Angel Green
Professor Brunson
English 106
10 November 2013
A Correlation: Interpreting Paulo Freire and James Loewen
The education system in America needs the communicational connection. In the essay “The Banking Concept of Education,” Paulo Freire relates his personal experiences of oppression in his native country. In his essay “Lies My Teacher Told Me,” James Lowen discusses the American history textbooks have the wrong facts and is boring. The stories that history textbooks tell are predictable; every problem has already been resolved or is about to be solved. Textbooks exclude conflict or real suspense.” (p. 386) Loewen feels the American students are misled in their history classes, “American history is full of fantastic and important stories. These stories have the power to spellbind audiences, even audiences of difficult seventh-graders. These same stories show what America has been about and are directly relevant to our present society.” (p.386) Freire’s and Loewen’s assessments are both an enlightening account of an unsuccessful education system. Although Paulo Freire and James Lowen promote education, however they fail to relate the position in one education system.
Freire contends there are two types of theoretical tools: the Banking concept of education and the problem posting method. “The Banking Concept of Education” is the concept of the teacher supplying the information, and the student listens. The point of banking education was to prevent the student within the present structure, training them to memorize the materials. I felt the ability to overcome the fear of learning a lesson, in a way; we are a result of banking the education. My sophomore year in high school, I had a difficult time understanding the lesson. I can recall the history teacher giving the class an assignment. I grappled a bit, because the history teacher was fun, and she made teachings fun in class. In the...