The "Banking " Concept of Education by Paulo Freire

This was one of the more difficult pieces  that we have  to read thus far. It was especially hard for me to decipher the meaning behind this essay because Freire used the tactic of referencing philosophy, which really is not my strong suit. However,  I did manage to understand the idea behind Freire's statement "students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor" (Freire, 318). This phrase specifically stood out to me only because I feel as though it can be applied to the context of my life. Throughout my 13 years of education I have always been the so called "passive" pupil. I will simply sit back and class and take notes when told to do so and memorize endless facts for the big test. Yes, this process of learning got me phenomenal grades in high school and into one of the best colleges in Florida, but i often find myself looking back on the those classes asking "What did i actually learn from that class"? All the notecards I made and terms I carved into my mind are thrown away after the test so as to make room for more information. Is this style of cramming for a test really "learning"? The only classes where I can honestly say I play just as an equal role as does the teacher is in math class because in math you do not really rely on the teacher to guide you in a certain direction, but instead you can simply teach yourself. This means that in every other one of my classes besides math I am just an empty receptacle ready to collect knowledge. This style of education cannot really be considered learning because to me "learning" is something that involves the active participation from two parties (both the teacher and the student).