Category: 11 AM Class

Blog Post 3: The Banking Model

Paulo Freire described the “Banking Model” as method that teachers use to teach in classrooms where the students creativity is cut.  Freire describes this method as a way of oppression towards the students.  The teachers “deposit” their knowledge into a student’s brain without allowing the students to express thoughts or questions they might have.  They get information planted into their brain without actually understanding it.  It limits a students input into their own learning not only that, but with this method of a teacher not allowing them to speak their mind a student can become “lazy” and feel as if they really do not know nothing.  This is a form of oppressing the learners because an educator has the “power” to say and teach what they want to and not necessarily what they actually need and should know.  A students takes in the information to a certain extent where it will help them pass their exams.  Soon after it will be forgotten because they do not understand what they are being taught but rather try to remember it.

In my years of attending school I have luckily only encounter one teacher that went by this method.  He would expect students to understand everything he lectured and would get upset when a student had a question.  His teaching would be based off textbook reading and videos but never explanations.  Facts were just thrown to the class and we had to remember them.  My teacher would joke around about getting the information tatted so we would never forget it but it would be frustrating to just have to remember a date and not know why it mattered.  As a result the students hated the class and more than 90% of the kids failed the exams.  I personally can not remember anything from that class, I felt dumb when I did not comprehend something and I knew that if I asked the teacher for help he would get upset.  He would just stand in front of the class and talk, he did not allow no one to leave to the bathroom, or even for water.  Even though some may say this method can benefit some people I believe that it restricts the influence the students have to their own learning.  A student should know why they are learning something and why it matters and not just be forced to remember it to pass their next test.

The Banking method, a balanced method?

To Freire, the Banking Method is a structure in classrooms in which knowledge is “deposited” (72) into the students, which Freire describes as “serving to dehumanize” (75). Rather than being a mutual space where everyone learns from and teaches each other, this structure is designed to have one main teacher (the authoritative figure) while the students remain there passively.

This model is critiqued by Freire for being a form of oppression as it empowers the teacher to be the “depositor” (72) leaving the students powerless, at the expense of both the teachers and the students (more so the students, however) as everyone can always benefit from learning something.

The Banking method is contradictory to the entire idea of teaching being a mutual process between teachers and students; so if the entire focus of learning is for the sake of education, as it’s supposed to be “an instrument for liberation”, the Banking method does just the opposite- as it subconsciously establishes an existing oppressed space in classrooms.

I went to a Charter School for middle and high school, and although the immediate norm in schools globally follows the Banking method, my schools were more strict in following it. We had to sit there robotically- couldn’t get up to use the bathroom, throw garbage out, nor get tissue without raising our hand as asking the teacher first, and that’s if the teacher said yes- and pay attention. No speaking or disrupting or else it would be a demerit. However, something I was very appreciative of that my schools did, is that they were very big and open to asking questions and letting students lead discussions via seminars(in some classes). In Hindsight, I can vouch that the Banking Method’s benefits included: practicing more focus in classrooms and learning, along with more order of the learning material; however, the idea of the teacher being the only “depositor” is harmful. Therefore, students should have more of an active role in their classes not only so they can retain more but ACTUALLY learn and hopefully enjoy it. Also, the presence of teachers may be useful in case students are confused or have ‘loose ends’ that need to be ’tied up’ at the end of class, it’s all about balance for the best outcome.

My Art hiSTORY

I think that for a lot of people Art is thought of so simplistically; when actually it’s a rather complex concept. To me is an expression, regardless of what form it may be in, it can be applied freely by anyone, well to me, at least. Many people assume that art is simply painting and drawing, but to me it’s way more than that. I think ironically enough that Art IS History, and History IS Art. They go hand in hand and intertwine to help see where some people’s heads are at or where we are as a nation, or simply trend-wise. Personally, my attention is greatly captivated with aesthetic, so whether it’s a beat that’s sonically beautiful, or the color scheme of a picture, or the way clothing goes together, or how a body can move in sync with a beat, I enjoy it all.

Art is in my life everywhere, sometimes it controls things in my life, such as what I wear, what my mind envisions, how I see things, what I listen to, what I take pictures of, etc. Art has definitely played a part in who I am today and why I am how I am and why I like the things that I like.

In this class, I hope to gain a larger perspective of Art and widening my current definition of it. I hope to learn more about how it used to be to see how it’s developed today and if it has had any long term impacts. I hope to also see how it may have influenced people and led to things being how they are today.

I think Art is very underappreciated and overlooked, when it’s something that we can actually learn from however don’t always access enough.

Blog Post #3: Pedagogy and Power

The banking model to Freire is about the education system. It showcases how students are taught to sit down and listen to the teacher while the teacher does all the talking. Then students are empty vessels and waiting for knowledge to be poured into them. The teacher is the one with all the knowledge. This type of system empowers the teachers and certain students who learn like that while disempowering a bunch of other students who don’t learn in environments like that. I have personal experience with this model because I grew up in the American school system and a lot of teachers like to run their classes in this format. Some teachers like the class to discuss topics together while other teachers just want to talk at students rather than talk to or with them. I have talked to my classmates and when they aren’t really engaged in the class and they’re just trying to take notes they are not actually retaining the information they should be retaining. The banking model is flawed in that aspect.

