First off, I wanted to say that while reading all eleven pages of article on the Paulo Freire banking concept, I found myself extremely bored. I kept losing my place in the reading and thinking about other things that were on my mind. Maybe it was the way the article was written or how long it was. Or perhaps I was just distracted. Did anyone else experience this? Anyways, I found the concept to be interesting, and also decided that I would never want to use it in my classroom. I feel as if many teachers do, whether purposefully or accidentally, use this method in their classroom. Sometimes as a student I know I'm not learning, I'm merely just memorizing. In some classes in high school I would often question "Why I am learning this?" and "Why am I required to learn this?" Sometimes I would just have to learn a list of names and dates for a test, but the minute the test was over the information would slip out of my mind. If I was lucky, I remember the information from September for the final in May, which I found to be ridiculous.
The theorist I chose was Gloria Jean Watkins, who also goes by the name "bell hooks." She wrote a book called "Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom." This book talks about her views on education and teaching. She believed that teachers who held too much power and authority over their students would only cause their students to be bored and less happy to learn. Bell hooks also believes that every student, no matter who they are or where they came from, is able to learn. She believes teachers should act less authoritative over their students, and more respectful and caring. Teachers must also "be actively involved committed to a process of self-actualization that promotes their own well-being if they are to teach in a manner that empowers students." (hooks 1994: 15)
I believe bell hooks theory is one that I would agree with. I know that treating students with respect rather than acting as if you are their superior is something that I would want to implement in my classroom. Students learn better when they are engaged in hands on activities and taught in different ways. Just spewing information out for students to memorize and then forget a few days later does nothing. I also agree with the quote from bell hooks that I included in my last paragraph. Teachers should know who they are and be working to better themselves, so that this can shine through in their teaching and empower their students.
Bell hooks actually knew Paulo Freire and he was a great influence on her. She did not of course agree with everything he said. The banking theory is the opposite of what bell hooks believes about how we should teach. The article on the banking theory that we read states "knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing." The banking theory basically states that the teacher has the authority, the knowledge, and the power, and that the students they are teaching know nothing, should be grateful to have all this new knowledge, and must follow orders. What bell hooks says about teaching in her book is the opposite of this, so I believe she would reject this method of teaching.
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