Matheny 1

Kaitlin Matheny

Marisa Enos

ENG.111.W03

24 November 2017

Size Matters: The Issue Within

Many are aware that problems exist within the structure of education. One of them being

how education is incorporated into the classroom. Often times, those who attend universities and

even private colleges, find themselves deprived of the chance to get a one on one moment with

their professor, even in times of confusion. The professor has so many students and limited time,

while students have other responsibilities as well. Due to the lack of availability between one

professor and the students within large sized classes, time only allows professors specific amount

of room for certain cases. Teachers want to teach, and the students want to learn. Although, with

every student being so different compared to the other, teachers are unable to accommodate to

everyones needs. Having such differences can make it difficult to successfully teach. Being

there is only one teacher per classroom, not only can the students become overwhelmed by the

content, but the one teacher to all of those students can become overwhelmed also. Throwing

many students in a room as an audience to one measly educationist is like forcing a square peg in

to a round hole; it does not fit. Size cannot always be prevented. Therefore, teachers should look

for an alternative substance to help them help the students.

Lectures can be dry and boring, depending on what type of student is attending the

lecture. Some students encounter the issue of lacking the understanding of the topic within the

lecture, while other students are able to embrace and comprehend the lecture and note taking
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style in the classroom. But those who struggle with this style of learning, and are unable to create

an appointment with their professor, fall into the group that experiences what will later be called

the banking concept. This concept is something Paulo Freire discusses. Paulo Freire is a

Brazilian educator and philosopher who is a leading advocate of critical pedagogy. Freires term

of the banking concept came from his well-known book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The

Banking Concept of Education is a captivating chapter within that provides an in-depth analysis

of teacher-student relationships. Freire discusses the banking concept as a scenario where there is

always a narrating subject (the teacher) and listening objects (the students) (1). No matter what

the subject being narrated is, it lacks a certain meaning, leading to the listening objects losing

focus of what the actual meaning of the content is. This concept of teaching is more than likely

what is taught within an overwhelming student to teacher ratio. The banking concept resembles a

lecture setting in a classroom. Students fill the classroom and listen to the lecture, intending to

learn, and believing they are learning. In reality, the notes they take in class, eventually become

just scribbles on a page. Although the banking concept works for some, for those it perfectly

exhibits false learning to, there should be some sort of supplemental materials, such as another

one of Freires concepts; problem posing.

Problem posing embraces everything the banking concept is not; the ability to be aware

of not only the intent of the object at hand, but of the object itself. The learning process is no

longer the narrating subject and the listening object scenario. It is now an equilibrium between

both the teacher and the student with both parties as a part of the learning process. Even though

unfinished and raw, they are still able to find who and what they are in order to build a better

future (9). Problem posing as a form to educate allows the narrating and listening objects to

switch between roles and learn together. In such a structure, it assists the professor with the
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difficulties that appear within a large sized classroom. Teacher and student become one within

the class. This is good for the troubled students especially. Problem posing is more engaging and

allows the students to be more involved. Students are more than likely to not ask questions or

need individual help if they are able to interact in the class and understand the concepts around

them. Less questions, less help needed, makes for a smoother experience in a larger classroom.

An alternative to class size issues would be online education. In an online setting,

students have virtually unlimited access to the professor when necessary, but the online class

lacks the face to face personalization. Online classes also provide the ability to vary in structure

more than in person classes can. Cathy N. Davidson brought an idea of online learning and how

an interesting structure can have an influence on students to reach their learning goals. Davidson

is an American scholar and university professor. She is also a distinguished Professor of English

and Founding Director of the Futures Initiative. With Davidsons idea behind online learning, it

not only eliminates the apparent overcrowded classroom, but it allows students to readily access

their professor without having to worry about making an actual appointment or worry about not

having enough time. Students and professors are able to send quick emails and head back to their

life. In addition to, online learning allows for a somewhat customized experience. Davidson

discusses how a five-year-old boy playing Pokmon would learn the language of a third grader

just to understand and play the game (Davidson 50). If the course is interesting enough, like that

five-year-old boy and Pokmon, the students should have less problems learning. Meaning, the

less problem there is learning, the less need there is for students to ask questions, thus another

solution to the teacher to student ratio, even in a face to face setting. With online education

having the ability to be more free form, and the professors seeming more regularly available,

having education more like a game and less like a chore would definitely be beneficial to
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students. Students of all ages would still be learning necessary skills like literacy and

socialization (Davidson 50).

