Reassessing the "Banking" Style of Education

    When I think back on my own educational experience, I have experienced both “banking” and “problem-posing” methods of teaching. Though I do know that the “banking” method of teaching can be helpful in some cases undoubtedly, I have come to prefer the discussion based style of teaching that Freire refers to as “problem-posing.” I did not quite realize the distinctions between the styles of teachings that Freire outlines in “The “Banking” Concept of Education” but looking back after reading the article, I can see how I was impacted and shaped by both styles. 

    My most recent experience with the banking concept of education was with my high school economics teacher, who emulated the definition of this concept. He would go through his notes and slides in a monotone, practiced way, almost as if he had been repeating the same words for years. As Freire describes the banking concept of education as the information being “detached from reality, disconnected from the totality that engendered them and could give them significance” (Freire 1), I can now see that in the way my teacher would repeat his information. It was a practiced ritual for all that took his class, the boredom of 80 minutes of him droning on while reading from the notes that he had projected on the board. There was never any change or implications of discussions or changes from what was written, just the expectation that what was written was true and never to be questioned. The tests were the same, the regurgitation of what was written onto another piece of paper, to be repeated again and again, never questioned. Though I can still remember some of the information that he taught me, I can not truly say that I learned it. Rather, I memorized facts that I can use in my work today, but I have no idea how they apply to what I am now learning. The concept of banking education can be used to share facts with a student, but it is not going to allow for them to understand or apply what they have been taught. In this ever changing world, the banking style of teaching does teach students how to use what they have been taught or how they can apply it to their own lives, though it is still used by teachers across the world.