Typical education systems have taught us how to read, how to write, and how to solve equations. The typical classrooms where we are taught is setup for maximum learning potential: seats facing front, white walls with little or no posters, few distractions which could cause us, as students, to lose focus on the lessons being taught. The teacher stands at the front and lectures about the lesson for the day, whether Mathematics, Science, English, or any other course. Almost every education system works similarly in concept and practice. What does every teacher try to teach their students? It is the ability to become critical thinkers in the wider world. We, as students, accept this notion of becoming critical thinkers and assimilate with the education system.
This system of education is called the Banking Method. This system deals heavily with the notion of authority. Also known as Critical Thinking, this method is the traditional schooling method for modern-day education systems (Nicholas C. Burbules, 1999). The teacher is the head of the class, the authority figure, and the master of information. The students are all empty vessels just waiting to be filled with knowledge. The teacher then deposits the information into the student’s minds, where the students retain the information. There is no freedom of expression or margin for error. Discipline is taught which helps reinforce the topics covered by teachers and eventually lead the students to discipline themselves on what is acceptable in society. The Banking Method ignores social inequalities and lessons are usually prepared for one style of learning: lectures (Leroux, 2012). I know personally, I sometimes benefit from lectures, but it is more hands-on learning and group discussion which helps to reinforce the topics discussed in class.
While the Banking Method has been used for many years now, more recently a new method has been constructed which I feel is more beneficial in today’s education systems: the Problem-Posing Method. The Problem-Posing Method is a philosophy of education developed from Marxist theory. Also known as Critical Pedagogy, this method has a more liberal view of education systems (Nicholas C. Burbules, 1999). The term “critical pedagogy” was heavily influenced by the works of Paulo Freire and Henry Giroux. Ira Shor, a critical pedagogue, defines critical pedagogy as:
“Habits of thought, reading, writing, and speaking which go beneath surface meaning, first impressions, dominant myths, official pronouncements, traditional clichés, received wisdom, and mere opinions, to understand the deep meaning, root causes, social context, ideology, and personal consequences of any action, event, object, process, organization, experience, text, subject matter, policy, mass media, or discourse” (Shor, 1992).
Critical pedagogy has been used as a means for establishing new techniques in the classroom. It looks at the meaning of educational lessons and unpacks them to bring forth greater meaning. Within critical pedagogy, there is no authority figure or discipline to learn. The students and the teachers are on equal terms and help each other to learn various lessons. This kind of education system is beneficial to not just the students, but also the teacher. The students act as investigators and bring forth conclusions which the students and teachers can learn from. There is more freedom within a critical pedagogical classroom. Afterwards, the student is free to choose what they wish to do with their education. They are not trained in social customs, but trained at their own pace in whatever topics they see fit (Leroux, 2012).
The basic tenet of critical pedagogy is that there is an unequal social stratification in our society based upon class, race, and gender (21st Century Schools, 2010). The inequalities within society are seen as learning tools which can be overcome through cooperation between teachers and students. In today’s world, we live in a hierarchical society. There is distance between those in power and those who do not have power. I believe that this power is at the root of the reason why critical thinking is stressed so often in classrooms. Those in power do not want to lose their power, so they set the customs and social norms and get teachers to deposit these into student’s brains. Critical pedagogy however gives a vision of a socially just global world where the voice of the oppressed and powerless is heard (Leroux, 2012). Is critical pedagogy something which would be beneficial in classrooms around the world today? Would the idea work as the main idea behind our education systems? I believe it would. Allowing students more freedom within the classroom and giving teacher the chance to learn from students would benefit not only those students and teachers, but society as a whole where we would have more well-rounded students proficient in various educational topics. I believe critical pedagogy is something which should be adopted in every classroom in today’s society.
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