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James Stearns

C. Wymann

English 111

13 April, 2017

If You Really Want Something, Why Not Work for it?

In this modernized age there are many obstacles to education which have transformed the

modern system of adult learning into a system that emphasizes the need for students to be

autonomous and responsible learners. Many students, including myself, struggle with the

transition to become autonomous learners. In my high school career I was able to simply attend

courses in order to absorb just enough material to meet requirements. My transition to a system

of higher learning was made very difficult by the fact that I struggled making the shift from a

system where the education is mainly instructor led to one that places a high emphasis on the

need for students to learn for themselves. When I first attended college, I struggled with

transitioning from a highschool student who was used to just showing up and learning by

osmosis to a college student who was now responsible for claiming his own education. After

becoming a father I have recently taken responsibility for my education, and I was able to

successfully appeal the decision which banned me from using financial aid to pay for my

schooling. I am now doing very well in my first semester back to school which has furthered my

journey to becoming an autonomous learner. Many people would agree that there is a great need

for a meeting ground between instructors and students in order to better facilitate a system of
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autonomous learning. However, in order to better evolve as autonomous and responsible learners

students need to first improve our point of view through communicative learning and critical

reflection.

The ability to think for oneself without simply accepting someone elses interpretations is

not only vital for becoming a true learner, it is also necessary for everyday life in a world where

we have become increasingly susceptible to the opinions of others at any given moment. Jack

Mezirow, American sociologist and Emeritus Professor of Adult and Continuing Education at

Columbia University, stated in his work Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice that in

contemporary societies we must learn to make our own interpretations rather than act on the

purposes, beliefs, or judgments of others. When students are unable to exist as free thinkers they

are therefore hindered from becoming transformative thinkers and thus are unable to exist as true

students. Instead, they may exist as mindless individuals who are to serve for the sole purpose of

being the puppets of those who have the desire to control these mindless individuals who cannot

think for themselves. Some individuals in positions of great power believe this to be a viable

method with which they can maintain the status quo, instead this system backfires inevitably due

to the fact that free thinking is similar to energy in the fact that it cannot be created or destroyed

only controlled.

In this modern age of vast educational potential, it is now more than ever, important to

realize that education should never be simply reading and then regurgitating the information

given; but analyzing what it means and why it means what it does. Mezirow believes education

must evolve into a system that emphasizes the individual needs of the learner. In Transformative

Learning: Theory to Practice, Mezirow claims that the educators responsibility is to help

learners reach their objectives in such a way that they will function as more autonomous, socially
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responsible thinkers. In this world where students can be force fed information at any given

moment, modern learners need to be able to focus and perceive things in their own way, not just

how theyre presented. I believe students have a responsibility to themselves to obtain the most

from their education, and this belief is supported by our modern system of adult learning where

there is great emphasis placed on students being responsible for themselves as well as their own

education. The need for self responsible learners is displayed in Claiming an Education when

its author Adrienne Rich claims, Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your

thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and

in instincts; hence grappling with hard work (96). Learners need to become more autonomous

thinkers, in order to possess the ability to benefit the most from their learning in our modern

world. Without critical reflection you cannot fully participate in the learning process. Those who

actively participate in the learning process

Surprisingly, becoming an autonomous learner can be challenging in todays results-

oriented educational culture. Students who are new to the higher learning system often have

trouble transitioning from the K-12 educational system where many students are guided through

the learning process by their instructor, as opposed to the higher learning system of learning

where they are now required to be self driven and responsible learners. For example, these

students are products of educational programs such as No Child Left Behind, where teachers are

forced to teach to the test. If their students do not perform well on standardized tests they are

punished with shorted funds, but if they train their pupils to perform well on these standardized

tests they are rewarded with increased funding. This seems like a problem for educators, which it

most definitely is. However, students arent getting critical reflection because theyre being

prepped from test to test instead of being engaged in true learning. Mezirow stated, To
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facilitate transformative learning, educators must help learners become aware of their own and

others assumptions. Learners need practice in recognizing frames of reference and using their

imaginations to redefine problems from a different perspective (91). Learners and educators

need to get back to learning for the purpose of learning. When simply learning for the purpose of

learning, students are actively seeking knowledge and are more likely to have the ability to

obtain and retain it. They are then more able to utilize the knowledge gained than a student who

simply stumbled through a course without actually engaging in the learning process.

