Lisa Lin
College Writing 100
Professor Brumitt
15 October 2012
College Writing 100
Professor Brumitt
15 October 2012
Failing Education: Lack of Critical Thinking
In a society where all of the general needs are laid out in plain sight, like toilets, refrigerators, computers and clothing, not much critical thinking is involved or needed in our daily routines. Especially with the Internet, children and adults alike are spending even less time doing creative activities. This society nowadays reflects on how the education system works and also on how students are performing. The education system in America does not enforce enough critical thinking even though it should be commonly used in an industrialized country, where technology and ideas are constantly changing, and this leads to students performing poorly on a world scale, as compared to other countries that has less luxuries. Paolo Freire’s ideas of “the Banking Concept of Education” from his book Education for Critical Consciousness, poses an explanation of the failing education system in America and is useful in explaining why students have a hard time thinking critically as Professor X describes his experiences in The Basement of the Ivory Tower.
If a typical high school student was asked to solve a critical thinking problem or a word problem in math class, chances are, most students would find it hard and challenging and would not want to solve the problem. The concept of finding multiple ways to solve a problem would not be a new thing, but rather a feared concept because our society does not enforce these ideas. Many teachers see this and give up trying to help students learn to think critically because it is not in the teacher’s best interest. Trying to teach the student critical thinking could get frustrating and most schools do not care about the actual quality of the education. They are more focused on the test scores, which are generally memorizing and repeating. This is shown through students memorizing the information and then regurgitating it on tests. Students are not expected to think about the material taught because it is not required. This leads the society to become less creative and everyone in it, to be merely people with an “empty mind, passively open to the reception of deposits of reality from the world outside” (Freire 370). This uncreative society stems from the “banking concept” of education, where the teacher simply fills in the empty pails of the student’s brain with knowledge. With the teacher simply filling in the information, students do not get a chance to think for themselves.
As Paolo Freire describes, the “banking concept of education” creates a classroom atmosphere where it is teacher oriented, and the teacher is similar to that of a dictator. What the teacher says goes, and the ignorant students do not question how truthful the material is. This is the result of continuously using the “banking concept” in schools. Students are constantly being taught subjects in which they have no real life experience with, so they become detached from the society. Society calls for people to be able to think critically and with the banking concept, students find it hard to think critically, and cannot easily connect to society. Freire describes the education in the classroom, “The contents, whether values or empirical dimensions of reality, tend in the process of being narrated to become lifeless and petrified. Education is suffering from narration sickness. The teacher talks about reality as if it were motionless, static, compartmentalized, and predictable” (Freire 368). Here, Freire describes education and reality like it is an object in a different world, and not like it is real. When tests come, students just spill out the information memorized. Also, students are tested on things that are strictly taught. Anything else, the student would not understand because they are not mentally connected to the situation. Therefore, if the education system in America stems from the “banking concept” the system would not be able to move forward and gain momentum.
The future generations depend on a good education, and without it, the creativity of the people would die off, and then be left with an empty consciousness. It is apparent through standardized testing that America is falling behind other countries. However, scores and statistics are not everything. America should be more focused on the reason why the students are not performing as comparably, such as improving the classroom experience. By encouraging an engaged classroom early in the education process, where all the students and teachers are involved would definitely stimulate the student’s excitement and have them want to learn more.
In Professor X’s experiences of teaching at colleges, many students in his English 101 class cannot handle the course and pass successfully. They are mostly adult students that have a busy life with jobs and family. College is not on their top priorities, but it is essential in their future lives such as getting promoted. The students find it hard to think critically. Professor X points out a woman in her mid-forties, “The paper must be grounded in history. It could not be a discussion of the pros and cons of gun control. ‘All right’, she said softly. Needless to say, the paper she turned in was a discussion of the pros and cons of gun control" (Professor X). The student Ms. L. does not even appear to understand the difference between pros and cons and the mental process of analyzing and applying information to reach a conclusion. She is probably suffering from the “banking concept” in education, because she cannot seem to understand the difference between simply stating facts and how to apply an idea to something. This is a result of living in a society where thinking about how something actually impacts another does not seem to be important, even so to the point that it is hard to make the connection.
The banking concept is mainly applied to elementary, middle and high schools, where the focus of the education is to get knowledge into the students and not as much in colleges. In colleges, many of the students are taking the courses because they express interest in actually learning and applying the information taught to real life. Many students in grades K-12 have different areas they want to go into for their futures and the education system cannot cover all of it, so it covers the general knowledge, which is commonly applied by the banking concept. It is a generic and easy way to teach, because teachers and students alike do not have to think too much about how the information is passed along, which then leads to problems in colleges. Professor X is an English teacher and his frustration is apparent as he tries to convey his meanings across but the students still do not understand," How I envy professors in other disciplines! How appealing seems the straightforwardness of their task! The biology teacher also enjoys the psychic ease of grading multiple-choice tests. Answers are right or wrong. The grades cannot be questioned. Quantifying the value of a piece of writing, however, is intensely subjective" (Professor X). Some people might blame the teachers for not being able to clearly educate the students on critical thinking, but they have to understand that one teacher cannot solve all of these problems. All teachers have to work together to be able to successfully give students a good education in an ever-changing society.
One method that Paolo Freire offers for a better education system is the problem posing concept to counter the banking concept. The problem posing concept engages the students and teachers, and does not separate the two. The teachers are not only bleakly teaching the students, but instead, both are teaching each other, and students are presented with problems more often. Freire explains that as students are increasingly posed with real life problems, they will feel more connected to the problem, and will be more likely to respond to it. They will see the problem as important because it has a bigger meaning to them, and it would not be foreign, like from a textbook. This way, students are being taught, but the information learned has more meaning, and thus results in smarter students and a smarter society.
