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Autumn Burpo
Miss Libby
English 105
September 15, 2013
Oppression or a Conscious Decision
Society usually evaluates an educator by the academic performance of their students.
Standardized test scores are the typical criteria used to grade how well the educators are
engaging their students or if they are just babysitting. If a significant amount of students produce
unsatisfactory scores the teacher is not fulfilling their duty, but that is illogical. You can present a
student with questions and ideas but you cannot make them think. Though some teachers derive
their lessons directly from textbooks, many teachers make great attempts to engage students and
make them feel comfortable in their educational setting. Some students, including myself, make
a conscious decision to disengage themselves. Reasons for this can range from their lack of
interest in the class, detachment from school as a whole, problems at home, or a bad personal
relationship with the teacher. Whether the Banking Method or the Problem Posing Method is
presented before a group, it is each individual’s choice to approach the class with an opened or
closed mind. It is the educator’s duty to share their knowledge but it is the students’
responsibility to make the choice to engage themselves, regardless of how information is being
presented. Resting the fate of a students learning process on the educator is not realistic
preparation for the adult world. Sometimes your employer will tell you to do something and will
not give, what you feel is, an acceptable explanation. You still have to do your job.
The excerpt from Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed discussed the difference
between the banking method and the problem posing method. Freire does not agree with the

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banking method because it oppresses the student and does not allow them to think critically. The
student simply receives the information presented to them, memorizes it, and then repeats it upon
request by the educator. Students are also projected to know nothing which “negates education
and knowledge as a process of inquiry” (Freire 72). He believes that if students are constantly
given information they will not be inclined to question what is considered normal or consider
other possibilities. However, the pupil always the option to ask “why?” or analyze the “what and
so what?” Even the laziest student will ask “why do we have to do this?” Freire supports the
problem posing method, which he finds to be more beneficial to the students and the educator
because they learn from one another. The students have the creative liberty to question the norm,
as well as relate ideas and challenges to their own lives.
Some points made by Freire are strong, but others are debatable. I agree that the transfer
of information in the banking method is, for the most part, unilateral, but basic information has
to be received before one can critique it and draw their own conclusions. A chemistry major
could not form a hypothesis or perform an experiment without first knowing the elements, or the
difference between a solution and a mixture. Freire states that in the banking method, “…the
teacher is the subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects” (Freire 73). This
is true but it is not the choice of the teachers. When a teacher has recently graduated from
college, they are observed and evaluated based on how they maintain order and transfer
information in the classroom. Once they have enough seniority another teacher, fresh out of
graduate school observes them, in hope of learning from their methods. Though I have dealt with
my share of power driven teachers, most teachers are made to be the subject of the classroom by
the school districts. Freire also states that, “the teacher disciplines and the students are
disciplined…” (Freire 73). Unfortunately for the students this is the only option. If a student is

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out of their seat causing a disruption and the teacher says, “Sit down and be quiet, or I will call
your mother”, the student should not feel that he has the liberty to respond, “No, you sit down, or
I’ll call your mother”. Learning cannot take place in a classroom lacking order and discipline.
My tenth grade geometry class had plenty of discipline but no order, and as a first year
architecture student I still do not know how to calculate the length of an arc. My teacher would
spend the first 30 minutes of class issuing writing assignments and sending people to the in
school suspension room. Then he would spend the next 30 minutes on the bell work, while
handing out a few more writing assignments. That left 20 minutes for the lesson, which resulted
in students cheating on homework and failing test. I only passed the class with an A because I
scored advanced on my math Ohio Graduation Test, and it guaranteed me an A on the final.
Freire believes that the banking method objectifies students and the problem posing
method liberates them, but his belief that the problem posing method and the banking method are
what determines how students approach the information presented to them also objectifies them.
His assumption that one method can engage students and one will not, neglects the fact than
humans have free will. Unless the students attend a strict Roman Catholic boarding school or are
under the rule of a totalitarian, they can voice their opinions and share their ideas. However, in a
totalitarianism, it is unlikely that educational methods are at the top of the list of problems. A
student can choose to get involved in a class taught by the banking method, or choose to not put
forth effort in a class that uses the problem posing method. My tenth grade Spanish class was
more than “translate this story and answer these questions”. We cooked classic Spanish dishes,
sang songs, created our own group stories, and held conversations of any topic with one another
and our teacher. I was very much engaged in this class, and had I taken it all four years I might
have been fluent by now. Unfortunately, some students put forth no effort and rarely got

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involved, but it was their choice, regardless of the reason behind it. I spent my junior and senior
year engaging in classes that I had no interest in (that were taught by the banking method) simply
because I had to. If I wanted to be the valedictorian I had to earn a certain GPA so I made that
choice. I have also been in classes where I have chosen not to get involved on the shear fact that
I disliked the subject. My history teacher always wanted to her our thoughts on topics and I
would present well thought out answers to receive my points, however when given the choice to
take one of her classes my senior year, I politely declined. It had nothing to do with her teaching
methods, I had an opinion about the subject and I made a choice.
Teaching is a difficult task that takes certain skills. One must have patience as well as the
ability to explain information in a way that others will comprehend it. However, the ability to
make someone want to learn is a talent that only a few teachers, if any, possess. If I wanted to I
could decide at this moment not to finish this paper or any other paper assigned to me. Though
this is a stupid decision and a waste of my money, my teacher’s methods would not make me
want to write. The only thing she would have the authority to do is fail me or remove me from
the class. My educational journey will always be my choice and my responsibility.