Education Is Suffering From Narration Sickness

Although many factors influence students achievements both non measurable and measurable, the role that teachers play in student achievement matters most compared to any other aspect of schooling. Teachers view of students has manifest over the years throughout society, and has impacted students schoolwork, and their classroom setting. They are given the opportunity to challenge their students in their work, and push them to succeed. If teachers view their students only as a place to deposit information rather than to exercise and mold, students will lack the work necessary to excel in the classroom.

The teacher student relationship is often based upon a basic concept of the teacher with authority and the student without. In Paulo Freire 's “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” the author explains this “narrative” relationship thoroughly. In fact he states “Education is suffering from narration sickness” (71) Thus meaning that teachers playing the role like the role of a narrator, and implying the students as the audience to this on-going story. He goes on to explain the contents the teacher gives about what is expected in today 's reality are something to be as predictable as a movie seen meaning that their is no background information to be taken into consideration when sharing with students. Narration has also lead the students to be ‘containers’ to be ‘filled’ by the teachers. The contents that are poured into containers are those of which cannot be altered into reality. Students are expected to memorized the ‘narrated content’. It is seen by most that the more the teacher fills their containers, it is associated that they are achieving a goal, and becoming a more successful teacher. The author sums this all up into the simple idea t...

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...sked to play a more ‘active role’ in the classroom instead of being ‘depositories’ for information. In fact, “LTC does not do away with lecture, but rather it becomes one of many tools that can help students do the work of learning” (Doyle and Zakrajsek 8). Overall the learning-center approach is the more ideal approach for the teacher-student relationship, significantly more ideal than the banking concept.

The role that teachers play in students school life can have a huge effect on their school work and their learning. Viewing students as a box to place information in without taking into consideration their full capability in the classroom can lead to students being less successful in the classroom. In order to excel students need to play an active role in the classroom, which can be taken with the more ideal approach, learning-centered teaching.