Introduction
Education plays an immeasurably important role for every individual and society in general – thus, its impact on various aspects of life is frequently evaluated. In Chapter 2 of his Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire (1996) introduces two major models of teaching for their comparison and contrast concerning people’s perception of reality, freedom, and humanity. These models include the banking model, which may be regarded as the most commonly used one in the present day, and the problem-posing model, which should be commonly applied (Freire, 1996). According to the banking model, students are empty depositories or containers for knowledge that should be filled by teachers. In this model, their roles are strictly defined, while student-to-teacher interactions and students’ participation in the formation of reality are substantially limited. In turn, as an alternative to the banking approach, the problem-posing model is viewed as a way to liberation due to the ability of education to teach students to critique reality and perceive it through their communication with teachers in which both parties learn from each other. All in all, the Chapter’s argument may be defined as the following:
The problem-posing model of education should replace the banking model that supports oppression, impact people’s self-identification, limits their freedom, and dehumanize them.
Discussion
First of all, Freire (1996) describes the modern approach to education that currently prevails as a narrative process, in which a teacher is its subject and a student is its object, while these roles never change. It ignores the existential experience and describes reality as predictable, static, motionless, and compartmentalized. At the same time, students are always regarded as empty baskets – they do not know anything and should memorize mechanically any content provided by a teacher (Freire, 1996). In turn, a teacher is viewed as a source of knowledge, and his authority concerning them cannot be questioned through interactions with learners. Thus, a teacher knows everything, educates, talks, chooses, disciplines, thinks, and acts, while students are forced to learn, record knowledge, repeat, listen, obey rules, and be controlled.
At the same time, this approach has multiple devastating consequences for individuals whom it makes oppressed and not free. First of all, with the use of the banking model that defines people as manageable and adaptable beings, education is used by oppressors to translate suitable knowledge and ideas to preserve the situation profitable for them and limit learners’ creativity and critical thinking (Freire, 1996). In addition, the banking model creates a particular image of learners and translates it to them. For instance, the teacher is always regarded as a prominent figure whose existence matters – on the contrary, students are viewed as slaves whose knowledge and perceptions entirely depend on their educator (Freire, 1996). In addition, they are regarded as marginal people characterized by incompetency and laziness who should be integrated into a seemingly organized and just society through narrative education.
In turn, the problem-posing model of liberating education is an opposite alternative to the banking approach as it focuses on collaboration and partnership between learners and the teacher. It emphasizes the significance of students’ ability to perceive, critically analyze, and transform reality being its part. In addition, according to this approach, both students and teachers educate each other in the process of problem-posing and the collective search for suitable solutions from different perspectives (Freire, 1996). Applying the problem-posing model, which is always cognitive, the teacher “does not regard cognizable objects as his private property, but as the object of reflection by himself and the students” (Freire, 1996, p. 61). In turn, students, “as they are increasingly posed with problems relating to themselves in the world and with the world, will feel increasingly challenged and obliged to respond to that challenge” (Freire, 1996, p. 61). All in all, within the framework of the problem-posing model, education is defined as the process of liberation and the perception of reality as the existence of constantly changing processes that may be impacted and transformed.
Objection to the Argument
In general, according to the author, the banking model that leads to oppression, a lack of people’s creativity, and their inability to see themselves in this world and analyze its phenomena critically should be replaced with the problem-posing approach to education. However, this position may be argued with particular benefits of the banking model. Although its implementation at all levels of the educational process without alternatives may be considered to be an inefficient decision, the use of the banking approach allows the teacher to keep control over classes, especially poorly behaved ones, and discipline them. In addition, time-tested and traditional values whose validity and expediency have been already tested over time may be presented through the banking approach, as some regulations should be transmitted to students without discussions. Moreover, the same rule should be applied to direct instructions when the teacher provides information about things that should be done only in a particular way.
Counter-Argument to the Objection
The existence of the objection to the author’s argument is determined by its particular weaknesses. First of all, it intensely focuses on the application of the banking model for oppression, dehumanization, and the change of learners’ self-identification. On the one hand, the banking model may be applied by the government in the form of propaganda or new education standards that aim to develop a specific model of thinking and genuinely oppress citizens. On the other hand, the partial implementation of the banking approach or its targeted use concerning particular aspects is necessary. For instance, the rules of workplace and fire safety provided by the educator do not presuppose reflections and mutual learning. Their critique and attempts to reflect to find alternative actions may lead to negative consequences for learners.
Moreover, in his work, the author underlines the benefits of the problem-posing approach and their significance for learners. Contrasting it with the banking model, Freire (1996) states that the latter makes people non-creative, non-initiative, and weak-hearted. Taking into consideration that the banking model is used to create oppressed people convenient for their oppressors, it is possible to assume that it does not consider individuals’ characteristics. On the contrary, the problem-posing approach emphasizes the importance of every individual approach to any issue of reality that allows other people to learn from each other. At the same time, opposing two models and advocating for a liberating one, the author ignores people’s characteristics. In particular, he ignores the fact that all people are different, and they may perceive education in different ways. Thus, while a considerable number of people, including Freire (1996), confront the banking model, others may find the problem-posing approach unsuitable for them. In other words, some people require control and the transmission of information in a straightforward way that does not presuppose ambiguity.
Nevertheless, the argument of Freire (1996) remains substantially reasonable regardless of all objections or weaknesses. First of all, it is senseless to deny that authorities may use the banking model to adapt people’s thinking to their interests. In this case, education becomes a threatening tool of oppression, especially when people are forced to believe that inhuman, immoral, or unreasonable things are normal. In this case, it is essential to develop an individual’s critical thinking, communication skills, and the ability to interpret reality for its transformation. People deserve to realize that they are not objects but the subjects of the educational process, and they also form it by sharing their knowledge and experience.
Conclusion
At the same time, the necessity of the problem-posing model is determined by its role in human history. This approach “bases itself on creativity and stimulates true reflection and action upon reality, thereby responding to the vocation of persons as beings who are authentic only when engaged in inquiry and creative transformation” (Freire, 1996, p. 65). In addition, it corresponds to the nature of humankind reflected in its history, as people who are aware of their strengths and abilities can analyze the past to create a better future. While oppression existed before and exists in the present day as well, only the liberation of people through education allows them to change history and move forward (Freire, 1996). Thus, without the problem-posing model, it is impossible to form individuals who ensure the development of humanity.
Reference
Freire, P. (1996). Chapter 2. In Pedagogy of the oppressed (pp. 52-67). Penguin.