Ben McMurtry ED200 Bro.

Wilson Capture of Friere

I think one of the main reasons that Friere wrote these letters was to help combat the banking philosophy of learning, or in other words, create an environment that does not simply depend on simple regurgitation of information, but rather knowing how that information can affect us in the world today. Friere was able to see how this approach of deposit and receive severely limits not only the learning and intelligence of a student but also stunts his or her ability to develop their identity and change the world as it is, rather than simply becoming a simple byproduct of that world. He believes that not enough people are being challenged to help shape and reform the world, but rather simply accept the world as it is and simple adapt to it. As was mentioned before, Friere makes a large, detailed comparison between what he calls banking-education and problem-solving education. He first explains the effects that this banking method has on students and teachers, essentially dehumanizing the student and over-glorifying the teacher, creating and improper balance between the role of the teacher and the student. The true authority, the teacher, knows more than the students and simply gives to them the memorization needed to lift them out of their ignorance and be better prepared to live in (or better said adapt to) the world. He then compares that with the problem solving method, which puts students and teachers on an equal plan and, rather than focus on simple information regurgitation, are able to identify problems in the world and find ways to solve and rectify those problems. The teachers and students then learn and teach together and are able to change the world around them rather than simply conform to it. Friere helps supports these ideas by listing many assumptions that teachers have in regards to their relationship with their students. He mentions how many teachers are essentially the main actors in the classroom while the students are merely recipients of these actions. They are objects, nothing more. This immediately instills the idea that students are to be acted upon rather than act, therefore making their success in education dependent on how well they can be molded and acted upon rather than their ability to mold and act. This in turn essentially makes a student less human and less able to contribute to the world around them, not knowing how to act in a way that makes a difference. The message that Friere gives helps bring to light what we would call the second tenet: act rather than be acted upon. As teachers, we are to help students understand that they are agents unto themselves and they have the ability to do and think critically, allowing themselves the opportunity to become human and to better shape the world around them. We have to find a way in which students can understand and apply the idea of the why in their learning rather than simply the what. If they are able to understand this, then they will be much more prepared to contribute positively to the world around them.