Not an Isolated Case

Pedagogy of the Oppressed, by Paulo Freire explains the issue with education presently is the concept he explains as “banking”.  “Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiqués and makes deposits which the students patiently receive…” (72). In other words, no one is really learning anything from education, for the teacher teaches subjects that are hollow and have no relevancy, and the students eagerly take it, trusting in the knowledge of the teacher.

The problem with Education, Freire explains, is the polarization between the student-teacher relationships. He draws from Hegel in the bottom of page 72, stating that, “…students, alienated like the slave in the Hegelian dialect, accept their ignorance as justifying the teacher’s existence…” (72). Indeed, the very core of “banking” education is to oppress the creativity of students, and to keep them oppressed against those who would sell them knowledge.

I cannot help but to turn to colleges/universities as I read through Freire. My generation, I feel, has been spoon-fed to believe that we can only be successful if we obtain a college degree. College of course, is not free; it is a business, where they sell their knowledge to prospective students. Inter-collegiately, colleges compete with one another to sell to the general public who is a better choice to send their children to learn. Their goal is not to teach you, you must teach yourself. Like an addict looking for a quick fix, colleges will sweet-talk and coerce you into signing with them, excluding others from taking a share in your money, and after they charge you for admission, they leave you. Alone.

This is a cynical view of education, but it is not a random occurrence in society. Everything in life is a trade, a choice between one or more parties to barter goods and services. Everyone wants a cut; it just depends on what you are willing to give up.