Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire describes and evaluates the educational system and explores the teacher, student relationship, and societal relationship. Through his “Banking Model Proposal,” he criticizes the education system by explaining that students are essentially sponges who “deposit” information into their minds through rote memorization and through other impractical ways. Freire explains how knowledge is a “gift” that is bestowed upon students and that students should be taught effective ways on how to analyze and comprehend information rather than memorizing random strings of information. Also, Freire explains how destructive it is for students to passively rely on their teachers to feed them information as it will destroy their sense of reality as they become adults.

In all honestly, I have not experienced this lack of ownership in the educational setting. My high school teachers focused heavily on the concept of analysis. My English teachers would assign a novel every month and the homework assignments were analytical papers that focused on specific themes. Although I am a really bad writer and I dislike essays, I am grateful for my teachers’ efforts. If there is one class that heavily relied on memorization, it would be my high school Immunology class. Every lesson required rote memorization and the success of memorization reflected upon the tests and quizzes. I remember for one test, I had to memorize more than 30 different types of immune cells and their special properties and functions! The worst part was that their names were devastatingly long. Aside from my personal anecdote, I agree with Freire and his critiques on the education system. Hopefully, more teachers will understand the value and efficacy of analytical-styled teaching.