The Banking Model or Concept was created by Paulo Friere. The Banking Model/Concept is a education method that basically says that teachers teach and students listen. This empowers the teachers because it gives them a boost of confidence when they’re portraying their knowledge to the students. The banking concept unfortunately disempowers students tremendously. With this concept students are shown as people who don’t know anything and that the only way to know something is through the profound knowledge of the teachers. The banking model also degrades students in expressing their creative sides. This model was created as a way for teachers to feel as if they knew everything in the world and that students couldn’t teach them anything else.

Throughout all my years of schooling, I’ve had at least one teacher whose a prime example of the banking model/concept. These teachers knew what they were talking about but had little to no interest in what the other students had to say. I would look around the classroom and all of the other students were either buried in a book, on their phones, daydreaming, or sleeping. The pros about this was that I didn’t have to participate and that it made the lessons go faster. Unfortunately, this hindered the other students who actually had input on what the teacher was talking about. Due to the inactive participation of the students, it made me hate the sound of my teacher’s voice. Everything that I’ve learned so far in school was based on the knowledge of both students and teachers. Learning never stops no matter if you’re a teacher or a student. There are many things that we can learn from each other despite the fact that one is an educator and one isn’t.

Q: What is the banking model to Friere? Who does it empower or disempower, and at whose expense? Do you have any experience with this model? If so, describe an encounter that you have had with the banking model and reflect on it, both positives and negatives.

 

A: To Friere, the banking model is a model at which that spreads information to ones in which that seek information, but the one spreading the information isn’t taking into consideration the feedback input from the ones who receive said information.

An example of this can be see in the standard classroom model. Where students, information seekers, receive information from a teacher, the one spreading the information. In this, the models empowers the teacher as an authoritative figure and the students are disempowered as they’re expected to sponge up the information, and aren’t learning from each-other; a dehumanizing experience.

Im currently facing this model in the Earth Science Lecture class. My Professor gives us the information but im not adapting fast enough to what is taught, so I feel as if im falling behind. The benefit of this model can be that it allows a singular guide line for what is to be expected to be done. The con of this is that of its almost like a one size fits all approach to teaching, as it will work different for everyone and  not everyone learns the same. In my situation, I feel as if I have to study more after class inorder to retain the information inorder to follow along with that is being taught in the course.