A Positive Change In Perspective

Simply put, Freire believes that experiences directly contribute to the reading that we all do. I, personally, connect the words knowledge and experiences in this case because I feel as if knowledge is only attained through personal experience. And apparently Freire feels the same way, writing “Language and reality are dynamically interconnected.” (20) In writing, everyone gets the chance to express their viewpoints or how they feel about the different situations that they experience. When reading, the reader’s context is also taken into consideration. Their interpretation of what is being said directly affects the overall message that the writer is trying to say. Now, Freire classifies the instruction of reading and writing to adults as a political act. Why is this a political act? In both parties, being the writer and reader, we see an overall freedom of voice and interpretation. Learning to write allows someone the chance to freely express their viewpoints of any given situation, regardless of the norms and expectations of the time. Learning to read gives people the chance to freely interpret what they are reading, allowing their own thoughts to gain prevalence over the norms. Teaching and learning to read and write CAN be related to the banking model of learning, which can be detrimental to the freedoms that one should acquire through both reading and writing. But, as Freire says, “The fact that he or she needs the teacher’s help, as in any pedagogical situation, does not mean that the teacher’s help nullifies the student’s creativity and responsibility for constructing his or her own written language and for reading this language.” (23)

Personal perspectives are crucial to becoming a unique INDIVIDUAL. What I mean is that one’s way of perceiving something can make people different. When we take all of these different things that are being perceived and their respective perceptions, we see the uniqueness of each individual person. What if we were taught to believe one way, think one way, see one way, and act one way? Our uniqueness is nonexistent, and without uniqueness there is no society. People need to be different in order for there to be a society of some sort. The differences between people create the different parts of society. With education, we are more-or-less taught the same things, but we are free to create our own thought processes. Calderon states, “Thus the way we faculty run our classrooms and the way we connect those classrooms to our communities can truly affect whether our teaching and learning practices advance a more diverse, socially just, and democratic culture.” (3) It is true that educators can directly affect the way that people think, and participate in society. Luckily, through their teachings, many teachers allow the cultivation of our own perceptions. Take math for instance. We are typically taught many different ways to figure out a problem. Some might solve the problem using a formula that gives you the answer straight, or there might be the person (like me) who takes the long roundabout way of solving a problem. Other methods are also used such as the coteaching and colearning methods. This allows the teacher to teach the student, and in turn allow the student to teach the teacher. All around, we also have to teach, more focused on the student in order to cater to their learning. Whatever way one may choose, they develop their own uniqueness, or their own way of “perspective taking”.

I personally support an education that encourages the challenging of different ideas in order to create positive change. With this ability to challenge, one is more likely to create their own uniqueness in thinking. (I already talked about this) After reading these articles, I am more in support of “free” thinking. Teaching should not be modelled after the banking model of learning. There should be discussion, and challenging to different ideas, which can possibly open up the ideology of the “teacher”. At my community site, I notice that the students that are being taught more so through conversation rather than banking retain information more. They also seem genuinely more interested in the information that they are being taught, instead of seeing the material as a hassle or a detriment to ones well-being. (typically overreactions of the students saying that learning is bad for them…) I fully support the methods of teaching that both of these authors preach, and I feel that these methods are crucial for positive social change.