Oftentimes, teaching in a manner to just quickly get the point across becomes habit.

There may not be a moment of a pause and thought where one contemplates whether the style in

which they teach is appropriate for the number of students in one session they are to teach. On

the other hand, students also fall into habits that do not assist with the learning process, which

can cause more trouble for both professor and student. Instead of making tendencies a bad habit,

educators and the educated should work on making processes of learning and teaching a good

habit. Habits are thought to always be bad: procrastination, excess studying, showing up late to

class. But, as James VanderMey declares, not all habits are bad. VanderMey is a professor of

English and Humanities at Mid Michigan Community College. In his writing Remarks on Habit,

he discussed how habits are a tendency and can be altered for the better (13). VanderMey argues

that, yes, we form bad habits, but not all habits are bad. He describes habits as being something

able to reach across boundaries, something that has potential to light the way to a different path

(13). We tend to be our habits, good or bad, and our habits tend to be us. So, instead of making it

a tendency to only lecture to students in a fashion like the banking concepts, educators should

redefine their tendency and examine alternate ways to get their point across. Maybe, instead of

just the banking concept, or just problem posing, or just what Davidson suggest, there should be

a tendency to include multiple tendencies (good tendencies), in order to better serve students

within all sized classrooms. Contrarily, students should not focus on their bad habits. They

should also try to reform their own habits. Maybe take up reading ahead or paying better

attention in class. Any of the above would benefit professor and student within the classroom.
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Having better habits or tendencies to do or act in more efficient ways, would decrease the

amount of stress and worry between the professor and student.

Moreover, those who are using a style like Freires banking concept, but would like to

relieve some of the pressure due to an overwhelming number of students, should consider

combining it with Davidsons idea. If Davidson sat in a classroom where the banking concept

was used, she would recommend involving more interesting aspects, like Pokmon, to captivate

and keep the students attention, making learning and teaching easier. But, with just the banking

concept, Davidson would highly disagree with the technique. Although, if Davidson and Freire

teamed up to compose another solution to this education issue, they would see closest with

Freires problem posing concept. Compiling the two ideas together would mean an interactive

and supportive classroom. VanderMey would suggest that those within a structure like the

banking concept, to re-evaluate their setting and take note of how many students this style works

for and how many others look lost and confused. If the banking concept structure does not seem

to be working, VanderMey would tell whomever to adapt and develop a new tendency. In

relation to Davidson, VanderMey would more than likely agree that an interesting and upbeat

learning environment is a good habit to hold. Redefining the items one can, it becomes the one

teacher in front of a large numbered class, but with less pressure and stress to appeal to everyone.

Conclusively, education does not come cheap. Students do not indulge themselves in the

mounds of debt and lost free time just to wonder what they are actually learning as they walk out

of the classroom. With too many students crammed into one session, when in times of confusion,

they are not able to readily and separately discuss the issue. Class size is not always able to be

controlled, but the tendencies and habits professor and students have when it comes to the

education process can be. Altering techniques to be more interesting or more adapt to the class
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could assist with the size issue. Therefore, size does in fact matter, but so does how you go about

it.
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Works Cited

Davidson, Cathy. Customized and Participatory Learning. Exploring Connections Learning in

the 21st Century, Pearson Education, 2016, pp. 49-54.

Freire, Paulo. The Banking Concept of Education. pp. 1-12.

VanderMey, James. Remarks on Habit. Exploring Connections Learning in the 21st Century,

Pearson Education, 2016, pp. 12-18.