Paulo Freire and Education Essay

Essay Assignment:  In this essay, your goal is to think critically about how Paulo Freire’s “banking concept” (along with other potential ideas from his essay) relates to a specific moment in your educational history and narrative.  This is more than finding an example from your education that matches Freire’s. Rather, try to model your writing on the work his essay does.  Using a specific example from your history, you will think critically about issues related to education—teacher/student dynamics, classroom dynamics, textbooks, what constitutes “knowledge,” how learning shaped you, positively or negatively, etc.
Essay Goal:  The first goal of this essay is for you to communicate a clear understanding of Freire’s ideas through summary, quotation, and analysis. The second goal of the assignment is for you to use your own experiences as a way to reflect critically on the ideas of Freire that you choose to incorporate into your essay. What can we learn about Freire’s ideas,  or your own experience, by thinking about them together?
Readings to Review: Paulo Freire, “The Banking Concept of Education,” from Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Essay Requirements:
(These elements need to be part of your essay, but not necessarily in the following order):
•    Telling your readers what they’re reading about and why:
This includes an introduction to the topic and a meaningful thesis statement. Summary/paraphrase: Your essay must clearly express Freire’s main ideas, not necessarily in the introduction, but wherever you use those ideas in a significant way, such as in a body paragraph.
•    Evidence:
Evidence must come from both quotes from Freire as well as specific examples from your own educational experience. Make sure your personal examples are concrete, specific, and relate to the ideas from Freire that you are working with.
•    Think About Your Audience:
Imagine the audience as someone who knows what you know but who is not familiar with Freire’s idea. You will have to be attentive how your writing is read by others, including explaining terms or concepts when necessary (and not when it’s not!)
•    Development:
Before you stop writing, ask yourself: After you write your sentences, you should ask yourself “will someone else understand the ideas and words in this sentence?” If you believe that an idea or word needs to be explained, you should explain that idea or word in your next sentence.

Formal Expectations:
•    3.5 – 5 pages
•    Typed, double spaced, Times New Roman, 12pt font. 1-inch margins. No extra spaces between paragraphs.
•    You must take part in the workshop on the 12th or your essay will be penalized one full letter grade. You must bring four typed copies of your essay to take part in the workshop.
•    Late essays will not be accepted.

Citation Style:
Last name, First name.  Book Title. City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page range of entry. Medium of Publication.