by Shezad Khan
Now that I’ve officially begun my career as a graduate student, I’ve been delving into some pretty interesting conversations with my cohort. A topic that was the focus of a lively discussion that took place recently was that of the “banking concept” in education. This concept essentially places teachers and professors as holders of knowledge who deposit said knowledge into students. It’s a controversial method of teaching to say the least, but sometimes education adopts iffy frameworks.
I bring this up because we should all be well aware that the education system in this country, to put it gently, isn’t the best. I’m sure that the amount of reasons for the failure of our education system is vast, but that does not mean we shouldn’t try to figure it out. Some of the problems that come from the banking concept include elitist educators, lack of student/teacher interaction, and even the fact that students are meant to be docile in terms of doing and thinking what they’re told to.
I’m interested in discussions like this because I want to become a college professor. As we go through school, day by day and week by week, it’s easy to get stuck in this cycle of doing what’s on our syllabi and getting assignments in on time. Seldom do we stop and think about what it is we’re actually doing. But I think it’s very important for us to rebel a little. By that, I don’t mean you should flip your desks and tables in a frenzy during your class. I just mean that, sometimes, it’s healthy to criticize institutions.