The main reason why education in general can be considered to be a market failure is because it is a merit good. These are goods that which the government feels people will under-consume and therefore will subsidise it or provide it for free. Education is one such thing. The government provides lots of public schools so parents can afford to send their child to school at low prices. If the government does not supply this good above the market level, we will see declining literacy rates in many countries. This is not at all beneficial, after all economies can benefit from a more educated work force, which may improve efficiency or bring in fresh ideas. Another point if education is not subsidised is that parents may think twice before allowing their children to go to school. If the costs of allowing them to go to school is close to the budget that the parents have, then it might be better for the family if they saved the money spent on school fees. Read more…
“The “Banking Concept” of Education” is Paulo Freire’s careful analysis of the teacher-student relationship through two entirely different types of education, the banking concept of education and problem posing education. Freire describes both the banking concept as well as the idea of problem posing education in terms of the teachers and not the students. He devotes most of his time to explaining the basics of the banking concept of education, and fails to give a concrete example of a student in the problem posing education. Friere fails to describe in full detail a student in problem posing education intentionally, because he wants us to determine ourselves what the ideal student is by using the basis for problem posing education, learning how to think as an individual. His goal is to make the reader creatively discover his point of view and understand his motives for his style of writing in the “Banking Concept of Education.”
Freire’s spends the great majority of his time in this essay describing the specific points in the banking concept of education. He provides many examples and explains thoroughly each and every aspect of the banking concept. Freire even includes the characteristics that are required in a student for success. The way students must be able to memorize, base everything off factual information and to be a receptacle of knowledge. He also includes the role of the teacher as a dictator and the idea that the students are educated like slaves in the Hegelian Dialectic. Students are taught to learn to accept their ignorance, as to justify the teacher. However, there is a serious lack of information on the problem posing style of education; he gives you bits and pieces of the puzzle but never really puts them all together. He spends so much of his time describing, in his mind, the fundamentally unconcerning banking concept of education, he never really gives a clear view of what his ideal form of education consists of. By creating such a vivid picture of the banking concept of education, Freire forces the reader to think creatively to see the other side of his argument. He is using the tactics of problem posing education to explain what the foundation of problem posing education is all about. Read more…
