Who’s Responsibility is it to Learn?

Who’s Responsibility is it to Learn?

For most of us, the past two months have been filled to the brim with stress. Students have been testing away, on state and district mandated tests. Teachers are hurriedly trying to squeeze everything into the next few weeks. The end of the school year must certainly be approaching.

Regular readers of this blog and listeners to my podcasts are aware of my opinions and frustrations with the current testing situation in our schools. The amount of time, energy, and money wasted on tests far exceeds the benefits reaped.

What’s more, the apparent determination to use the current education reform climate as a mechanism for punishment is appalling. We are not just punishing students for performing poorly, we are punishing teachers and schools as well.

Over this past weekend, some of these issues hit home pretty hard and left me with the question, Who’s responsibility is it to learn?

Educational Entitlement

Now, certainly this question requires a bit of context. To say that it is a kindergartener’s responsibility to learn his alphabet is fruitless. So I suppose the baseline assumption would be that the student is of adequate cognitive skill and has attained the developmental ability to appreciate the purpose of education and predict future outcomes.

OK, I admit, as I write it, that is a tall order for most grade-school students. But bear with me for a moment. One of the shifts in student expectations from high school to college is that the college student is there voluntarily. Moreover, the college student – unlike the high school student – is paying for his/her education. As such, there is an assumption of additional motivation to succeed by the college student.

Perhaps it is, at least in part, due to this type of assumption that college instructors are not prosecuted (yeah, heavy word, but ask any grade-school teacher and it is exactly what they feel) as heavily and overtly as their high school counterparts. The college students are there because they, at least in theory, want to be there. And if they have a problem, issue, or concern, they can drop the class and register with another instructor. Again, an option that is not afforded to the high school student.

Nonetheless, most high school students have the cognitive ability to consider their longterm plans and can at least consider how their current actions will affect future options. Most understand that if they want to reach a particular goal by the end of their high school career, decisions begin when they are a freshman.

But let me get back to my point. At least one of the ideas behind teacher accountability is that if teachers were doing their job, students would be learning. Students would meet the state standards and be prepared for standardized, high stakes testing. When students do not pass the test, it is assumed that the teacher did not do his/her job and should, therefore, be held accountable by either losing his/her job or, in the very least, experience some monetary consequence (usually in the form of losing a bonus).

As students progress through grade-school, they are reinforced to believe that their education, what they learn, is dependent upon the teacher. They are conditioned to know that if it is important, the teacher will make sure I know it. As a result, many students become passive learners and believe that they are entitled to high marks on papers and good grades for their courses, regardless of the effort they put in. After all, if they did not learn it, it must be the teacher’s fault.

From High School to College

Unfortunately, this very real grade-school phenomenon is being carried into college. As a college and graduate instructor myself, I have found the need to consult with others in higher education to ensure that I am not the only one sensing this major shift in student-perceived accountability. So far, my colleagues seem to have the same concern.

Any time we attempt to cast fault or blame for one person’s actions onto another person, we run this risk. We begin to introduce the idea that “it’s not your fault, the teacher should have done her job a little better.” And if you don’t think that some students are getting that message, I am sorry to say this, but you are wrong. They are getting this message and it is more than apparent with just a quick look at student effort.

Many teachers talk about work submitted by students that was obviously sub-par, yet if the teacher gives the assignment the grade it deserves, the student – and probably his/her parents – will confront the teacher. They will tell her that she “was not clear on the expectations” or that she “did not provide an adequate rubric” or that she “has it out for the student.”

They do not stop to consider that, just perhaps, the student did not put forth the effort needed for a better grade. Or that all of the extracurriculars the student is involved in took his attention and time away from the assignment. Or that the student just did not do his/her work.

The unfortunate consequence to all of this, in my opinion, is that students fail to take their education into their own hands. They limit themselves to learning that which was presented in class and what is needed for the test. They find the easiest route to a passing grade. And later, when someone asks if they learned a particular concept in a class, they reply, “No, the teacher didn’t teach us that.”

Shifting Ownership

While it is certainly not appropriate to place all of the ownership on students – especially those in elementary and middle school – we should consider giving some of  the responsibility back to the students. We must help them understand the importance of being accountable for their own education.

This certainly would require a major shift in the current system. For example, I have realized the need to explicitly describe this in my college courses on the first day of class. I often remind students that what they learn in the course is their responsibility. I will deliver a general foundation, answer questions, and provide work to help illustrate the concepts, but it is up to you, the student, to learn the material and integrate the information into your understanding of the world. I cannot do that for you.

As we place ownership in the right direction, what we will likely find is balance. Teachers will be responsible for all things that they can control and students will be responsible for all things that they can control.

Sounds like a simple plan. But the process begins at home, where parents must encourage and remind their kids that much like brushing their teeth and picking up their clothes, learning is one of their responsibilities. We may need to teach our kids how to do this, by structuring time for studying and helping them find ways to integrate what they are learning into their world. It takes some work, I know, but parenting is just that… it is work. So, I suppose that this is the parent portion of educational accountability…