Participants: Brandon (leader), Sam, David, Sara, Cate, Haley, Sam, Sheamus, Amanda, Katherine, Gabe (me)
Today’s topic that Brandon brought forward was whether or not we as individuals agreed with Freire’s learning concept. While at first the conversation bounced from how we interpreted his banking concept, which for many saw people as objects that are designed for a sole purpose later in life, for instance teaching someone accounting all their life just for them to become a bank teller or some sort of account at a business, with no other reason other than to be a resource for a larger organization. The conversation pivoted towards how it seemed Freire contradicted himself intentionally, while this didn’t delve deeper into anything more than this point, it did remind me of something my FYE class had presented as a question, what is the difference between a student and a learner. Thinking of this, I began to answer the question to myself and how this correlated towards the conversation, I believe that a student is an individual that is designed to become a resource, while a learner can utilize both practical and vital skill sets that advance their understanding of the world around them. Having answered this I pieced together the idea that Freire sees all learners as students with the potential to become a full fledged learner.
