Freire and Teaching

So far at Wartburg I still do not have a major declared, but I think I am on my way. For a while I have hoped that I could go professional with my running career, but I think I am going to need something to fall back on also. Setting aside all jokes I have been debating between two fields: anthropology and political science. I really haven't looked into anthropology all that much, but it sounds really fun and interesting, and as for political science, well, I have always been interested in government and I could see myself teaching history someday as well. Now as I am reading this piece by Paulo Freire about students being powerless in an educational system I cannot help but look back on my educational career and ponder whether information was "deposited" upon in me in classes. I look back at high school and honestly, I passed with flying colors in memorizing the night before a test and forgetting all of that information two weeks later. Freire talks about how we need to be conscious about what we learn so we can become liberated. If I had challenged myself to approach school with a better attitude and a desire to become more knowledgeable in certain areas, my life might have been way more interesting! Already at Wartburg I have challenged myself into obtaining a mastery at my respective classes and I feel the benefits that knowledge has to provide! If I am going to be a teacher someday I want to be able to teach my students to challenge themselves and become hungry for the chance to become more knowledgeable. I don't want any of my students to dread coming to school, I want them to crave it. I want to make school fun because learning is fun. I don't want to just "deposit" information into my student's heads, I want them to think for themselves and become conscious about who they want to be. I do not know where I will end up in four years from now, but I do know that whatever field I may be in, or wherever that may take me, I know that I will approach it with a positive attitude and a desire to think for myself.