Pedagogy and Power: What is the banking model to Friere? Who does it empower or disempower, and at whose expense? Do you have any experience with this model? If so, describe an encounter that you have had with the banking model and reflect on it, both positives and negatives.

Paolo Freire insists on a “Banking Model of education” as a way to criticize the education system. Teachers are those who oppress students and exploit their power. Students are seen as empty vessels, containers even, through the “art of depositing,” we are filled with information. Teachers inherently have this robotic system of depositing and repeating. This cycle, Paolo Friere says, is not how it should be. Ideally, there would be more cognition and dialogue exchanged and even a mutual, fair relationship. Cognitive objects should not be held hostage in the oppressors possession.

The Banking model disempowers students and their potentials to reach certain heights that would otherwise not be known and empowers teachers at the students expense. It seems that the public school education system follows the banking model described by Friere and this is the experience I have had growing up. Teachers have the general idea of inputting information into students and have them regurgitate it with no creative room to spare. It seems as if it is a very black and white, right or wrong, yes or no type of teaching and there isn’t a lot of gray area allowed. Not all teachers teach this way and for that I am grateful. In theory, it sounds good to process information in this deposited form but in practice, there should be many other factors considered. All students learn differently, there shouldn’t be a uniform learning style; one size does not fit all.

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