Freire’s Pedagogy of The Oppressed & Plato’s The Republic’s: Improving The Education System

Introduction

According to a 2012 study by established economists, replacing a poor teacher with an average one would raise a single classroom’s lifetime earnings by about $266,000 (Chetty, Friedman, & Rockoff, 2012). Multiply that by a career’s worth of classrooms, and this could mean significantly more profit in students’ pockets. With that being said, teachers play an undeniably important role in educating the future minds of tomorrow. Plato’s The Republic (Plato, trans. 1968) and Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire, 1970) were both stories centered around teaching techniques that our class had the pleasure of dissecting over the last couple of weeks. In blatant terms, these two stories are moderately different but share an underlying similarity of challenging tradition, even though they were written hundreds of years apart. Plato’s The Republic emphasizes defining justice and having three social classes to balance his idea of a perfect world. Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed conveys a message that students have a “fear of freedom” and introduces two models that teachers should evaluate before they corrupt future students.

Freire’s Pedagogy of The Oppressed & Plato’s The Republic: Improving The Education System

Reflecting on my childhood, I recall numerous instances of being spoon-fed information, akin to Freire’s concept of the banking method. This method describes a type of education where the teacher deposits facts into the student’s head. Freire mentions, “Indeed, the interests of the oppressors lie in ‘changing the consciousness of the oppressed, not the situation which oppresses them’; for the more, the oppressed can be led to adapt to that situation, the more easily they can be dominated” (Freire, 1970, p. 74). This type of method that my classmates and I have endured throughout our educational careers forces students to adapt to an oppressive world instead of a critical one. In my preschool days, I feel that the teachers took the right approach by engaging students with interactive activities and games that foster positive engagement. However, as the typical grade school system progresses, these interactive games and activities fade away, leaving room for traditional methods.

The Complexity of Educational Methods

The interesting and sometimes aggravating part about these readings each week is the openness to interpretation. There usually isn’t a right or wrong answer or a perfect way to teach our youth. Regarding Plato, he tries to map out the best possible world with a system of producers, auxiliaries, and guardians. Plato mentions, “The result, then, is that more plentiful and better-quality goods are more easily produced if each person does one thing for which he is naturally suited, does it at the right time, and is released from having to do any of the others” (Plato, trans. 1968, p. 370). This system means that every citizen within this community would have to know their role. Producers must focus on what nature offers them, auxiliaries must uphold the rulers’ convictions, and rulers must govern. When I first read this part of The Republic, my mind likened it to a basketball organization where players listen to the coach's teachings, and owners oversee the day-to-day operations of the team.

Plato’s Souls and Educational Reflections

Plato also discusses the classes of souls people possess. The first is having a rational part of the soul that seeks truths, while the other two are spiritual and one that seeks money. These concepts take me back to my preschool days at Sacred Heart, where all we learned was to pray. Looking back on those times, I recognize the religious cycle I was in, which is completely different from the middle school and high school days when teachers read off PowerPoints for fifty minutes straight. Plato's allegory of the cave, where people are confused by the white lies from puppeteers, reminds me of how education sometimes obscures broader truths.

Conclusion

After comparing both stories to my childhood, it’s fair to say that the banking method has been used 90% of the time in our educational career. While the banking method has its merits, it should not be the sole approach. Freire’s problem-posing method should be used continuously and not left behind after elementary school. I believe that Temple students would benefit from this approach as well, gaining a deeper understanding of the knowledge our professors convey. Our IH II class is built and practiced around the problem-posing method, fostering an environment where there is no significant divide between teacher and student because we all are interested in each other's perspectives. If the board of education or curriculum directors can find a mix of problem posing and a little bit of banking methods, the future generations will be much better off.

References:

• Chetty, R., Friedman, J. N., & Rockoff, J. E. (2012). The long-term impacts of teachers: Teacher value-added and student outcomes in adulthood. National Bureau of Economic Research.
• Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Herder and Herder.
• Plato. (1968). The Republic (A. Bloom, Trans.). Basic Books.