Discussing the teacher-student relationship, Freire (1995) argues that liberatory education consists of acts of cognition, not transfers of information (p. 57). Throughout the text he classifies two types of educational ideologies: the banking concept of education and “problematic” education. In the book he lists several characteristics of banking theory. He argues that a feature of this educational ideology is that teachers work as narrators in the classroom, which leads students to rote memorize narrated content (1995, p. 53), and ultimately turns students into receptacles and repositories. Apart from inquiry, this ideology projects absolute ignorance onto others (1995, p. 57). Consequently, banking theory and practice minimize the creative power of students and stimulate their credulity to serve the interests of oppressors who neither want to reveal the world nor see it transformed (1995, p. 58). On the other hand, starting from the historicity of people, problematic education underlines the equal and positive relationship between teachers and students, in which teachers are no longer those who teach, but those who dialogue with the students who in turn are educated even teachers (1995, p. 65). In line with Freire's belief, Greene, in 1988, writes from a more specific perspective, suggesting that teaching for “conscientization” is an awareness that could make injustice unbearable (p. 6). She argues that teachers should overcome internalized oppression, in order to teach not only what they believe, but also to elicit the kind of vivid, thoughtful, and experiential responses that might motivate students to come together to understand what social justice actually means. (1988, p. 3). Providing a more specific situation, he states that teaching social justice requires openness on all fronts: that of people eager to tell their own stories or imagine them in some way; to that of newcomers trying to make sense of the very notion of consensus or mutuality; to that of children and young people, who are familiar with the languages used at home (not standard English) or with the language of the street (1988, p. 16). This article reminds me of my previous educational experiences in China, where people appreciate teaching and guidance based on the contents of textbooks. It is also used in Chinese family education. Students perceive knowledge by listening to what their parents have told them and by reading the textbooks that their parents ask them to read.
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