I think the question about the indifference of many students to learning
course material is closely tied to the view that students are consumers
and that the product we are selling them is an education. Within
American society, higher education is perceived by many almost solely in
terms of a gateway to a desired career. Our colleges and universities
use this view in their marketing ploys to attract students. Our
administrators (and many faculty) thus promote the idea that the
education students will receive at our schools is a product that is
essential to making their dreams come true. The following article from
the March, 2000, issue of _Peerpoint_ (which is a newsletter put out by
the faculty association of the Maricopa County (Arizona) community
colleges) criticizes
"the notion that our students are our customers and that education is
our product. The flaw in this notion is evident to any teacher who has
ever wondered why students are happy when a class is canceled. What
customer would be happy upon being deprived of the product for which he
or she has paid? A more realistic view is that most students are in
school for the purpose of acquiring a good-looking transcript, so as to
enhance their future earning potential. [For many students, a]ttending
classes is not the reason for going to school, it is the price that must
be paid to get that transcript. A canceled class represents [for many
students] a reduction in the cost of attaining that goal."
In other words, if we were realistic about the consumer model, we would
have to say that the product we are providing, in the minds of many
students, is NOT an education but a credentialing transcript/degree.
"The way to keep many students [customers] satisfied is to offer fun and
easy courses in whatever areas pique students' interests and to give
high grades. This is, of course, ultimately a losing strategy for all
concerned. Students who confront the community's expectations poorly
prepared will rightfully feel that they were cheated and will resent the
institution that did not give them what is promised. The value of an
education to every person is reduced as the expectation attached to it
falls. Rather than seeing ourselves as sellers of education, we need to
conceive of ourselves as artisans, whose job it is to transform students
so that they are more socially desirable and useful when they leave our
system than they were when they entered it. In this perspective the
students is the product and the community is the customer."
This last passage suggests that we need to get away from seeing each
student as an isolated entity--an extreme individualism assumed and
encouraged by the business mentality (it makes it much easier to sell
products at a profit). Instead, we need to educate ourselves, our
adminstrators, and our communities that we are interdependent--a
collective, the parts of which must function at a high level if the
whole is to be productive. I would argue that our long-term survival
depends on such a view. Of course, such collectivism is not appreciated
much in the Western world. The business model, and the extreme
individualism it is founded upon, seems much more common-sensical to the
vast majority of those we are trying to influence. Thus, I believe that
the business model of education, and the resultant indifference to
learning it tends to engender among our students, will remain with us
for quite a while. But I don't plan on going quietly into the night.
Jeff
--
Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213
9000 E. Chaparral Rd. FAX Number: (480) 423-6298
Psychology Department [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626
"The truth is rare and never simple."
Oscar Wilde
"Science must begin with myths and with the criticism of myths"
Karl Popper
