Learning to Learn

Sam Chapman
Nick Henson
Writing 122
1/29/09
Peer Edited by: Lisa Gonia


Learning to Learn


You’re sitting in your least favorite class staring at the clock praying for some kind of time lapse miracle to take place because you’re bored out of your mind. Your teacher has been lecturing for what seems to be decades, and you think to yourself, isn’t there any way this could be slightly interesting or possibly even fun? Paulo Freire would say ‘yes’. Freire would refer to your professor’s style of teaching as a ‘banking style education’. The ‘banking style education’ concept is the idea of systematically learning and processing information in a linear and sequential format used in many traditional teaching formulas such as those many of us have experienced in the K-12 education. The banking style of teaching should be toned down and used only when necessary because a full education cannot be gained without communication between the teacher and his or her students, nor can it be gained without students communicating with one another.
Lucky for us, Friere created a solution to replace this misguided emphasis on memorization and wrote learning that the banking style of education imposes. This solution is known as ‘problem-posing’. The ‘problem posing’ practice in teaching requires every student to think on their own, rather than have the teachers think for them. Friere believed “Education must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction, by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and teachers and students” (244) This is the key concept of problem-posing in that it takes both the teacher and the students to create a learning process that both sides can benefit from, erasing the robotic repetition of boring lectures and sleepy students.
Freire defines the rival banking concept as an oppressive one “in which the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filling and storing deposits” (Freire 244). By this, Freire is talking about the theory of banking where the role of the student is to be a container and the role of the teachers is to fill the containers with knowledge. In some aspects this method of teaching seems to be necessary for classes that require memorization, such as mathematical formulas and spelling tests; however, Friere would argue that the banking style of education is not a suitable concept because it keeps students from learning the meaning of answers, rather than just the answers themselves. Referring to the banking concept, Freire says “It is the people themselves who are filed away through the lack of creativity, transformation, and knowledge in this (at best) misguided system” (244).
Now think back on your education and determine which method dominated the bulk of your education? Chances are it was the banking concept. As Freire illustrates, some teachers are not even aware of how they are teaching. A curriculum in and of itself is an example of the banking concept. The school administration passes down the content that teachers are required to use in the classroom. Many teachers resort to the banking concept of teaching in order to cover required material with limited class time, large class sizes, with little time left for interaction. These obstacles sometimes result in creating what Freire would claim is instruction of absolute ignorance and a characteristic of oppression because it does not involve the Socratic method of teaching and learning. This idea of a using only one stagnant method to teach students is completely unrealistic because learning styles differ widely among students. Students should be allowed the freedom of expression and dialogue that collaborative learning allows on the subject matter that they are learning about in order to grasp the entire concept. A student can be taught to memorize every U.S. President elected, but without asking questions, this student will never know the significance and impact each president had. Many of the world’s greatest philosophers would have not gained their status without using the problem-posing approach. As my senior English honors teacher said, “Socrates would have taught nothing if his student had not asked the questions they did.” Ironically enough, the problem-posing theory Freire presents poses some problems that must be addressed if it is ever going to be taken into serious consideration before it becomes implemented with our public school systems. Problem-posing requires teachers to be highly skilled not only in the art of teaching, but the art of passionate discussion, facilitation, and collaborative learning as well. For these methods to work properly, the teacher must also be ready to regulate a classroom with 25+ students, which can be a challenge to say the least, even assuming that all students want to engage in the issue at hand.
The Citizenship class I took my senior year of high school is an ideal example of how the problem posing theory can work effectively in the classroom. That class is one that incorporated discussion, group projects, and real world situations into the curriculum, generating a raised level of awareness among about what was going on in the world around them. My Citizenship class gave me a chance to gain knowledge and, more importantly to me, gave me the chance to express my feelings, opinions, and passions in their entirety. Mr. Meeuwsen, my Citizenship instructor, was a man of passion, a rare quality to find in my public high school. On the second day of class, Mr. Meeuwsen and I got into our first debate. The subject was the American flag and what it represented to each of us. Mr. Meeuwsen started off by giving us his view on why everyone should stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. His justification is what got me fired up. He believed that if you did not stand for the Pledge you were not respecting what our country represents and that was an unpatriotic gesture. I decided I had heard enough of his opinion to validate my own. The fire had been lit and the curriculum for the day was forgotten. For the entire 50 minutes of class, it was a back and forth debate between Mr. Meeuwsen and myself. My stance was that the flag does not define who I am as an American and most certainly does not make me unpatriotic because I don’t stand up for it.
Towards the end of the class people were looking at us if we were about to have a cage match. After the bell rang Mr. Mueewsen came up to me and asked if the conversation was to intense to discuss in a public arena. Even though I was still heated from the discussion we had a short chat on how it was really one of the most amazing discussions I’ve ever had with a teacher during class. We decided to expand on this idea of more heavy verbal dialogue in class in hope of stimulating some other minds to clash with our own. By the second week we had students that I had never heard a word from in years revealing their real opinions and ideas. Finally, a class we students could look forward to attending! Freire says that “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.” (250) Right then Freire’s philosophy had been proven correct. Students started to feel like what they had to say mattered, and it did.
I recently came in contact with Mr. Meeuwsen via e-mail and asked him to recall his side of this inspiring experience. He responded with his fundamental beliefs that could easily been seen as a mirror image of Paulo Freire’s problem-posing theory. One of Mr. Mueewsen’s philosophies was that “Kids want points, at least most kids, and it is the rare student who really tries to learn from reading or doing assignments”. I think that is why I like to discuss ideas and ask questions because then you get to see students perform and show what they know. You can tell who is thinking and who is not.” Problem-posing is not only effective in the classroom, but it generates interest outside of the classroom. After high school, reality comes knocking at the front door, and if you’re not yet packed up and ready to go, it will leave without you. This is where we find the strength in our diverse culture. Within the depths of every school, there are teachers waiting for you to stand up and ask the question, ‘Why?’


Work Cited
Paulo Freire, The “Banking” Concept of Education. Ways of Reading 8th Edition,
David Bartholomae. Boston/New York 2008, pages 242-254. Textbook