Blog 4: The "Banking" Concept of Education

The idea that in education, students are depositories or "containers" and teachers are depositors really irks me.  While in a lot of ways, it is true that teachers are depositing information into our brains, hoping that we will retain it, this is not the real purpose of education.  The real purpose of education, in my opinion, is to learn from teachers as well as to teach them new things that they do not know.  I have an appreciation for problem-posing education, in which "the teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teach."  Although it is certainly true that teachers have a great wealth of knowledge, it is also true that students know things that cannot be learned from a book or in school.  Each and every individual has his/her own life experiences that they can use to teach others about the world.  The classroom is a place where exchange should take place, not just teachers talking and teaching at their students.  In this type of classroom exchange, both the teacher and the students learn things that actually apply to their lives as well as the basic knowledge that all students can experience in the classroom situation.  In  problem-posing education, everyone wins!