What Is The Best Way To Learn? Essay, Research Paper

During my past learning experiences, I have found myself in many different learning environments. Many of my past learning experiences I can compare to the concepts in Paulo Friere?s ?The Banking Concept of Education?. In many of the classroom experiences there is either a ?banking? concept where you learn, memorize and repeat or on the other hand a ?problem-posing? concept which tends to be more hands on. Personally I prefer a problem-posing environment, because of my strength to be involved and work with many different types of people. I feel when I am working in a ?hands-on? environment I tend to learn more. Many agree such as Paulo Friere, author of ?The Banking Concept of Education?, who does believes in ?Problem-posing? and completely disagrees with the ?banking? concept. Many beg to differ such as teachers and parents who prefer the banking concept because of the simple fact that it has always been the traditional way of learning. Whereas ?Problem-Posing? is not the traditional way of learning, but establishes an environment for a student to learn efficiently.

My decision to endorse the ?Problem-Posing? concept over the ?Banking? concept class is due to a past experience that I had in school in a problem-posing classroom. In the 9th grade I was enrolled in a Health Class that was not an ordinary classroom. In this class the decisions were all yours. The class was not simply based on the ?learn, memorize, and repeat? concept which tends to be a characteristic of a ?banking? style classroom. The class consisted of many projects and presentations of research where you were expected to present in front of a class for a test or quiz grade. Surprisingly you were graded by your peers . I feel that in these situations I encountered less stress and was given the opportunity to be very creative and become self-expressive. Honestly, how creative can you be with a paper and pen, then stressing over if you have the right answers or not, and then leaving the class stressing for weeks over the ?F? you may receive? This is a characteristic of a ?banking? style class. I honestly feel that when you are in a ?banking? style class you can not express your creativity and will suffer in the long run because you will not be able to express yourself in new environments. Freire feels that oppression in our society prevents students from being able to express themselves, thus preventing creativity in the modern classroom. In a ?problem-posing? class I feel that it helps you adapt to environments quicker and helps you build up self-esteem because you are working with others around you which helps familiarize you with your environment.

Furthermore, in my 9th grade Health class the teacher was more understanding than any other that I have ever encountered in the past as well as in the present, thus providing a better teacher/student relationship. My teacher was not in any way a narrator and explained herself and allowed her students to ask questions openly. I remember that this teacher received many awards for her past efforts and by no surprise 95% of all her students passed her class. As stated before, the choice was yours on whether you passed or failed, this was established on the first day of class. The learning process that my teacher used was very successful, mainly because I feel she taught by a problem posing agenda. The homework was very hands-on, every home work that we did we had to share, whether it was on your weekly diet or on the history of the first blood transfusion. The basis of Paulo Freire?s definition of the ?banking? method is to ?record, memorize, and repeat?, he states in his passage when learning in a banking style, it is considered a success when the student does not really understand the concept of a problem but is able to get the answer, Paulo Freire obviously apposes the banking concept. To me this belief is completely wrong and defeats the purpose of learning, this way of the ?banking? concept allows a student to memorize and repeat for a short time.

The ?banking? concept in a way reminds me of the old belief of ?Children should be seen and not heard? and the concept of ?Do as I say not as I do?. The concepts stated in ?The Banking Concept of Education? supporting the ?banking? method are outdated and do not conform the 21st century beliefs. Nowadays children are learning faster and faster and are more intellectual and loose interest very fast if they are not challenged. Its not all about the ABC?S AND 123?S in Kindergarten , now children are learning capitals of states in Kindergarten. The fact that our society is being held down by oppression when it comes to learning is sad, this will further push the lack of creativity in the future in this country. The times are changing and things are moving faster and I strongly believe the ?banking? style of teaching needs to be updated and changed greatly to conform to the new society of the 21st century.

There is no doubt in my mind that Paulo Freire will definitely agree with me in every way, and with my teachers teaching style. He will agree with the ?Hands-on? concept and would think I was very intelligent and intellectual for supporting his concepts. The capabilities of students are defiantly stretched when they learn in a ?Problem-posing? environment, their horizons are broadened and they are actually challenged and able to apply the new concepts learned. If Freire observed a ?Problem Posing? class like my Health class he would probably feel that the students were very ?Knowledgeable?. In ?The Banking Concept of Education?, ?banking? supporters believe ?the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing.? This belief is completely wrong. No matter how old you are, and no matter whether you are a teacher or a student, you can learn from a teacher young or old.

Finally, learning is only effective when knowledge is taught in the proper environment. ?Problem-Posing? establishes an environment which enables a student to understand what is taught. I honestly feel that the best way to learn is in a ?Problem posing? environment, I have found great success learning this way and have seen many other find success in this type of environment. Despite what ?banking method? supporters believe and what many parents and teachers believe, coming from a students perspective , I believe that the ?problem posing? concept is a great way of achieving success in learning, self esteem working with others and the ability to apply all learnt lessons in everyday situations. On the other hand Paul Freire supports the ?problem posing? method because, ?Problem Posing education as a humanist and liberating praxis, posits as fundamental that the people subjected to domination must fight for their emancipation. To that end, it enables teachers and students to become subjects of the educational process by -overcoming authoritarianism and alienating intellectualism; it also enables people to overcome their false perception of reality?.