Paulo Friere's The Banking Concept Of Education

Learning Over Learning

If I were to walk down town and ask the average passerby what a school was they would probably describe something along the lines of “a place you can go to learn” (Passerby). This statement is technically true however “learn” is a very broad definition meaning to acquire knowledge or skills through experience, study, or teaching. When the average passerby says learn we can assume they are, for the most part, describing a teacher delivering knowledge to their students. This is how we as a society define learning. I would hazard that learning this definition is not the definition we should use. If what I am suggesting is true our school system is tragically misusing arguably the most important years of someone’s life. This is because they are learning not learning.

In 1979 Jean Anyon wrote “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” suggesting that schools from

This is a radical argument and even more controversial than what I am discussing however Friere draws some parallels that warrant attention in the greater discussion of the effect of learning in our society. In Friere’s own words, “In the banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing” (2). As we can see Friere doesn’t just view learning as a misguided system perpetuated by ignorance, but as an oppression of the students independent thought by the teachers. This supposed oppression might not be entirely as conscious an act as Friere describes, however suggesting its potential existence certainly has some merit. So how does this affect our conversation beside being an interesting side