However, in institutions of higher education students are expected to claim responsibility

for their own education instead simply expecting the instructor to hold your hand through the

course, which is emphasized by Adrienne Rich in her work Claiming an Education when she

claims, The first thing I want to say to you who are students, is that you cannot afford to think

of being here to receive an education; you will do much better to think of yourselves as being

here to claim one (Rich). The emphasis on claiming responsibility for ones own education is

also prevalent in Jack Mezirows work Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice where he

claims, Thinking as an autonomous and responsible agent is essential for full citizenship in a

democracy and for moral decision making in situations of rapid change. The identified learning

needs of the workforce implicitly recognize the centrality of autonomous learning. Through

these quotes, I believe both authors can agree that students need to claim responsibility for their

own education. When one claims responsibility for their own education they are able to come to

the realization that they are the ones who are truly in control of their education. They can then

make the decision to take charge of their learning situation and not allow someone else to control

the way they learn.

In order to better facilitate adult learning, there needs to be a meeting ground between
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educators and those learners who are facing obstacles which impede their learning. This will

require action from both educators and learners in a manner that benefits everyone as a whole

while tailoring education to the individual learner. Davidson emphasizes the need for

collaborative learning in her work Customized and Participatory Learning when she claims,

Learning is no longer one size fits all, and we need to learn to appreciate learning in all its sizes

and varieties. The hard part--and, arguably, the single most important skill for future educators--

is finding ways that individual learners with individual skills and interests can share with others

who possess different skill levels and interests (52). Collaborative learning can be fostered

through communicative learning in which Mezirow claims, In communicative learning, it

becomes essential for learners to become critically reflective of the assumptions underlying

intentions, values, beliefs, and feelings (88). In this aspect, students cannot actively participate

in their education while simply doing just enough to pass a course.

Active learners participate in a course for the sole purpose of learning, while passive

learners participate only as much as necessary to pass the course. Students can pass a course

while not learning much, while a student can fail a course while learning more than a student

who just did enough to pass. Learners need to actively pay attention to their education, instead of

merely absorbing it. There is a fine line between passing a course, and actually learning from that

course. Matthew Crawford portrays the necessity for paying attention to your surroundings in his

work Attention as a Cultural Problem when he states And indeed there is a moral imperative

to pay attention to the shared world, and not get locked up in your own head. Iris Murdoch writes

that to be good, a person must know certain things about his surroundings, most obviously the

existence of other people and their claims (43). I believe that without acknowledging and

examining the claims of others, one cannot successfully support their own claims. Actively
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participating in the examination of other points of views, can provide learners with an entirely

new perspective while creating a vast opportunity to critically reflect upon their own point of

view.

In conclusion, there is a need for instructors to facilitate an environment of

transformational learning where they are not the only one responsible for the students, but the

students themselves take responsibility for claiming their own education instead of simply

receiving one. Too many learners from all age groups have become accustomed to that good

enough feeling received when they have done just enough to meet the amount of

requirements in order to receive a good enough grade. This brings to mind one of my most

favorite sayings, It is only worth as much as you put into it. Learners need to take charge of

their own education in order to obtain the absolute most from it. Modern adult learners need to

become responsible, active participants in obtaining their education. There's a prevalent need to

exist as autonomous thinkers in our current system of adult learning, which creates difficulty

for students who struggle with becoming autonomous learners. There needs to be a meeting

ground between these struggling students and the instructors who are in charge of teaching

them. Each of these approaches emphasizes critical thinking and collaborative learning, among

other key aspects, as part of the essential requirements for twenty-first century adult learning.

Works Cited

Crawford, Matthew. Attention as a Cultural Problem. Exploring Connections:

Learning in the 21st Century, Pearson, 2016, pp. 36-48.

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

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

Mezirow, Jack. Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice. Exploring Connections:

Learning in the 21st Century, Pearson, 2016, pp. 86-93.

Rich, Adrienne. Claiming an Education. Exploring Connections:

Learning in the 21st Century, Pearson, 2016, pp. 94-98.