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Education as a Bank

Education has always been seen as a tool in which ideas, thoughts, and principles of life are passed on from one individual to another, from one generation to the next. It's the tool that binds people of various classes in society, the poor, rich and people of different races are only able to come into the concise agreement due to the power of education. Various benefits come with education and with education there are numerous benefits that one is bound to enjoy. The passage of information from one person to another has often been done differently, Freire describes education as a bank in which teachers and authoritative figures deposit facts that contribute to the passive learning process. It's in this regard, that this essay highlights the concept of education as a bank by Paulo Freire concerning the case of Gloria Anzaldua and my personal experience in my academic path.

Freire argues that it's a fallacy to look at education as a banking system. This is whereby the teachers are seen as depositors and the learners come to withdraw the kind of knowledge that they want in their lives. The process seems to have been taken for granted in most cases whereby the learner has been forced to learn things according to the perceptions that the world already views as they are and not in a way that they are expected to learn (Freire, 2015, p3). This is a critical process that Freire argues that society is on the verge of misleading these children. They have to be treated the way they are, their understanding of the things taking place in the universe and how this knowledge can be used to ensure that they grow into useful men and women in society.

Anzaldua`s case of "taming a wild tongue" is one fascinating story that leaves one tongue-tied on how society has missed its priorities. This is the case where she has visited a dentist for the problem on her tooth but the conversation that she is forced to undergo makes her think that all is not right. The wild tongue becomes an issue of concern to the dentists and the metaphors used to make it clear that the doctor is neither addressing the issue of the tongue nor the tooth. This is actually what takes place in the education system whereby the teacher does not take care or notice the concerns of the learner but he/she uses the powers bestowed on him to deposit his knowledge to the learners without necessarily considering their knowledge of the issue being addressed.

The dentist does not consider the exact place where his patient is ailing from but rather is more concerned with an area that does not require any attention. This is the fallacy that's filled up in the education sector such that the doctor seems to assume that he knows it all and there is no need to consider the knowledge of his patient. This must be the reason behind the Anzaldua being unhappy with the concern of the dentists on his tongue rather than the tooth that pains her. The doctor must be willing to learn how the patient feels so that he initiates the appropriate measures to ensure that the patient is healed.

This is actually what is taking place in the education system. Learning cannot be handled as a process of transferring knowledge from one teacher to the learner. Both parties involved in the exercise must be able to understand each other. The teacher should understand the level of understanding of the learner and then initiate the learning process that suits the ability of the learner to grasp the desired knowledge. It's through such a process that the learners can be able to acquire the required knowledge appropriately.

The process of imparting information to the learners without understanding their ability to comprehend what's being presented is driven by the teachers that have crammed and have no interest to understand what their learners know in the subject being taught. However, such practices do not help the learner acquire the required knowledge in the subject as effective learning requires discussion, understanding, and reflection of the subject matter (Freire, 2015, p7).

Besides that, there is also the issue of language used in passing this vital information to the learners. Anzaldua passes through rough times because of being born a Chicano, a group of individuals that are neither Spanish nor Mexicans as they are perceived to be more of a culture, and identity rather than a language (Anzaldua, 2009, p6). In the region that she was brought up, her clansmen were mistreated and the language used was meant to demean them. This is actually what happens in some cases in the learning exercise when some of the students face it rough to survive in a hostile environment that does not support their quest to become useful individuals in society.

The cases of education being used as a banking system in which teachers only come to class deposit their knowledge to the learners and off they are gone, it also happened to me during my sixth grade. Our teachers believed that we had nothing to offer as far as learning was concerned. Our duty was to listen, get notes, write, revise and prepare for the assignments and exams and the circle continues. However, we came to believe that this was not the right way in which we were to learn. There is a need to relate the physical happenings in the world and relate them with the class teachings to ensure that the knowledge is fully impacted by the learners.

Therefore, as a result of this negative attitude and approach to the way knowledge is passed on to the learners have a huge influence on the way most of the learners grow up with little relevant information being passed across. Learning has to be made such that there is patience involved such that the individual that seeks knowledge is patient enough to learn step by step with the relevance of each step being highlighted.

This kind of learning provides various ways in which the learners have been oppressed rather than be taught on what they require to lead their normal lives. This was the kind of learning that I experienced at this grade, the process was programed and done by the teachers. There was no consultation done to the learners. For instance, the "teacher's role is to teach while the learners get taught nothing else" (Anzaldua, 2009, p4). In this regard the teachers have the role to ensure that the learners are deposited with the knowledge that they have perceived to be right for the learners. In this perception, it believed that the teacher knows everything and the learners know nothing thus making it a one-way learning process that the teacher passes information to the learners unconditionally.

The learning process as illustrated by Freire is all about problem posing as the learners do not learn beyond what they see and listen from their teacher. There is no problem solving as the choices that the teachers make have to be complied with by the learners. Besides that, the learners are "viewed as objects of learning while the teachers are the subject in the learning process" (Freire, 2015, p4). As such, with the oppression of the learners, in this case, the teachers confuse their professional authority with that their authority in the knowledge in their field of specialization thus making it difficult for the learners to acquire the relevant information required for their lifestyle skills

Education comes with various benefits in society. However, talent also comes into play in someone`s life such that education acts as a tool to propel one into higher places. Despite acquiring education I want to be a footballer because of the various benefits that come with being a footballer in society. I have been in love with football since I was a small kid.

Just like education football plays an important role in society of bringing different people together. People from different areas and teams come together and create a tournament. It's through the interaction that football creates with people of various backgrounds that make me interested in football. Therefore, through these interactions, I can always make friends and meet prominent people that I have always desired to meet in my life.

Besides that, I love football because of the excitement that comes with the game. There is hardly any moment that one is bound to be found bored with the situation that surrounds any football pitch. In most cases, those that at is the pitch are usually in jovial moods with the way their teams are playing. For those that their teams lose they always have the spirit of fighting another day. Therefore, this makes the game a fascinating scene for the lovers of the game.

Additionally, there is more than accompanies the game more than playing and watching, is the food. You can’t play or watch the game without food. In most cases, one must prepare himself before heading to the pitch. This is through having a nicely prepared food to provide the required energy during the playtime. The food involved in this game makes it one of the most important games that I love such that I will always spend most of my time playing or watching people play.

However, to become a successful footballer it does not happen overnight, one must work hard for it. This is because there are those footballers that are highly paid when compared to the rest of the professions in the world, while there are those that paid peanuts just for upkeep that sometimes might be enough for their daily needs. Therefore, to become a successful footballer I must be able to adhere to the training provided by the coaches and learn from the best players of the game around the world (Freire, 2015, p5).

In summary, I believe that learning is a process in which various factors must be considered. Learning cannot be dictated as Freire states it must be done mutually that both parties get into an agreement and understand what they want from the studies. Teachers, for instance, must respect learners and accord them their respects to ensure that in the end the learning process is perfectly done. Education has to be handled in the right manner such that both the learner and the teacher have respect for each other and it's not viewed an s banking system.

Works Cited

Anzaldua, G. The Gloria Anzaldúa Reader. Duke University Press, 2009.

Freire, P. Pedagogy of Indignation. Routledge, 2015.