Synthesis

The Banking Concept of Education by Paulo Freire discusses the practice of the banking education, the repetition of recording, memorizing, and repeating. This practice of education dehumanizes students and turns them into robots. It distorts the students' understanding of what true reality is. In order to fix this boring practice of banking education, Freire describes a problem-posing method. The problem-posing method forces students to think critically. They have to analyze information given to them by the teacher, not just record, memorize, and repeat. The problem-posing method of education allows students to see true reality. It gives freedom to students to learn.

The banking concept occurs in several schools across America. One movie, School of Rock, deals with this boring practice of education. A man named Dewey Finn, played by Jack Black, is kicked out of his hard rock band. He then pretends to a substitute teacher at a prep elementary school. The type of education used at this education is similar to the banking concept that Freire describes in his essay. Dewey Finn decides to not conform the the school's teaching styles. He ends up teaching the students music through his own style. He not only teaches them about rock and roll, but about life and reality. Dewey Finn proposes a solution to fix this problem of the banking concept of education.

Joy Synthesis

"The feeling of joy is the ability to not worry about anything and just live your life in the moment." --Tom

"Joy is more of being content with what you have and the life you live." --Me

Being content is having no worries in life, which produces a joy unlike any other.

What is Joy?

I see joy as a pleasure beyond happiness. Most people see little difference between the two, but I see them as two different meanings. Joy is more of being content with what you have and the life you live. It has nothing to do with material possessions. Joy does not come gaining worldly possessions, happiness does. Happiness is a superficial feeling, while joy is much deeper than that. Joy is being glad for what you have.

The Allegory of the Cave

The Allegory of the Cave, written by Plato, is about prisoners bound in chains. These prisoners were raised in the cave, only seeing shadows on a wall created by their keepers. The keepers used puppets and fire to cast shadows upon the wall the prisoners were fixed upon. The picture on the left illustrates the basic idea Plato is trying to show in his allegory. The prisoners see the shadows as reality, they do not know of the world outside of the cave. People of today are also bound in chains in a similar way to the prisoners in the cave. Reality t.v. has taken over the 21st century. Viewers watch t.v. like it is reality. This is especially true with MTV. Many of the shows appear to be reality when they are truly staged, similar to the images on the wall in the cave. In The Allegory of the Cave, Plato discusses going beyond reality. One must ascend into a higher intelligence level. The prisoners eyes are stuck on the shadows cast on the wall of the cave. They are stuck in the dark, hidden from the true light. Plato states in his allegory, "the turning of a should round from a day which is like night to a true day--this is the ascent into real being, which we shall say is true philosophy" (232). One must go beyond what he sees as real in the darkness and step into the light. Plato's allegory illustrates the idea of seeing what is true reality and going beyond the tangible.

Gender Roles

Gender roles are defined as the behavior that defines a man or a woman in a culture. Gender roles differ among cultures while many share similar characteristics. These characteristics are shared among a certain population and that is what a male or female must follow. This basic idea of gender roles has dramatically changed over the years. It used to be that women would stay at home, take care of the kids and do essential household duties. The men would support the family by working and do all of the physical labor. Nowadays, especially in America, those roles have changed. It is common for women to also work and help support the family. Women still play the role of a caretaker, but it is acceptable if they don't. Gender roles have dramataically changed due to feminist movements.
One major change has been the laws. The 19th amendment to the US Constitution says, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." (http://www.house.gov/house/Constitution/Amend.html) This was a major step in changing gender roles. This amendment gave women a say in the government, which didn't happen until 1920. This gave way to a new role for women, especially in present day. Hilary Clinton is now potentially a presidential candidate for the Democratic party. Even 50 years ago, this would not have been accepetable in society. Many viewed only men as running the country, but women's movements have made it acceptable for women to play this role in society. Politics has greatly influenced gender roles in today's societies and these stereotypical roles will continue to change over time.