Rodriguez vs Freire

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12 March 2013 Essay #1 Ever wanted to blame the teacher for lack of knowledge on a subject? For the first time ever here is a reason to do so. Education is a subject that many explore in a different way. It is analyzed in three distinct ways by Richard Rodriguez in his essay, “The Achievement of Desire,” by Paulo Freire in his essay, “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education,” and in the short film Two Million Minutes. After reading and watching all three passages, one can make the conclusion that there are many different methods towards education and interpret which method Rodriguez was taught. The types of relationships Rodriguez had with his teachers, family and in life was affected by specific styles of education and as he looked through Freire’s lens of the banking concept, he came to realized that that method of education had a detrimental effect on his life. Early on in Rodriguez’s essay he illustrates the characteristics of an automaton which confirmed Freire’s views regarding the banking concept. Despite his definition of a “scholarship boy”, Rodriguez lacked self confidence which led him to be overpowered by his teachers and his books. Through Freire’s lens, Rodriguez would be considered a waste basket. He was filled not only with his teacher’s knowledge, but also with information obtained from his “important” books. Rodriguez seems to be a classic student of Freire’s banking system. Rodriguez shows signs of fleeing away from the ways of the banking concept early on. He concedes by saying, “I became the prized student […] anxious and eager to learn. Too eager, too anxious – an imitative and unoriginal pupil.” At the time Rodriguez was simply just absorbing the narrated information that he obtained from his teachers and books. Even though he was able to narrate the information he receive, he did not truly know or understand the knowledge he

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