The Banking concept of education is a concept in philosophy originally explored by Brazilian Philosopher Paulo Freire in his book "The Pedagogy of the Oppressed". The banking concept of education is a method of teaching and learning where students simply store the information relayed to them by the teacher.

1. PAULO FREIRE PEDAGOGY OF
OPPRESSED – The Banking concept of
education as an instrument of
oppression ; The Problem posing
concept as an instrument of Liberation.

2. PAULO FREIRE
LIFE AND WORK
• Paulo Reglas Neves Freire was born in Recife (Brazil) in 1921
Three different stages in his life.
• The first period concerns work in Brazil. He worked in several organizations - public and
private-making connections between culture and adult literacy. This is an important fact
because Freire always connected literacy and adult education in a wide range of different
contexts. This stage was interrupted by the coup d'état in Brazil in 1964. His early books are a
legacy of this time.

3. • The second period began with his exile in Bolivia, Chile, and the USA and, finally with his work in The
World Council of Churches in Geneva (Switzerland). This period is, possibly, the moment of a wider
application of his philosophy and practice and the establishment of his international reputation. He
worked as advisor in literacy campaign in several countries like Guinea Bissau: Sao Tome and Principe,
etc. This work is an important link with his own past because these countries were, at that time, colonies
fighting for their independence.
• The third step in his life is his return to Brazil. This last period is characterised by his work as a teacher in
several universities and, finally, as Secretary of Education in Sao Paulo (Brazil) between 1989-99 .Paulo
Freire died in 1997 in Sao Paulo.

4.  His ample bibliography can be divided in four different moments, not
necessarily in a chronological way.
 The first relates to his early works in Brazil: Education: The practice of Freedom
(1973), and, overall. Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970), the book which he is
most associated with and has been translated into more languages in the
world than any of his other works. This book can be considered the founder
document in relation to Freire's thought .
 A second section can be characterized as the spoken books phase. These are
books made with other thinkers not only educators that were created in a
dialogical way: Miles Horton; Ivan Illich; Antonio Faundez; Moacir Gadomi, etc.
have all collaborated with Freire in producing talking books which are based
on their conversations.
 The third period is represented by books in which Freire reflects on his own
thought. rewriting and adapting his earlier ideas Pedagogy of Hope (1994)
and Pedagogy of the City (1993) are two examples.

5. Key elements in his work
 Dialogue
 Dialogue is the core of Freire's philosophy and his method. Dialogue
guarantees communication and establishes education as a cooperative
process: characterized by social interactions between people in which new
knowledge is created through joining and sharing the knowledge that people
have. For this, dialogue as an educational journey considers people as social
human beings and not as recipients of knowledge. It is the essence of
liberating education. Dialogue is, in this sense, the starting point to edify a
liberating education.

6.  Literacy 'Method
 This is not a way merely to learn letters, words or sentences. The starting point is always people's real
situations and experiences shared through dialogue. From this point of departure, people can build the
meanings of their own surrounding world. The literacy method makes sense within the bounds of a
concrete territory -physical and symbolic. People in literacy processes become learners of their own
everyday life. In this sense, to "say their word is to speak about the world in cooperation with others
through dialogue . In Freire's 'method" words are more than a simple skill. Words are doors opened to
understand the world and change it.

7. • Oppression and the oppressed:
• From his early works Freire considered the educational process as one of liberation. That will
allow people to move away from a Culture of Silence and to have the experience and
confidence to say their own word. To maintain this kind of oppression, Culture of Silence - the
prevailing sectors in society maintain an educational system that Freire called banking
education: deposits are made; rules are given: knowledge is memorized not built. All these kind
of things maintain people in a state of alienation. To turn this around, his proposal is for a
liberating education that supports people to say their own word / world. This means, that
people can express their dreams, desires, hopes, and to find ways to act on these.

