Blog Post 6; PostIt

While reading the Paulo Freire article in my Educational Foundations book, I noticed that he makes many key points about what is wrong with our educational system, that I believe all teachers should be aware of. In one section of his text, he makes points that the banking concept believes;

1. the teacher teaches and the students are taught
2. the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing
3. the teacher thinks and the students are though about
4. the teacher talks and the students listen

These concepts are oppressive, like Paulo says, and generalizations that can hurt students instead of help them. I believe that the statements about should also be read in the opposite direction. An example being that the students teach and the teacher is taught. I believe that everybody has something to learn from someone, no matter who its from. I think that it is important for teachers to be open to what students think and believe, because I definitely believe that the teachers can learn from their students. Whether they learn a new fact from their student, or learn how to be a better teacher, that can all be taught by the student. 

I think that this is so important to me because of the school district that I came from. Where I was taught, the teachers were very open to listening to whatever their students had to say. Many of them were also very concerned with helping us to form our own opinions on real world matters. They wanted us to think for ourselves, without the influence of their own opinions. I think that this goes hand in hand with learning from your students, because, yes the teachers have to aid their students in the learning and growing process, but along the way teachers never know what their students will bring to light, and what their student may teach them along the way.