Subjected to Adaptation

Timothy Brown

J. Hutchman

Lang 120

September 16, 2012

Subjected to Adaptation

            “The teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects.” This quote comes from Paulo Freire’s excerpt “The Banking Concept of Education”. In this excerpt, Freire defines the banking concept of education for its readers and gives many reasons as to why this concept is hurting the future of our students as well as the future of society. Within the concept of banking education, students are considered to be “receptacles”; the teacher is allowed to deposit knowledge of their choice into them. The students, as receptacles, are expected to contain all the knowledge deposited into them and recall it at any point when needed. Freire, a Brazilian educator, is completely against this concept of education as it only prepares students to “adapt” into the world around them, being hindered from being a humanitarian in efforts to help transform the world.

            After Freire’s assertions against the banking concept of education he fully supports this assertion with one major paragraph. Freire states, “It is not surprising that the banking concept of education regards men as adaptable, manageable beings. The more students work at storing the deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of that world. The more completely they accept the passive role imposed on them, the more they tend simply to adapt to the world as it is and the fragmented view of reality deposited in them.” This paragraph proves just how disruptive the banking concept can be towards our society flourishing. If our educators continue to merely have students memorize and regurgitate information then we will be left with no one adequate enough to invent new things, make important connections with our future to our past, nor anyone to expand on the knowledge available to us today.

            Freire does a great job communicating his thoughts in this excerpt due to his ability to express his ideas to the readers in a very structured way. This allows the readers to follow and connect with his assertion given they are even interested. The fact that the audience for this piece is mainly for educators it is understandable if someone else may not really grasp the importance nor fully understand what Freire is trying to say. In my opinion, the audience for this piece could also be for students. As a graduate form the North Carolina public education system, I have fully experienced the banking concept of education. At my high school it seemed as though most teachers were only concerned about the students passing their tests than actually making sure we were learning. The reason for that falls back on the teacher’s administration as they forcefully imply that their students must pass in order for the school to maintain its credibility. Due to these experiences of having answers to a test thrown at you the day before, memorizing them, and then moving on past that A is extremely frustrating for the students that actually are there to learn, prosper in knowledge, and striving to make something of themselves one day.

            Although I enjoyed reading Paulo Freire’s excerpt, completely understood what he was discussing as well as being able to relate and connect to it his assertion, I felt as though I had gained nothing as a reader. Freire does a great job at stating his assertion while baking it up to the fullest, yet he doesn’t really make you want to go out and demand change; he solely makes you wish for someone else to make that difference. Despite this excerpt doing a great job at informing, I feel as though it should also persuade the reader. If there were more essays like this one by Paulo Freire, and they are actually persuasive, then society might be able to comprehend the fault behind the banking concept of education and reach out to implement change in order to make a difference in the lives of students subjected to adaptation.

Based of the Source:

Deans, Thomas. "Excerpt: Paulo Freire, The Banking Concept of Education." Writing and Community Action: A Service-learning Rhetoric and Reader. New York: Longman, 2003. 69-72. Print.