8.  Conscientization
 an oppressed man or woman could be conscious about their own oppression
in an intellectual way, and he or she can create some knowledge about this
situation. For this, it is important to stress that Freire always uses the concept
of conscientization to refer not only to the knowledge that a group of people
have, but, beyond this.
 consciousness is formed in a process of investigation and changes-deriving
from it- are made in their own reality. In this process, each person through
dialogue, meets with other people and can move from a magical
consciousness to a critical one We can say that conscientization is a process
and not a stage.

9. • In this path, Freire names different steps: magical consciousness, where fate and inevitability are
dominant in people's understanding, naive consciousness which involves some understanding of
the context in which events occur but the analysis is shallow, and finally critical consciousness
where deeper and contextual analysis are evident.
• Conscientization is more than merely "conciousness raising’’ it implies also the need to act on
what is known

10. MAIN IDEAS IN PEDAGOGY OF OPPRESSED
HUMANIZATION AND DEHUMANIZATION
 The most important reason people should fight to liberate themselves from
oppression is to "become fully human." This, Freire argues, is humankind's
central problem. In their lives, people travel down one of two paths:
humanization or dehumanization
 Freire argues that oppressed people become dehumanized not because of
divine will, but because of unjust systems. Dehumanization through
oppression happens in a variety of ways, the most common of which is
viewing humans as objects rather than individuals.
 The traditional method of teaching dehumanizes students by treating them
as empty vessels that must be filled by knowledgeable teachers, without
whom students would be destined to stay ignorant.

11.  Education
 Freire views education differently . Traditionally, classrooms are set up with a
teacher lecturing at the front and students diligently taking notes, the facts of
which they will study and later regurgitate on exams hoping for a passing
grade from the all-knowing teacher.
 In this setup, teachers not only hold the "truth" of information being shared,
but they also hold the only key to students' success: their grade.
 Freire argues that this methodology perpetuates oppression. Once students
experience this method of education, they more easily accept the mythology
that truth belongs to a select few. Adopting this mentality makes them
vulnerable to oppression at work, school, and in society at large

12.  Freire suggests a new pedagogy that creates an environment of mutual
respect, love, and understanding.
 Using Freire's methods, educators and participants (students) teach each
other through respectful dialogue. All viewpoints are respected equally, and
everyone learns at the same pace. This new method of education humanizes
students and prepares them to fight for liberation ... from oppression.

13.  Dialogue and Language
 For oppressed people to understand their world and the causes for their
oppression, they must engage in open, respectful dialogue with revolutionary
leaders.
 For oppressed people, defining the world in their own terms and context is
the first step toward liberation. Once everyone is speaking the same
"language," leaders and participants can engage in respectful conversation to
plan liberation. For Freire, dialogue must engage everyone equally. One
person cannot be viewed as superior to another, as with a professor in a
classroom. Leaders and participants should be educating each other
simultaneously, synthesizing their ideas into one cohesive plan for the future.

14.  The Great Depression
 When people consider the Great Depression that resulted from the stock
market crash in 1929, most Americans relate it only to the crumbling economy
in the United States.
 In reality, however, the economic crash affected countries all around the world.
Brazil, for example, suffered terribly when America's economic crash caused the
price of Brazilian coffee beans to decline.
 By December 1929, businesses across Brazil reported a 40% decline in sales.
Displaced laborers tried to find new work in big cities, but the competition was
too great.
 Poverty spread rapidly, and middle- class families, like the one Freire grew up
in, suddenly found themselves unable to make ends meet. Paulo Freire's
experiences with poverty and hunger had a "profound influence" on his life and
and worldview.

15. Brazil's Changing Politics
 Juscelino Kubitschek, who became president in 1956, sought bright new ideas
to modernize Brazil and bring greater equality. One of the funded programs,
such as The National Literacy Program, was run by Paulo Freire.
 Freire taught under the slogan "Bare feet can also learn to read”. Because only
literate citizens were allowed vote, Freire’s education policy could conceivably
bring thousands of voters to the polls. When the military seized control of the
government in 1964, they put an immediate stop to Freire’s culture circles and
arrested him for treason. The U.S supported regime set up an anticommunist
dictatorship that lasted till 1985.Freire was exiled and a was not allowed to
return until 1980.

