Pedagogy of The Oppressed

            Wow. After reading the second chapter from Pedagogy of the Oppressed my thoughts about education have been altered. I have never been a fan of the generalized, fill in the bubble style of tests mandated by states and the government, but Freire’s view is definitely extreme. I don’t think I would go so far as to say that our education was created to oppress upcoming generations into submission. I see the bank education approach as antiquated, not oppressive. Educational needs were far different, even just ten years ago, than they are today. Technology has changed the way the world works, and more critical thinking and creative problem solving are required for students to become successful in the working world. Our world has become, in a sense, flat. People travel around the world for work, but that used to not be the case. Students needed to know more hands on skills to function in their towns. Traveling to a different country for work was rare. As that option has become more and more available, the way we teach has had to change to prepare students to compete with the world for jobs instead of just the people in their town. I see this as the evolution of education. Education today is still evolving to meet our students’ needs and will continue to evolve with each generation. It’s progress. I like the overall message that Freire is sending with his writing, but I don’t completely agree. The way he describes banking education makes it seem like teachers are evil and out crush creativity and the very soul of their students. Thinking about my least favorite teachers when I was in school, I wouldn’t say they were evil. They were just uneducated on various methods that could benefit their students. If Freire is making his extreme statements to help make a point, then I can appreciate his style. His words definitely made me think about testing and my philosophy about education. Education needs to evolve, but not just for students. It needs to be developed and evolved for teachers and their professional development too. Old-school teachers aren’t oppressors, they just lacking support to grow.