Podcast lecture transcript on Chapter Two.
Continuing with the lecture in chapter Two, Friere is beginning to become more practical in his explanation of what this pedagogy entails….have you noticed that?
I will begin with his description of the basis of most mainstream pedagogy and that is what he refers to as the ‘banking concept of education.’ The banking concept is your traditional method of educating students: students listen while the teacher, professor lectures or deposits or fills the students’ heads with knowledge about a particular subject or topic or object. In this type of pedagogy, the students are seen as receivers, receptors always and the teacher is the bestower, or giver of knowledge always. According to Friere this pedagogy is imbalanced and contradictory and lacks the true reason for education; that is, it’s transforming power or ability to change students’ lives for the better. According to Friere the banking method poses a problem, in that students and teachers are at odds with each other, rather than being considered as partners in the education process. This partnering allows for the teacher to be seen as teacher-student and the student seen as student-teacher…the relationship is one of reciprocity rather than dichotomous. He refers to the Hegelian dialectic which I reference in my script of this lecture.
The Hegelian Dialectic is a process formulated by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel who lived in the 1700’s and died in 1831. Hegel, a philosopher, envisioned that all thoughts and ideas are processed dichotomously. That is, someone comes up with an idea or takes a position or side in an issue, called a’ thesis.’ Then someone else provides an opposing position, called an ‘antithesis.’ According to Hegel, this thesis and antithesis eventually merges to become a ‘synthesis’ or new ‘thesis’ and another opposing antithesis challenges this new thesis until those become a synthesis and this process continues until society reaches ultimately the ABSOLUTE IDEA, or the ultimate synthesis which produces no antithesis According to Hegel, the world will eventually arrive at this absolute or world view. So….
Switching back to Friere, in Chapter two, he speaks on how even a slave engaged in this Hegelian Dialectic at least is aware that he has rights to a thesis that may be one that is merged with his master’s antithesis…that this slave at least is aware that he is educating his teacher as well as being educated…According to Friere, however, in the banking concept of education, the student is not aware most times that he or she is actually educating his or her teacher as well as being educated by the teacher. Powerful, huh? What are thoughts on this essay? See http://www.mokslai.lt/referatai/rasinys/12815.html .
On page 73 of the text, Friere goes on to outline or list 10 attitudes or practices that dominate the banking concept of teaching and I will read these and offer an example of each:
a. the teacher teaches and the students are taught --- an example of this would be lectures, my pod-cast lectures
b. The teacher knows everything and the students know nothing --- most classrooms operate from this paradigm, whether knowingly or unknowingly…the teacher is given a teacher textbook loaded with the answers, test information and the key, the teacher-ese materials…do students get the same? It is only recently that now students have access to supplemental materials provided by textbook companies, such as quiz takers, websites, resource links…students still in most classes do not get the same materials as the teachers get…why or why not?
c. The teacher thinks and the students are thought about…a classic example is the traditional syllabus that students receive at the beginning of a class…the teacher created it with the students in mind, but the students are not consulted in the traditional classroom.
d. The teacher talks and the students listen—meekly---again, most classrooms still are dominated by mostly teacher talk, unless the teacher takes measures to be more inclusive in allowing student talk…even when teachers modify the classroom to include more student input, students may feel put upon, uneasy in that they are used to being poured into, taught from the banking paradigm.
e. The teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined---an example here would be to ask who assigns grades for the course, who provides the assessment? The teacher does…who sets the parameters for discipline if the student does not follow the syllabus? The teacher does…
f. The teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply…again, the teacher chooses the textbook, materials and curriculum, or at least some educator has completed this process before the students enter the classroom.
g. The teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting through the action of the teacher….in other words, the teacher models the appropriate classroom behavior and the student follows.
h. The teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it…this sounds like setting the syllabus before class and then passing it out to the students.
i. The teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his or her own professional authority, which she or he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students…
j. The teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects…this is one of the most explanatory themes of the banking concept…the teacher is the subject, that is human and the students are seen as objects, or non-human depositories.
The flip side of the banking concept is the problem posing method of education. In this atmosphere, the student and teacher are both teachers and students, interchangeably working together. In this vein, students are allowed to create and re-create knowledge. According to Friere, problem posing education makes students critical thinkers, encouraging students to take control of their own learning. Problem posing treats students as subjects, human beings capable of making choices, decisions that will enhance their lives. When students are allowed to engage in their own learning, beyond just listening and memorizing facts, they actually begin to think in terms of the usefulness of their learning. This is liberating. I often say that under the traditional banking model, the teacher gets to refine his or her craft in that he or she practices, re-affirms this knowledge every time he or she gets to recite it, write it, lecture it, speak it. Problem posing education extends this gift of affirmation to the student as well. When students have to teach something to another, then they become engaged in a completely different way…they get their hands on the data directly, thus becoming transformed in how they internalize it and teach it to another. Problem posing education liberates the student from the role of passivity to that of action. Friere refers to this as ‘acts of cognition’ rather than simply ‘transferal of information.’
Let's continue this conversation in next week's posting.
Dr. Herring
================================================================
Return to COURSECOMPASS DSEL 794'S DISCUSSION BOARD TO POST
Let's continue this conversation in next week's posting.
Dr. Herring
================================================================
Return to COURSECOMPASS DSEL 794'S DISCUSSION BOARD TO POST
No comments:
Post a Comment