Seymour Papert: Knowledge Bank
on Saturday, December 31, 2022Meaning of Seymour Papert Money Quote: saying education is intended to help us make good decisions, but it is hoarded for later use. Seymour Papert said:
“Generally in life, knowledge is acquired to be used. But school learning more often fits Freire’s apt metaphor: knowledge is treated like money, to be put away in a bank for the future” — Seymour Papert
Seymour Papert is criticizing how traditional schooling often treats knowledge as something to be stored away for later use, rather than applied in meaningful ways. He references Paulo Freire’s metaphor that education can involve merely “banking” information into students’ minds without engaging them in active learning.
Papert seems to believe true understanding comes from putting ideas into practice, not passively receiving deposits of facts. His view is that learning is most effective when knowledge is immediately used and built upon, rather than being acquired just to sit inertly until some undefined future date.
Overall, Papert is arguing education works best when it focuses on applying and experimenting with concepts right away, instead of just stockpiling information for hypothetical future use as schools commonly do according to his view.
Birthday: February 29, 1928 – Death: July 31, 2016