Students are not ATM's

Going through the public education system, the way in which I was taught followed a particular structure. The structure related to the teacher/instructor simply standing in front of the class continuously blabbering about content material sometimes even using an overhead projector. On most of these occasions, we would sit in our desks and deposit the information in our brains in an attempt to store the facts long enough to regurgitate the information on an exam. We simply learned how to memorize information, not to think for ourselves. We were placed in mandatory, state-required courses, not allowing individuals to actually choose what they wanted to learn. We were simply placed in environments, being taught to memorize, and not learning to learn.

Until I went to college, I assumed all educational systems were structured this way. The teacher or instructor stood in the front of the classroom and spilled out information while we furiously took notes in hopes of writing everything down word for word. We were in the taking notes and memorization business, we did not know how to learn, we knew how to study and cram for exams. Paulo Freire's banking system further addresses this methodology by by stating that knowledge is a gift given from those who consider themselves knowledgeable to those who know nothing. Therefore, as a student, I knew nothing and should have simply "appreciated" the fact that I was being given the gift of knowledge.

 

Once I began college, having the freedom to choose what classes I could take allowed me to shape the way I learn and how I wanted to direct my education. When my students come into my classroom, I know they are coming from all different majors such as business, media arts, and some (I wish more) communication studies. Therefore, a typical "banking method" of teaching would have benefit in the classroom, treating my students simply as a depository for information is irrelevant and unproductive. Since the students come from all different educational backgrounds and majors, they all have different approaches to COMM 1010 and may process the information differently. Some visual arts majors might focus more on performance, business majors may focus on organizational communication and public speaking, while others simply want to learn about conflict. 

Freire states that the system itself needs to be transformed, and that simply integrating individuals into the adult education system creates an inefficient oppressor-oppressed relationship. Providing students with more opportunities to teach others and learn more about their learning styles provides more insight into how they understand the process itself. In my classroom, I have focused more on activities such as skits to understand the importance of audience analysis, or interact in group discussions and hear personal takeaways and opinions so I can also learn from students. We must focus on transforming and shaking up our current system of how we teach students, not simply stir students in this banking model of education. #shakenNOTstirred