16. Legacy
 Paulo Freire's life's work was dedicated to uplifting poor families like his own
from the oppressive grip of governments and leaders who served themselves
rather than the people.
 Freire's pedagogy has been adopted by schools and organizations around the
world. His work remains relevant today because he managed to link "the
categories of history, politics, economics, and class to the concepts of culture
and power," in a way that had never been done before, or arguably since.
 Across varied disciplines, professions have adopted Freire's pedagogy when
working with oppressed people, broadening the term "educator" to include
"social activist; critical researcher; moral agent; radical philosopher; political
revolutionary.

17. BANKING SYSTEM OF EDUCATION
 The Banking Concept in Education is a concept in philosophy originally explored by
Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire in his 1968 book "Pedagogy of the Oppressed.“
 The "banking" concept of education is a method of teaching and learning where the
students simply store the information relayed to them by the teacher. In a "banking"
type of environment, a classroom is structured in a way that the primary duty of
students is to remember and accurately recall the information provided by the
instructor.
 They are not asked to participate in any other way, and simply absorb the
information. In this type of approach, the world is seen as static and unchangeable,
and students are simply supposed to fit into it as it is.
 The prevalence of the banking concept within most educational systems prevents
students from developing skills that make themselves fair-minded critical thinkers
and continues to promote long-standing biases within society.

18.  Freire uses the banking concept of education to discuss how education is used
by those in the position of power to continue a structure that ensures their
own control .
 In Freire's work; The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, he suggests that teachers
and administrators who wish to maintain power and control over their
children, treat instruction as if learning is like a bank. In this metaphor, the
teacher "deposits" information into the students, who are passive objects in
the learning process.(information is simply deposited)

20.  Freire passionately expounds on the mechanical flaw in the current system, and offers
an approach that he believes medicates the learning-teaching disorder in the
classroom. The flawed conception, Freire explains, is the oppressive "depositing" of
information (hence the term banking) by teachers into their students.
 The "banking concept," as termed by Freire, is essentially an act that hinders the
intellectual growth of students by turning them into, figuratively speaking, comatose
"receptors" and "collectors of information that have no real connection to their lives.
Freire states:
 ’Implicit in the banking concept is the assumption of a dichotomy between human
beings and the world: a person is merely in the world, not with the world or with
others; the individual is a spectator, not re-creator. In this view the person is not a
conscious being (corpo consciente); he or she is rather the possessor of a
consciousness: an empty "mind" passively open to the reception of deposits of reality
from the world outside“

21.  (banking concept-humans-ojects) Humans have no autonomy and therefore
no ability to rationalize and conceptualize knowledge at a personal level. And
because of this initial misunderstanding, the method itself is a system of
oppression and control
 Freire argues that the banking concept is used to maintain control over
students, Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students
are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor.
 Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiques and makes
deposits which the students patiently receive memorize, and repeat.
 in banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who
consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know
nothing.

22.  In the banking system of education
 A the teacher teaches and the students are taught
 B. the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing:
 C. the teacher thinks and the students are thought about
 D the teacher talks and the students linen-meekly.
 E. the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined;
 F. the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply
 G. the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting through the action of the teacher
 H the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it
 I. the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects.
 the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his or her own professional authority, which she
and he set in opposition to the freedom of the students:

24.  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 so adapt to
the world as it is and to the fragmented view of reality deposited in them

25. PROBLEM POSING METHOD
 In contrast to the Banking Concept in Education, Freire proposes the Problem Solving
Method in Education. This method is concerned with the task of "presenting reality as
it truly is" and not glossing over the truth.
 two-way learning
 the Problem Solving Method in education allows students the opportunity to break
free of the oppressive, authoritarian nature of the traditional education dynamic.
 To alleviate this "dehumanization" produced by the banking concept, Freire
introduces what is deemed as "problem-posing education" In this approach the roles
of students and teachers become less structured, and both engage in acts of dialogic
enrichment to effectively ascertain knowledge from each other.
 According to Freire, "Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention,
through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in
the world, with the world, and with each other"

