Banking Concept

1. Narration sickness, as Friere describes, is where the teacher just talks to fill the students mind with information and knowledge.  The objective for the teacher is “to “fill” the students with the contents of their narration-contents which are detached from reality, disconnected from the totality that engendered them and could give them significance.” (from pg 63)

2. Narration sickness mirrors No Child Left Behind Act in the way that students will be on track for the teachers lesson plans and then like Mrs. Harris said in class, they stop everything and teach you what you need to know for the next 2-3 days before the standardize testing.  The standardize test are there to see what students across the board “know” by simply having fill in the bubble answers.   I have never really thought a lot about these tests besides the fact that I had to take them.   I don’t think there is really another way to have a standardize test besides the way they are doing it but do they really tell a lot about the students creative thinking?  I don’t think so. 

3. College Physiology Professor at Minnesota State University.  Took the class my Junior year, spring semester and also re-took the class immediately after in the summer semester.  She had to teach around 200 students the in depth details of physiology in three classes a week for a whole semester.   She taught the same class every semester and had the same notes and power-points that were reused.   She was the expert in the field of physiology and us students were just babies who didn’t know a thing (a, b, and i  pg 64)  The only thing we did for the whole semester was go to class listen to her lecture for 50 min and then have 4 ridiculously difficult test.  I really think she made the test so detailed and confusing for her own enjoyment because she was so bored with the class.  It was the kind of test were a. b. c. d. were all one choice and then the next few choices were a. & b. or a. & c.  So if you knew one of them and weren’t sure on the other you were sure to get it wrong (h. 64). 

The first time I took the class I got a C, and I thought that was good but needed an A to get into the nursing program.  I did get it the second time around, but I felt like a physiology robot.  I can say that I don’t think I acquired any useful knowledge in the class; just filled my physiology file up to spit back out on her test.  In relation to the banking concept, I would say my professor fills every one of the attitudes and practices on page 64, a-j.  a. We were never interactive with the professor.  She was the teacher and we were the students that were being taught.  B. She knew everything and we knew nothing about physiology. D. She always lectured  and we always were quiet and listened, never able to ask questions in class because she had to cover so much information in class.  There are so many more examples but it was evident that this professor chose the banking concept for her teaching style. 

4.  One instructor that stood out to me as an excellent teacher was my freshman long jump coach at Minnesota State University.  Although he was my track coach he also helped me with my other classes, time management skills and most notably algebra.  His main concern was how I was doing, in my personal health and physical health.  He understood that I would not have a good practice or perform well if I was behind in school or very stressed with a class.  Some days I would come into practice and he would just know that I was super stressed out with homework, so he would tell me we would reschedule practice because school was my priority.  Almost every week we would set up an appointment for him to help me with my algebra because I had a teacher that was using the banking concept, and that was not working for me.  My coach would sit down with me and we would figure it out together and most the time try to relate it to track (even though it rarely made sense).  He put some joy into school work that I hated to do. 

He also talked with me about my time management.  If I need x amount of hours to study and x amount of hours to practice, where am I going to fit in my social time.   He drilled it into me that the only way to do well in a sport and my academics was to have time management and also have some fun.  To my surprise I did very well as a freshman in the long and triple jump, made the dean’s list, actually learned from those classes, was excited about learning and had a very fun memorable year. 

5.  The Athenians would embrace the concept of “liberated or problem-posing education.”  They were critical thinkers and did not put boundaries on their education.  They were explorers, not seeking to learn what someone else already had found out.  In my nursing class on the USF campus we take time to learn how to do objectives of nursing, that relating to the banking concept, but we also take a great amount of time to put those things we learned into practice.   We are very interactive in the classroom and dialog with the professors and other students every day.  In the two classes I have now we have group projects, and work with partners every day to practice skills.  After the lab we always have a “write up” that requires us to critically think.  I believe this style of teaching is essential for the nursing program because when you get into the field that is what you will be doing every day.  No one patient is going to be the same, and you will have to be able to efficiently communicate with them to perform a complete assessment.