“Some students are just not cut out for learning”

Earlier this year I was researching for an assignment on Generation Y and I came across Mike Wesch’s (US Professor of the year) work for the first time.  The assignment’s already been handed in and the semester finished but there’s still a quote from one of Wesch’s papers Anti Teaching: Confronting the crisis of significance that sticks in my mind.

“Consider the often-heard lament, “some students are just not cut out for school.” The statement passes without question or even a hint of protest, yet think about what the statement saysy when we replace “school” with what school should be all about: “learning”. Some students are just not cut out for learning? Nobody would dare make the statement. Learning is the hallmark of humanity.”

This statement reflects what I believe my role as an educator to be. I am not and never have been a school based educator, I work with adults in the corporate sector and I think it’s just as applicable in my field.  For anyone that’s been in a profession for a while it can be easy to get overly familiar, to get comfortable, to get disconnected, and to wear proverbial blinkers. It’s easy to blame the learners for their poor performance. They are, short of ourselves, the closest target – kind of like a watered down equivalent of the Carl Jung quote “People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own soul.” It can be hard to admit when something you are doing, especially something you are passionate about and really believe in isn’t working.

If learners aren’t “getting” something I view it as our responsibility as adult educators to help them “get” it, to focus on their learning rather than our technology or teaching. If evaluations come back with negative remarks they are pointers for positive change rather than personal assaults. These comments could be considered professional cheat sheets! As an educator I see myself as the one who has failed if learners are not succeeding, not the other way around. I suspect I am not alone with that opinion.