Blog 4: "The Banking Concept of Education"

          While reading Paulo Freire's "The Banking Concept of Education" one particular idea noted by the author regarding the necessity of communication for authentic thinking stuck out to me as it urged me to reflect upon the importance of communication in the acquisition of true knowledge and understanding. Freire states that "only through communication can human life hold meaning" (322). I would agree with Freire and go a step further by explaining how communication gives a unique meaning to our lives by allowing us to place our thoughts, opinions, ideas, and emotions in the eyes of others and learn from their outlooks to help better ourselves so that we may grow to become more full individuals. Through communication people are able to reflect on one another's thoughts and offer each other their own opinions on a certain subject or idea. In this mutuality of reflection the two people involved in communication become jointly responsible for a dialogue in which all grow and learn from. This relates back to Freire's argument against the "banking" concept of education because he believes that teachers should not merely transfer their knowledge to the students but engage in communication with them in the hopes that the students will take part in authentic thinking and become "concerned about reality"(322). To further elaborate on Freire's thoughts, I also find that leveled communication between the teacher and the students generates a balanced reflection between the two and creates a dialogical relationship that allows for critical thinking and human growth. This notion supports the idea given in the essay about communication being the cornerstone for a life of "meaning" and moves it further to include the concept that the meaning of life is human growth in a sense that we are meant to live lives based on how we learn from our reality (environment) and take what we learn to better ourselves as individuals.