others took his critiques seriously. (Of course, many other theorists and models of education influenced what took place in classes.) Your writing assignment for this unit will ask you to reflect on some aspect of your education in light of your reading of Freire's ideas.
You will probably find this reading to be very challenging. This is because Freire speaks in theoretical terms, making abstract and generalized statements about the educational process. He rarely uses concrete examples to illustrate his points. Don't be frustrated if you do not understand the selection immediately. One way to deal with this is to try to apply the abstract statements to your own experience as a student. The following reading questions are designed to help you do just this. Working through them patiently and thoughtfully will help you come to terms with Freire's argument; it will also help you to generate content for your first assignment.
 | Freire says that education suffers from "narration sickness" as a result of the "banking concept of education." How would you recognize a class that is modeled on the banking concept of education? What would the teacher be doing? What would the student be doing? Have you ever been in such a classroom? |
| What does Freire mean when he suggests that the banking concept of education can "minimize" or "annul" the student's creative power? Can you give an example from your own experience that supports this assertion? |
| What does Freire mean when he argues that as a banker, the teacher's "role is to regulate the way the world 'enters into' the students"? Can you give an example of a class in which you were asked to accept the teacher's understanding of the world? Was this a good or bad experience? Why? |
| What are "biophily" and "necrophily"? Why does the banking concept of education promote the latter? |
| Freire says "Education as exercise of domination stimulates the credulity of students, with the ideological intent (often not perceived by educators) of indoctrinating them to adapt to the world of oppression" (264). How can you paraphrase this argument? |
| What is "problem-posing" education? What would take place in "problem-posing" class in English, history or math? How is different from banking education? Freire notes several of these; paraphrase three or four that make the most sense to you. |
| What would take place in "problem-posing" class in English, history or math?* Describe an educational experience in which you experienced a teacher as a problem poser rather than a banker? Was this a good experience? |
| What, really, might teachers be expected to learn from their students?* |
| Do you agree with Freire that all education in which the teacher acts as a banker making deposits is oppressive to the student? Why or why not? |
| Not all education takes place in the class room. Think of an important educational moment in your life. Where did the experience take place? What did you learn? Was your teacher a banker or an problem-poser? Explain your answer. |
Note: Questions marked with an asterisk are adapted from "Questions for a Second Reading" at the end of the selection in "Ways of Reading."