peer review

Eng107

4.10.2019

Educate and study in the most appropriate way

Nowadays, education is a hot topic, after all, All parents want their children to get a good education. But there are many ways of education, and it is not easy to judge which one is the best. And even if the teachers and teaching methods are excellent, it is not certain that they are suitable for a particular student. Teaching students according to their aptitude is very important, that is to say, the way of education should pay attention to human nature. Freire’s views also have similar ideas. He thinks “Banking” is an inappropriate way of education. Banking means a teaching method similar to banking: teachers provide knowledge and students take it away, just like taking money out of a bank. Most students actually find it difficult to be interested in such teaching because in this way of education, the teacher as the subject, students as the object, the teacher speaks and the students listen, lack of interaction and thinking process. This kind of rigid teaching is what he does not agree with. What he wants to pursue is a more liberated and humanized state of education. Education should be more flexible, and a smart educator will understand that sometimes changes need to be made for different students. I think instead of providing better teachers and a better teaching environment, we should first choose the best method of education.

The liberating education that Freire advocated not only refers to the way of education, it is also a kind of the spirit of the students and teachers can try to accept. Especially as students, although they are not completely free to choose their own learning environment and teachers, they can still make some positive adjustments to their learning state and methods. This may seem unfair, but it is actually reasonable. All the time, only people to adapt to the environment, external factors will not actively adapt to individual requirements. In most cases, making changes on your own is much more reliable than expecting external factors to change in your favor. Undoubtedly, this approach is much more beneficial than banking.

From the story of Gloria Anzaldua, we can learn something about the relationship between language culture and learning, education. We can get some enlightenment from her experience. Maybe it is a wise choice to adjust our education and learning style according to our language environment. This part of the text provides some of Anzaldua’s thinking ways and practices in this respect:

The tragedy is that you have to twist the knife in your own gray matter to make this defense work. You will have to shut down, have to reject intellectual stimuli or diffuse them with sarcasm, have to cultivate stupidly, have to convert boredom from a malady into a way of confronting the world. Keep your vocabulary simple, act stoned when you’re not or act more stoned than you are, flaunt ignorance, materialize your dreams.

        This idea and practice may be a bit pessimistic and extreme, but it does show that it is beneficial to adjust one's learning status according to the current situation.  It's not easy to be brave enough to change yourself for the sake of changing the status, especially if the external factors aren't so friendly. The best forms of education and learning often do not occur directly, but rely on yourself to adjust the current limited resources to the most appropriate state. In fact, the liberating education advocated by Freire does not necessarily depend on the cooperation of teachers and students. The changes made by students with their own subjective ideas are also very valuable.

When I was in high school, in order to make sure that the students could memorize the basic knowledge and key points, teachers tend to tell us to copy what we have made mistakes for several times. I don't think this approach is cumbersome and time-consuming and doesn't apply to me. And I'm fully confident that I can find a more efficient way. I told the teacher that I knew my situation and believed that the method I had formulated according to my learning situation was the most suitable for me, and I hoped that I would no longer need to use penal copying in the future. It took me almost half an hour to convince the teacher in charge of the course. Of course, basic concepts are important, but just because you write them a few times doesn't mean you can master them, at least I can't. Substituting a basic theorem into different situations and contexts to try to apply it is more efficient than copying, and can be regarded as part of homework, it is also very convenient to arrange time for it, without disrupting the time schedule in school, more humane. After that, I studied the course at my own pace. I was encouraged by the freedom to arrange my own time, and I found that I could find more fun in this course. In the following exams, my course made such rapid progress that the teachers were surprised by it. I think students should have the right to choose the most suitable way of learning, even if this way is not conducive to the unified management of teachers. China emphasizes respect for teachers, and the interests of groups outweigh those of individuals. In such an environment, not many students have the courage to discuss in private with teachers about their ideas that may not be conducive to the unified management of teachers. It is also a good choice to obey the rules and learning arrangements made by experienced teachers. But as students, we need to know that we study for ourselves, not for our teachers. If we are convinced that there is a better way to learn, we should discuss it with the teacher and try it.

In many cases, educators and teachers are dominant, while students are passive, which is what Freire calls "Banking". In order to better education, according to their own identity, should do different things. Of course, it would be most helpful to start with yourself. As mentioned earlier, it is much more useful to adapt yourself to the environment than to ask the environment to make changes for your own sake. The reason it produces “Banking”, to a large extent, is people who don't want to change any things according to the situation even he can not study well in such situation. It certainly has its advantages to treat the educator and the educated as a whole, but it should not be a restriction on individual attempts and positive changes. Many students not only adapt to the modern education system, but also relax the requirements of reflecting on themselves, understanding the current situation and trying new methods. This and "Banking" are cause and effect. I think this is also the biggest drawback of passive learning. Students are not only learning knowledge, but also learning how to learn. Choosing the most appropriate way of learning should also be learned.

As a conclusion, as a student, you should be more sensitive to your situation and be good at thinking. Think about what is the best way to learn in this situation. If you think of an idea that can make a positive change, you might as well put it into practice. Educators and teachers should also give a certain degree of understanding of this. To avoid “Banking”, emphasis should be placed on strengthening students' ability to adjust themselves. When they perceive that they are inefficient or unsuitable for their own teaching methods, they should be able to immediately raise their doubts and try to make some changes. Therefore, to communicate with teachers in an appropriate way, learn from the experience of others, and obtain the affirmation and support of parents are all skills that should be mastered.

Works Cited

Freire, Paulo, “The ‘banking’ Concept of Education” Ways of Reading: An Anthology for Writers, edited by David Batholomae and Anthoy Petrosky, 8th ed, Bedford/ST. 2008 PP. 243-254

Anzaldua, Gloria. “How to tame a Wild Tongue.” Ways of Reading: An Anthology for Writers, edited by David Batholomae and Anthoy Petrosky, 8th ed, Bedford/ST.. 2008 PP.27-43.