COLUMN: Responsiblity to learn rests with student
I am disappointed in the idea some have that the responsibility for a student’s learning falls on the teacher rather than on the student. This issue was reemphasized by a recent episode in one of my engineering classes.
The class average on the midterm was 37 percent and only seven people out of about 65 got above 60 percent – that is, passed. Looking back, of course, this is hilariously funny. It wasn’t at the time. Though this particular instance is extreme, similar scores are not unheard of (ask an engineering friend).
Scene II: The class period after the tests were handed back, the teacher entertained a barrage of complaints – among them complaints that the class was too hard. This is normal. He promised to curve it and did so very generously. Then came the surprises. Some started to complain that the problem was actually that the math was too hard and they couldn’t remember their previous math classes. Soon it became apparent that the professor had been pressured to raise the test scores because so many people had gone to cry to the administration. Some students in complaining to advisers had claimed that since they are A or B students in their other classes therefore they deserve at least an A or B in this class. Others whined that if they get a bad grade in this class they will have a lower GPA and won’t look as good compared to the next job candidate. I heard someone mention after class – half joking – his hope that the teacher gets fired.
My concern is not with these particular questions but rather with the general theme of them. When did the responsibility for a student’s performance shift from the student to the teacher?
The response to our poor performance was to cry for lowering the bar to our performance level rather than working to raise our performance to meet the standard. What an idea! I hope we’re planning on buckling down and learning so we can do better on the next test or we’re never going to get good grades. Our other option is to progressively drag everything down to our level throughout life so that we’re always up to par on our dumbed-down scale. If that’s what we’re all planning, I’ll remember to invest overseas.
When we realize and accept that our education depends on us and that books and teachers are valuable resources, our response to failures will be to redouble our efforts, reevaluate our strategies, and work harder. The easy way out is to find somebody to cry to and somebody to complain against. With this method, there is no growth for the student.
Of course the teachers, too, ought to do their best. I think the teachers here understand that their purpose in teaching is to help students learn. I often help my roommate with his math. I’ve had a great deal more math than he has, but when I help him my purpose is to help him understand how to do it. Could I dazzle him with things far beyond his understanding? Could I confuse him by explaining it in hard terms to make myself sound a lot smarter? I could, but it would not accomplish my goal. I set aside higher math and try to help him comprehend it on the level he needs. There is a great difference between teaching so that students will learn and teaching so that students will think you’re great. Sometimes you can’t do both at the same time. When that is the case what should the teacher choose? I think teachers, in general, understand this.
Hopefully, we all get teachers who have developed the gift for teaching where it almost magically makes sense when they explain it. Either way, though, shouldn’t we be wise enough to know that our learning depends on us? If you are struggling in a class, my first advice would be to either be smarter or work harder. Is this too harsh? Would you rather I recommend complaining to someone? Second, be willing to take responsibility for the grade you get. My roommate works endlessly on his math, sometimes to no avail. He understands that what he gets out of it depends on what he puts in. Perhaps another book, another teacher, or a newer classroom would help him understand better. He is wise enough to know, though, that for now he has this book, this teacher, and this classroom, and he ought to make the best of it.
John Crockett is a junior majoring in electrical engineering and can be reached at jscrockett@cc.usu.edu.