In your career as a scholar through school and university, can you identify teachers in your life who taught in a way that was oppositional to Freire’s work?
Yes, my mother, a native Australian, taught me and other students in Yolngu ancient teaching, which uses the model of the Luna cycle for the changing of the season and how the living things are connected on earth. This was like banking knowledge to children like you would bank money in the bank. So yes, I was taught occasionally by Yolngu indigenous teaching from North East Arhnemland, whereas Freire’s work revolved around industrial boxes of instructions based on the banking model.
Are their teachers who aligned themselves with Friere’s methods? Which did you find beneficial or meaningful? What are the pros and cons of each?
No, because when I went to school during primary school, I was taught the Djambarrbuyngu language by my mother, and when I went to high school in the mainstream, I found it challenging to learn because everything was in English. Therefore, my marks were all shallow. Going to university now is tough for me. I have to think in my language, translate that thought into English, and further fit that into the university criteria. If I could write in my first language, I truly believe I would get high marks or even high distinctions.
Reference
Kathy Guthadjaka (2012) https://bookshop.cdu.edu.au/products/2770000023177