Paolo Freire explains his ideas of “The Banking Concept of Education” in his book Education for Critical Consciousness, as the cause of the failing education system in America and the effect can be clearly seen through Professor X’s experiences teaching. The education system in America is lacking a major component: critical thinking. It is needed but is not enforced and without it, Americans are not getting the full benefit of the education required.
If a typical high school student was asked to solve a critical thinking problem or a word problem in math class, chances are, most students would find it hard and challenging and would not want to solve the problem. The concept of finding multiple ways to solve a problem would not be a new thing, but rather a feared concept because our society does not enforce these ideas. Many teachers see this and give up trying to help students learn to think critically because it is not in the teacher’s best interest. Trying to teach the student critical thinking could get frustrating and most schools do not care about the actual quality of the education. They are more focused on the test scores, which are generally memorizing and repeating. This is shown through students memorizing the information and then regurgitating it on tests. Students are not expected to think about the material taught because it is not required. This leads the society to become less creative and everyone in it, to be merely people with an “empty mind, passively open to the reception of deposits of reality from the world outside” (Freire 370). This uncreative society stems from the “banking concept” of education, where the teacher simply fills in the empty pails of the student’s brain with knowledge. With the teacher simply filling in the information, students do not get a chance to think for themselves.
As Paolo Freire describes, the “banking concept of education” creates a classroom atmosphere where it is teacher oriented, and the teacher is similar to that of a dictator. What the teacher says goes, and the ignorant students do not question how truthful the material is. This is the result of continuously using the “banking concept” in schools. Students are constantly being taught subjects in which they have no real life experience with, so they become detached from the society. Society calls for people to be able to think critically and with the banking concept, students find it hard to think critically, and cannot easily connect to society. Freire describes the education in the classroom, “The contents, whether values or empirical dimensions of reality, tend in the process of being narrated to become lifeless and petrified. Education is suffering from narration sickness. The teacher talks about reality as if it were motionless, static, compartmentalized, and predictable” (Freire 368). Here, Freire describes education and reality like it is an object in a different world, and not like it is real. When tests come, students just spill out the information memorized. Also, students are tested on things that are strictly taught. Anything else, the student would not understand because they are not mentally connected to the situation. Therefore, if the education system in America stems from the “banking concept” the system would not be able to move forward and gain momentum.
The future generations depend on a good education, and without it, the creativity of the people would die off, and then be left with an empty consciousness. It is apparent through standardized testing that America is falling behind other countries. However, scores and statistics are not everything. America should be more focused on the reason why the students are not performing as comparably, such as improving the classroom experience. By encouraging an engaged classroom early in the education process, where all the students and teachers are involved would definitely stimulate the student’s excitement and have them want to learn more.
In Professor X’s experiences of teaching at colleges, many students in his English 101 class cannot handle the course and pass successfully. They are mostly adult students that have a busy life with jobs and family. College is not on their top priorities, but it is essential in their future lives such as getting promoted. The students find it hard to think critically. Professor X points out a woman in her mid-forties, “The paper must be grounded in history. It could not be a discussion of the pros and cons of gun control. ‘All right’, she said softly. Needless to say, the paper she turned in was a discussion of the pros and cons of gun control" (Professor X). The student Ms. L. does not even appear to understand the difference between pros and cons and the mental process of analyzing and applying information to reach a conclusion. She is probably suffering from the “banking concept” in education, because she cannot seem to understand the difference between simply stating facts and how to apply an idea to something. This is a result of living in a society where thinking about how something actually impacts another does not seem to be important, even so to the point that it is hard to make the connection.
The banking concept is mainly applied to elementary, middle and high schools, where the focus of the education is to get knowledge into the students and not as much in colleges. In colleges, many of the students are taking the courses because they express interest in actually learning and applying the information taught to real life. Many students in grades K-12 have different areas they want to go into for their futures and the education system cannot cover all of it, so it covers the general knowledge, which is commonly applied by the banking concept. It is a generic and easy way to teach, because teachers and students alike do not have to think too much about how the information is passed along, which then leads to problems in colleges. Professor X is an English teacher and his frustration is apparent as he tries to convey his meanings across but the students still do not understand," How I envy professors in other disciplines! How appealing seems the straightforwardness of their task! The biology teacher also enjoys the psychic ease of grading multiple-choice tests. Answers are right or wrong. The grades cannot be questioned. Quantifying the value of a piece of writing, however, is intensely subjective" (Professor X). Some people might blame the teachers for not being able to clearly educate the students on critical thinking, but they have to understand that one teacher cannot solve all of these problems. All teachers have to work together to be able to successfully give students a good education in an ever-changing society.
One method that Paolo Freire offers for a better education system is the problem posing concept to counter the banking concept. The problem posing concept engages the students and teachers, and does not separate the two. The teachers are not only bleakly teaching the students, but instead, both are teaching each other, and students are presented with problems more often. Freire explains that as students are increasingly posed with real life problems, they will feel more connected to the problem, and will be more likely to respond to it. They will see the problem as important because it has a bigger meaning to them, and it would not be foreign, like from a textbook. This way, students are being taught, but the information learned has more meaning, and thus results in smarter students and a smarter society.
Paolo Freire explains his ideas of “The Banking Concept of Education” in his book Education for Critical Consciousness, as the cause of the failing education system in America and the effect can be clearly seen through Professor X’s experiences teaching. The education system in America is lacking a major component: critical thinking. It is needed but is not enforced and without it, Americans are not getting the full benefit of the education required.
Works Cited
Freire, Paulo, and Paulo Freire. "The Banking Concept of Education." Education for Critical Consciousness. New York: Seabury, 1973. N. pag. Print.
Professor X. “In the Basement of the Ivory Tower.” The Atlantic. June 2008. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.
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