Ward 1

Charity Ward
Chris Wyman
English 111
1 August 2016
Mind Over Matter
Everyone who went to high school is familiar with the banking system of
education. The banking system is where instructors give students information to
memorize to pass a test. With the banking system, students arent challenged to
think for themselves and become autonomous thinkers. Autonomous thinking is
thinking in a way that is not controlled by others or outside forces. In other words, it
is thinking for ones self without caring what anyone else thinks. What happens to
the student that goes out into the real world after the banking system? That student
may have a hard time making decisions and thinking for themselves. The question
then becomes how to help students think autonomously. Changing how someone
thinks is hard and sometimes painful. It is never as easy as one would think. While
instructors expect more of students own thought and options, some students
voice/thoughts get lost while they continue to try to mold their thinking to that of
the instructor.
Some students seem to have a hard time thinking for themselves or finding
their own voice. While trying to get the good grade, students try to memorize and
think as the instructor thinks. Paulo Freire wrote The Banking Concept of
Education which explains that instructors will give students information just to
have it memorized and repeated to pass a test. Speaking about the limitations of
this educational approach Freire states, They do, it is true, have the opportunity to
become collectors or cataloguers of the things they store. But in the last analysis, it

Ward 2

is the people themselves who are filed away through the lack of creativity,
transformation, and knowledge in this (at best) misguided system (Freire). This can
become a problem later in life when that same student has to make decisions and
think for themselves. Bell hooks in Engaged Pedagogy agrees with Freire that a
majority of the problem is that from the time students start school they are in what
he describes as the banking system of education. She states that Freire gave her
the courage to disagree with the banking system, When I first began college,
Freire's thought gave me the support I needed to challenge the "banking system" of
education, that approach to learning that is rooted in the notion that all students
need to do is consume information fed to them by a professor and be able to
memorize and store it (Hooks 254). Hooks like Freire sought a way of learning that
encouraged crucial awareness and engagement. She wanted to help students think
autonomously instead of memorizing information. Yet how do instructors encourage
students to think autonomously? Barry Alford talks about just that in Freirean
Voices, Student choices by getting them talking and interacting with one another
and voicing their ideas. Speaking of working together to express ideas, Alford
states, The most concrete way I know of making this move is to engage my
students, and have them engage each other, in the formation of topics and
strategies in the classroomIn brief, students talking to each other plays an
essential role in the way they develop ideas and create rhetorical strategies that
they can hone and develop in their writing (Alford 280). By getting students talking
to one another, ideas flow more freely and the pressure to be perfect is lowered.
Which in turn helps many students to begin to think more autonomously. This goes
along with what Hooks says about engagement and freedom. By allowing the
students to talk to each other, they not only get their ideas out but get to discuss

Ward 3

different views on the subject. This helps them think about a problem in a different
way and realizing theres more than one way to do something and finding out what
each student is passionate about.
Some students find it difficult to get their ideas out, let alone share them.
Many students are afraid to look stupid or say the wrong thing or to get the wrong
answer. With that being said, some students wait until another student or instructor
says something and depending on the reaction choose to agree or disagree. Anne
Lamott in Shitty First Drafts explains that everyone needs to get their ideas out
before they can really take shape. When it comes to getting ideas out Lamott states
that, The first draft is the child's draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it
romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can
shape it later (Lamott 326). By letting the ideas pour out the student has the
potential to not only expand on an idea; but to come up with something amazing
that otherwise wouldnt have been created. Many students need to remember that
no one is perfect and gets everything right the first time, whats important is getting
their ideas out because there might be something amazing on the next page that
never would have made it out if they hadnt pushed ahead. That could help a
student who has trouble coming up with ideas or is always afraid of making a
mistake. Mary Sherrys In Praise of the F Word believes to get a students
attention is to scare them with failure. Most students are scared about the idea of
failing anything, let alone a paper or a class. Speaking of getting a students
attention Sherry states, before an instructor can expect students to concentrate,
he has to get their attention, no matter what distractions may be at hand...
However, if style alone won't do it, there is another way to show who holds the
winning hand in the classroom. That is to reveal the trump card of failure (Sherry

