Santiago 1 Katherine Santiago Professor Abbey Writing the College Essay Rough Draft 1 16 September 2010 The True

Meaning of Education What does it mean to be truly educated? Is it knowing facts and being able to repeat them or is it the ability to think critically? This is the difference between banking education and problem-posing education. In my opinion, education can only be attained through problem posing education. Authors Paulo Freire and Amy Tan define what education really is in their essays The Banking Concept of Education and Mother Tongue, respectively. In his essay, Paulo Freire compares two concepts of education, banking and problem posing. In banking, which is the traditional method of teaching, the teacher is the depositor of information and the student is the bank, taking in the information provided to them, which they patiently receive, memorize, and repeat. This approach to education prevents the student from learning the actual significance of the information received. Freire opposes this method; he feels it is dehumanizing because it treats students as objects of assistance. He is a strong supporter of problem posing education, a method that challenges students to think critically and expand their minds. Amy Tans essay, Mother Tongue, classifies the English she uses in her life into two categories: the broken English she uses with her mother and the proper English she uses with her colleagues. Tan understood her mother perfectly, although it was difficult for others. Her

Santiago 2 mother did not speak perfect English, but her thoughts and opinions is what was really were important. Amy Tan dislikes the use of the word limited or broken to describe her mothers English because they carry a negative connotation. Using the word broken implied that her English was damaged and needed to be fixed while limited made it seem as if everything about her mother was limited, which we know is not true. Tan describes the extent of her mothers knowledge, which is not depicted by her inability to speak proper English, but by the nature of her thoughts. If society actually made the effort to communicate with Tans mother, they would be able to see past her imperfect English and understand the true meaning of her words. Communication plays an important role in life. Without it, there would be very little interaction between people. Communication is something Freire stresses in his pedagogy. It is a large component of problem-posing education. Without communication between teachers and students, education can easily become banking. If students and teachers did not have that interaction with one another, the teacher would just be announcing the lesson, not actually teaching. Freire does not believe textbooks can be teachers and neither do I. Textbooks are a source of information but one cannot truly learn its contents without a teacher to explain it further. Without the teacher, it is just memorization. What good is memorizing information without understanding the true meaning behind the words on the pages? Tan grew up believing that she would succeed in a math-based career such as engineering or accounting. She excelled in math because there is only one answer. But

Santiago 3 in English the answers were always a judgment call. However, because she happens to be rebellious in nature and enjoy the challenge of disproving assumptions, she focused her study on English and began to write. She broke away from the stereotype about Asian students. This makes Tan a problem-posing student because although she did excelled in math, she trained herself to become better in English and refute what was expected of her. Tans mother is the prime example of problem posing education. She does not speak the Standard English expected of her by society. According to society, her English is limited but in reality, it is societys perception of her that is limited. Even Tan herself says her mothers English limited her perception of her. Freire would say society is oppressing her. He states the interest of the oppressors lie in changing the consciousness of the oppressed, not the situation which oppresses them. This would make it easier for society to dominate Tans mother. Individuals whose language does not fit into a banking concept are treated as if they were ignorant. People think they are superior to others who do not speak the language. This, however, is not true. Intelligence is not determined by how well someone can speak a language. It is determined by the persons ability to think on his or her own. Freire was an individual thinker. Not many people may agree with his theory, but he firmly stood by it, which makes him stand out from other educators. For some people, culture and language can affect a persons education. Tan explains how language spoken in immigrant families plays a large role in shaping the

Santiago 4 language of a child. She feels as if this affected her results on standardized tests. I do not agree with her on this aspect of education. A community whose citizens know nothing but banking education is destined for trouble. They all lose their sense of individuality. They become sheep in a herd. Problem-posing education allows one to be capable of their own thoughts. It also produces leaders, which is something necessary in all groups of peoples. Without a leader, a community can deteriorate. Tans education, for the most part, was banking. She explains how standard tests could not determine a persons intelligence. I agree with her. These tests assess a persons knowledge of math, English, or whatever subject the test may be on but not everyone thinks the same. These tests are somewhat unfair. They cannot accurately measure the sum of a persons knowledge. Test scores do not define a person and this is what Tan is trying to prove: I wanted to capture what language ability tests can never reveal: her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech, and the nature of her thoughts. To be truly educated, one must be capable of thinking analytically and use their knowledge and experience. Some people may find it acceptable if a student can memorize information and regurgitate it when it comes time for a test. But as Freire and Tan say, that is not enough. If people learn to become critical thinkers and expand their minds, they have learned what no textbook can teach.