26.  To alleviate this "dehumanization" produced by the banking concept, Freire introduces what is deemed as
"problem-posing education" In this approach the roles of students and teachers become less structured,
and both engage in acts of dialogic enrichment to effectively ascertain knowledge from each other.
 According to Freire, "Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless,
impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each
other"

27.  This means that true comprehension can only be fashioned though conversation, questioning, and
sharing of one's interpretations by all persons in the classroom Within this concept Freire calls for an
equal playing field, "It [problem-posing education] enables teachers and students to become subjects of
the educational process by overcoming authoritarianism and an alienating intellectualism

28.  Freire means is that problem-posing is dynamic because, according to the text reality is in a continuous
state of change. He is saying that although the actual dialogue subsists whether or not the subjects
recognize the true nature of reality, their actions are formed by their perceptions of their own reality. The
revolutionary component of problem-posing is when both the teacher-student and student-teacher:
contemplate their own "realities" and are then empowered to imagine otherwise.

29.  For Freire, dialogue was a key component of problem-posing education, Dialogue, he wrote, is "the
encounter between men, mediated by the world, in order to name (that is, to change] the world
 According to Freire, problem-posing education can only occur within egalitarian, respectful relations,
dialogue cannot occur between those who want to name the world and those who do not wish this
naming-between those who deny other men the right to speak their word and those whose right to
speak has been denied to them. Those who have been denied their primordial right to speak their word
must first reclaim and prevent the continuation of this dehumanizing aggression.
 In problem posing the relationship between student and teacher changes

30.  The authentic form of thought and action produced by genuine problem-posing is the key to human
progression: by placing oneself in the timeline of humanity to learn from the past, examining one's life
in relation to the present while questioning everything, and moving onward to shape the future while
never ceasing to idly negate those lessons.

31.  THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BANKING SYSTEM AND PROBLEM POSING
METHOD
 "First off, in the problem-posing education, people develop their power to
perceive crucially the way they exist in the world with which and in which they
find themselves; they come to see the world not as a static reality, but as a
reality in process, in transformation, in Freire’s banking concept the work, the
subject at hand, and people are stagnant. Even the words leaving the
professor's mouth seem to float in mid-air and start to sound redundant.
 Banking education is based on theory-math is based on numbers solely
history is based on dates and the 4W's (excludes why?), and geography is
based on names of locations. Under the problem posing concept, math s
blended with history, and history is blended with geography: the question
why? is just as if not more so important than who, what where, or when

32.  Banking education resists dialogue; problem-posing education regards dialogue as
indispensable to the act of cognition which unveils reality .
 Banking education inhibits creativity and domesticates (although it cannot
completely destroy) the intentionality of consciousness by isolating consciousness
from the world, thereby denying people their anthological and historical vocation of
becoming more fully human. Problem-posing education bases itself on creativity and
stimulates true reflection and action upon reality, thereby responding vocation of
persons as beings who are authentic only engaged in inquiry and creative
transformation
 In sum: banking theory and practice, as immobilizing and fixating forces, fail to
acknowledge men and women as historical beings; problem-posing theory and
practice take the people's historicity as their starting point. In a traditional classroom
setting all students are the same-their brains are empty vessel that the teacher in
attempting to cram as much information in. In the more untraditional setting teacher's
adds to student's strengths and allow students more freedom in what they wish to
learn

33.  FREIRE’S ALTERNATIVES TO THE BANKING MODEL
 The key pillars of Freire’s perspective (which is the opposite of the banking model) are
outlined below.
 1. Marxist Critical Pedagogy
 Freire approached education from a Marxist perspective. He saw educators as
oppressors and students as the oppressed who are taught to conform those in power.
 Freire uses the Marxist concept of the oppressor-oppressed distinction that has been
at the core of Marxist and Hegelian critiques of capitalism. For Freire, this distinction
between oppressor and oppressed is also evide in education:
 The teacher as the oppressor- teaches the students to accept their position as the
oppressed.
 Students as the oppressed learn- their place in a social hierarchy and come to accept
they will become workers serving the needs of capitalists in adulthood. School is their
time to learn to become compliant workers.

