The consistent regurgitation of information and soaking of that information like a sponge
is how Paulo Freire viewed the educational system of his time as he depicts it in his essay,
“The Banking Concept of Education,” which is part of his book Pedagogy of the
Oppressed. Freire makes references to his education, and how students serve as the
depositories of education while teachers serve as the depositors, which he refers to as an
act of depositing (Freire, par. 5). He also refers to the lack of interaction between teachers
and students, and suggests that the educational system is in need of a reform in order to
make it a better system.
Freire feels that teachers act as if their task is to “fill the students with the contents of his
narration—contents which are detached from reality, disconnected from the totality that
engendered them and could give them significance” (Freire, par. 2). He says that teachers
use their power base as a symbol of authority to students, with examples such as “four
times four is sixteen” and “the capital of Pará is Belim” (Freire, par. 3). He further refers to
the lack of interaction between teachers and students because students simply memorize
these teachings without being afforded the opportunity to learn why the teachings mean
what they do, just simply that they do because the teacher says that they do. Freire also
states that a teacher during this time is judged by how much he or she can get students to
learn through memorization, and a student is judged by how much they can retain through