Ward 4

339). As scary as this is, it does get a students attention and makes some students
think and try harder. However, it could also do the opposite and make a student
shut down and not try, thinking they wont pass anyway. Sherry believes anyone
can do anything, they just need a reason to do so. Lamott wants to get students to
express their ideas without worry, where Sherry thinks scaring students is the
fastest and best way to get their attention, so that the students can learn and think
autonomously. It doesnt seem necessary to scare students with the F word,
because it could cause some students to shut down and not try at all. While it
seems important to get ideas out no matter how awful a student may think that
they are.
Because of these factors students struggle with autonomous thinking. There
is always the need to try to be perfect and always get the right answer. Who is to
say there is only one right answer though? Transforming Learning: Theory to
Practice by Jack Mezirow talks about autonomous thinking, which is basically
students thinking for themselves and not worrying what anyone else believes to be
the right answer. To be active in society, Mezirow states, Thinking as an
autonomous and responsible agent is essential for full citizenship in democracy and
for moral decision making in situations of rapid change. The identified learning
needs of the workforce implicitly recognize the centrality of autonomous learning.
(Mezirow 270). What Mezirow is saying is that if a student cant think autonomously,
then that student wont be as well rounded or successful as a student that can think
autonomously. Bell hooks agrees that, '`engaged pedagogy" is more demanding
than conventional critical or feminist pedagogy. For, unlike these two teaching
practices, it emphasizes wellbeing. That means that instructors must be actively
committed to a process of self-actualization that promotes their own well-being if

Ward 5

they are to teach in a manner that empowers students (Hooks 254). Hooks feels
that part of this is on the instructor to help the student raise up to the challenge of
thinking autonomously and part to the students to accept that challenge. However,
some students will abuse this and concentrate on their personal experience. For
instance, when in small groups instead of discussing the reading, some students will
discuss whats happening after class or something of that nature. However, not all
students will do this and will gain the skills to think autonomously.
While instructors expect more, some students get lost while they continue to
try to mold their thinking to that of the instructor instead of thinking autonomously.
Some students tend to not think for themselves but instead try to mold their
thinking to that of the instructor. Many students seem to be stuck in the banking
system line of thinking. They are waiting for the instructor to give them something
to memorize to pass a test. Instead of getting their ideas out some students wait to
see what the instructors thoughts are on a subject, so that they can base their
opinion based on the instructors thoughts. Thinking autonomously is when a
student is thinking for themselves and making decisions and options based on what
they know and have experienced without fear of being wrong. With the banking
concept the system is teaching people not to think for themselves, which could lead
to larger problems later in life.
Works Cited
Alford, Barry Freirean Voices, Student choices Exploring Relationships:
Globalization and Learning in the 21st Century. Mid-Michigan Community
College, Boston. 2013. Page 279. Print.

Ward 6

Freire, Paulo "Philosophy of Education -- Chapter 2: Pedagogy of the Oppressed."

Philosophy of Education -- Chapter 2: Pedagogy of the Oppressed. N.p., n.d.
Web. 26 July 2016.
Hooks, Bell Engaged Pedagogy Exploring Relationships: Globalization and
Learning in the 21st Century. Mid-Michigan Community College, Boston. 2013.
Page 253. Print.
Lamott, Anne Shitty First Drafts Exploring Relationships: Globalization and
Learning in the 21st Century. Mid-Michigan Community College, Boston. 2013.
Page 325. Print.
Mezirow, Jack Transforming Learning: Theory to Practice Exploring Relationships:
Globalization and Learning in the 21st Century. Mid-Michigan Community
College, Boston. 2013. Page 268. Print.
Sherry, Mary In Praise of the F Word Exploring Relationships: Globalization and
Learning in the 21st Century. Mid-Michigan Community College, Boston. 2013.
Page 338. Print.