Kaitlin Matheny

Professor Enos

ENG 111 W03

September 14, 2017

Friere Explication

Education and the concepts in which it is taught is a topic of question. There is always an

opinion from one person, but another individual also has a theory. Paulo Freire adequately

addresses this issue in his article The Banking Concept of Education. Freire provides an in-

depth analysis of teacher-student relationships based upon two theories: the banking concept and

problem posing. Within his writing, he not only addresses these theories and ideas behind them,

but he challenges his readers to put on their thinking caps to read into the bigger picture.

Before Freire discusses the banking concept itself or even mentions it, he gives a little

background story where there is always a narrating subject (the teacher) and listening objects

(the students). No matter what the subject being narrated is, it lacks a certain meaning; it is

talked about in a motionless and divided way. The narrating objects job being to expel, or deposit

so to speak, their topic of narration out onto their listening objects in such manner that they, the

listening objects, lose focus of what the actual meaning of the content is. Freire states Four

times four is sixteenthe student records, memorizes, and repeats [that] phrase without

perceiving what four times four actually means(1). Furthermore, he leads his readers deeper

into what will be announced to be the banking concept.

 Instead of the teacher solely being the narrating object, they are now looked at as if they

were a bank. While, instead of the students being primarily the listening object, they are

perceived as container waiting to be filled up. If there were money to be deposited, the more

money there was, the better the bank account would look. Therefore, the more acts of deposition

extended to the maximum capacity, the better the teacher would seem. Whereas, the more

submissive the students are, the better they make for such deposition. That is the banking

concept of education. As Freire would say the teacher communiques and makes deposits

which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeatthe scope of action allowed to the

students extends only as far as receiving, filling, and storing deposits. (1). Students take in the

information, and have the opportunity to take away something from it more than just at face

value, but are so concerned with the basics of it, that they become what is filed away later.

Freire believes that the banking concept of education is what is wrong with education. He

notes that it is not the solution nor is it the relatable solution of an oppressive society. He lists ten

descriptions of the banking concept is invaluable. I wont list them all, but here are a few, the

teacher knows everything and the students know nothing, the teacher acts and the students

have the illusion of acting through the actions of the teacher, and the teacher confuses

authority of knowledge, with his or her own professional authority, which she and he sets in

opposition to the freedom of the students (2). Men and women are not people, they are objects.

They are objects part of a concept that produces necrophily. In other words, the banking

concept thrives on all that does not grow, it doesnt promote any room to grow. With its objects

unaware of the process, he must keep it that way. If it dies, so does he (5). Furthermore, within

Freires depiction of the banking concept, the listening objects are oblivious to the situation and

therefore arent aware of what they are actually going through, which leads them unable to
change anything for the better. With change being necessary, Freire briefly discusses liberation.

In short, those truly committed to liberation must reject the banking concept in its entirety,

adopting instead a concept of women and men as conscious beings (6).

Later mentioned simultaneously to the banking concept of education, is Freires idea of

problem-posing education. Which, in his opinion, is the better of the two. Problem-posing

education can be described as a form that rejects all that the banking concept lives by. It

embraces communication and consciousness; the ability to be aware of not only the intent of the

object at hand, but of the object itself. The learning process is no longer the narrating subject and

the listening object scenario. It is now an equilibrium between both the teacher and the student

with both parties a part of the learning process. Men and women are no longer just objects but

are something becoming. Even though unfinished and raw, they are still able to find who and

what they are in order to build a better future (9).

The way in which Freire expresses his ideas is done so with complexity. Not only is the

article eleven pages long, it is filled with comparison and contrast that sometimes uses not so

familiar structure and vocabulary use. Although it can be a run around, the structure he does use

better makes for his point to be heard.

Education and its processes are merely more than just something to walk in to, record, memorize,

and repeat. It is something that should be taken in, absorbed, and shared willfully with unknown

large amounts of others. It shouldnt seem like an institution upon arrival to a lecture or a class

discussion. It should be more free of structure given the ability to change as the students do. Its

not a rule we should live by or conform to unaware of its happening, but something you are

conscious of and take information away from. Freire exemplifies this with his writing, The

Banking Concept of Education. Which is not just about two concepts but it is something
packed with comparisons and analysis that not only relates to the average student, but has

information for the educators along with the everyday readers.

 Works Cited

Freire, Paulo. The Banking Concept of Education

https://moodle.midmich.edu/pluginfile.php/1258655/mod_resource/content/1/Newest%2

0MLA_Overview%20Sheet%20%28Eighth%20Edition%29-1.pdf Accessed 14 Sept.

2017.