34.  2. Knowledge Transmission Harms Students
 Transmission style teaching involves.
 Teacher Narration: The teacher directly narrates facts to students for them to
memorize. Students are passive learners
 Students' Passive Repetition: who must repeat facts to teachers without using
their critical thinking skills to filter, critique or interpret . Friere argues that in
this transition model "The students are not called upon to know, but to
memorize the contents narrated by the teacher" (Freire, 1970, p. 80)
 Ignorance of Prior Knowledge: Any prior knowledge students may once have
had is ignored by the teacher, who cares not for the student's beliefs or
opinions. The teacher assumes he is the all- knowing authority. They are tabula
rasa (latin for 'blank slates').

35.  Whole Group Teaching: Differences in opinions, abilities and interests
between students in a class are ignored by the teacher who creates a rigid
curriculum that students must adapt to.
 Teachers Should Aim To Become Co-Learners
 Friere advocates for teachers to become revolutionary educators who liberate
themselves and their students from the oppressive forces of education. To
achieve this, teachers must use the following teaching strategies:
 Change the Role of the Teacher- Freire argues that teachers should challenge
the existing roles of teacher and student. Instead of the teacher being the
holder of knowledge, the teacher should learn with the students. Freire argues:
"The teacher is no longer merely the-one-who- teaches, but one who is
himself students"

36.  Focus on "Problem Posing Education -Today we might use the phrase problem based education for a
very similar concept. Freire argued that teachers should not tell students facts but rather pose problems
and ask students to use their intelligence to come up with answers for themselves.
 Learning should be Practical: Students should not be taught more theory. Instead, students should learn
by engaging with the world around them. This would make learning relevant and meaningful to their
lives. Freire argues: "people develop their power to perceive critically when they interact with
themselves" .

37.  ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF FREIRE’S PHILOSOPHY
 ADVANTAGES
 Advantages of the banking approach include:
 Teacher Control: Even though most people consider the banking approach to
be pedagogically bad practice, may help in controlling poorly behaved
classes. In this model, the teacher is the ultimate authority figure and heavily
manages her class by preventing cross-talk or dissent .
 Reproduction of Values and Culture: Traditional and time- tested values that
should not be questioned may be taught through this approach, where very
clear and unquestionable wisdom is transmitted from teacher to student
without room for changing of traditions.

38.  Direct Instruction is Necessary: There are some instances in which direct instruction or 'telling students
the way it is' is necessary. Fire and workplace safety, for example, are not topics that can be learned
through contemporary trial-and- error approaches.
 Some Students appreciate Structure: If we are to believe that different students have different learning
styles, then perhaps some may in fact prefer learning through transmission. People may prefer to get
their information straight and clear without ambiguity.

39.  DISADVANTAGES
 Disadvantages of the banking approach include:
 Lack of Critical Thinking: When teachers expect students to accept their word
as unquestionable truth, there is no scope for use of cognitive skills to critique
critique of the information presented. Students are denied the opportunity to
exercise the critical thinking skills required in 21st Century knowledge
economy jobs.
 Lack of Creativity: When students are denied the opportunity to think for
themselves they will never develop creative thinking and problem solving
skills. As Freire argues: "banking education anesthetizes and inhibits creative
power" (Freire, 1970, p. 80).
 Power Imbalances are Reproduced: In the banking model, power remains in
the students are given no chance to question authority. Freire argues students
in working class schools are taught to accept their low position in the world.