Panel Discusses Potential Pedagogical Reform

Speaking to a packed crowd at the Graduate School of Education Wednesday night, linguist Noam Chomsky and other panelists argued for an education model that promotes a reciprocal relationship between teacher and student.

The panelists evoked the work of Brazilian philosopher and educator Paulo Freire in calling for reform of the so-called “banking” model of education, a pedagogical approach in which teaching is viewed as a top-down endeavor. Chomsky said that teachers who abide by this model see teaching to students as similar to pouring water into a vessel.

“It’s a very leaky vessel,” Chomsky said. “You can study for a test, pass the test, and forget what the test was about.“

Instead, Chomsky said, educators should follow Freire’s lead in striving to do away with the dichotomy between student and teacher.

Wednesday’s panel was organized to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Freire’s influential book “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” Chomsky was joined by Ed School professor Howard E. Gardner and Bruno della Chiesa, a visiting lecturer at the Ed School.

Throughout the discussion, Chomsky and della Chiesa emphasized the central role that literacy plays in Freire’s work in raising self-consciousness. Chomsky cited Kerala, the southwest region of India, which holds the country’s highest literacy rate, highest life expectancy, and lowest fertility rate. Although the example did not directly draw from Freire’s teachings, Chomsky said it demonstrated Freire’s point that literacy encourages students to learn who they are and control of their lives.

Gardner also read aloud from the introduction of the 30th anniversary edition of “The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, in which Donaldo Macedo, a professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, directly criticizes the Graduate School of Education for leaving Freire out of the curriculum.

During a question-and-answer session at the end of the forum, an audience member questioned why Freire’s work was not more widely taught at the Graduate School of Education.

Chomsky, an emeritus MIT professor, said that MIT’s intellectual environment promotes Freire’s philosophy.

At MIT, he said, “Science would die if there was not conscious constant questioning.”