Blog post 3: Pedagogy and power

Paulo Frier was a Brazilian educator who brought this concept to many people of Critical pedagogy. He introduced the system in which teachers spoke and deposited information into the students which should then be spit right back out making them into basically robots. This proposal was brought in during a failing education system in the region. The system he introduced and popularized was giving the teachers all the power to push whatever information they wanted to in their students brains and forced them to memorize and repeat whatever they were teaching, not giving the students the time to process the information and say how they think or give their own opinions and questions on it. The process would not let the students thrive in their own ways and would put them all apart of a system that doesn’t let the students have their own way of thinking.

My experience of this system from teachers i’ve had been at a minimal. In a way teachers i have had pushed information at times throughout my years of schooling but we were encouraged to have open discussions about our thoughts on many topics so we were able to process all the information and give our take on it. This system has overall been away from how teachers have taught me over the years. Learning the way i have helped me become independent in my thoughts and ways of processing information and being able to question the information i had curiosity about.

 

Blog Post #3: Pedagogy & Power – How the Banking Method is Harmful to Many

When Friere published Pedagogy of the Oppressed in 1968, he explained how people pass ideas from one person to another, especially from teacher to student through the person who talks & the person who receives the knowledge should listen, memorize, & repeat this new found knowledge. Friere despised this idea because of it’s lack of creative thinking. This method is detrimental to teachers due to an abundance of young teachers who use the banking method end up despising what they do & quitting as most people who do if their job is just relaying words to young children with no fun. As well, banking method of education hurts the students because once you memorize a fact & use it for whatever you needed it for, the idea will just maneuver to the depths of your memory & will probably forget it unlike other methods where students can write things down & read them in the future or the ideas are relayed in a way where students will enjoy remember them for example many students like to memorize the 50 states & their capitals as a song for a test & plenty of people memorize songs. This method may be the best way to memorize work but if you end up just forgetting about it after your done with it.

Pedagogy and Power: Freire’s Banking Model

The banking model of education is Paulo Freire’s take on the version of education in which teachers play the role of a “narrator” that simply “deposit” information to their students who are their information “containers.” To Friere, this type of education is damaging to students since they become conditioned to listen, memorize, and repeat everything they’re being taught instead of truly grasping the concepts behind the topics that are being taught. The students also often end up not having the right kind of experience when it comes to the so-called “real world” after graduating.This form of education empowers teachers, as they are the ones in positions of authority, sharing the knowledge, and disciplining, whereas the students are the ones complying with sitting back, taking in the information, and being disciplined. This happens at the expense of the masses and society as a whole due to people’s lack of interest in asking questions and sharing their opinions since they have become so used to a certain method of only taking in the information that seems necessary.

In today’s education system, I think experiences with this model are inevitable. With the push for standardized exams and “Common Core” in elementary, middle, and high schools students are becoming more and more inclined to just take in information that is being provided to them without bringing up any questions. Much through my years as a student, especially in science and history classes, I felt as if I couldn’t do much but memorize certain things to actually pass a class. I could tell you that “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell” but ask me if I actually understand what the means and I wouldn’t have a clue. The constant need for memorization led me further away from the actual information and more towards Robot-That Must Pass The Class. To me, this is one of the main reasons why I (and other students) become disinterested in topics that could have actually been interesting.

Blog Post 3: 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.

The banking model is based off what Paulo Friere believes to be the traditional education system, in which the teacher “deposits” information into the students mind to simply memorize to later on spit right back. Freire believes that in this education system students are not truly learning as they are not allowed to actually think. The Banking model ultimately empowers the teachers and those in charge of the curriculum as they have complete power to “deposit” anything into the students brain  whether it be fake or actual factual information.

I have had many experiences with this model throughout most of my my life. In elementary school we expected to memorize in preparation for the New York State Exams. In Middle school and High school we were again expected to memorize rather than learn for our regents, mid-terms, and finals. Personally the banking model has had both positive and negative effects in that in my math class memorizing  the steps to solve specific problems and repeating them over and over again played an important and effective role in studying  for an exam. The down sides to this model is that once the information is not needed the brain seems to depose the information which happens every year once the school year ends.

 

Blog Post 3: Paolo Friere’s Banking Model

The banking model to Friere is the idea that what a teacher says is processed in the student’s mind, which is how the student learns. This model empowers the teachers because they have so much authority that they can literally tell lies to the the student, and the student has to believe this. It disempowers students by making them ‘mindless’ students that listen blindly to the teachers. This model empowers teachers and disempowers students at the student’s expense by making them almost like robots that follow orders without hesitation. I personally do not have any experience with this model because my teachers have always been more flexible and willing to learn from us as well

My Art Story

What Is Art?

    Often, art is perceived as simply drawing, sculptures, paintings, etc. However, art is in everything around us. Art to me is a form of expression on who you are and what you see. Art is being passionate for something that others may not understand. Its having a skill and putting dedication and work into it so that it best represents how you are and how you feel. My form of art that I used to express myself is in the art of makeup. I use it as a form of expression on how I feel or how I see beauty in this world. I hope to learn different ways on how to express myself in different forms of art and ways on how others use their form of art to express themselves.