Age of the Learner

Terry O'Banion quotes a strong message that was brought forth in An American Imperative, "The nation that responds best and most rapidly to the educational demands of the Age of the Learner will enjoy a commanding international advantage in the pursuit of both domestic tranquillity and economic prosperity. To achieve these goals for our country, we must educate more people and educate them far better. That will require new ways of thinking" (p.16).

Educational Structure

Question:

What would be your ideal structure for education in relation to policy, governance, funding, mission, and values?

Education is in Trouble

In the 1983 report of A Nation at Risk, it states that "The American imperative for the twenty-first century is that society must hold higher education to much higher expectations or risk national decline" (p. 3). I found this interesting that this was examined almost 30 years ago and I find that we are still facing this issue today. I think today, especially with the economy, expectation for higher education has declined. It is further quoted, "Education is in trouble, and with it our nation's hope for the future. America's ability to compete in a global economy is threatened....The capacity for the United States to shoulder its responsibilities on the world stage is at risk" (p. 3). Students have expectations such as their own roles, responsibilities and commitment to the university they are attending. Students may develop unrealistically high expectations or may hold low expectations. Students’ expectations pertain to both quality and personal relevance. However, the realities of higher education is played out over both short and long term goals. Universities care about the day-to-day experiences, such as services, facilities and the in-class experience. Universities also are concerned about the career and life outcomes that obtaining a degree might make possible for students. But with this economy, expectations are dwindling on both sides. Students are expecting to get a decent job once they graduate with a Bachelor degree, but this is not the case for a lot of graduates. With higher education funding being cut in all directions it is hard for universities to meet the expectations of students and society.

Do you think we have reached national decline or that "education is in trouble" according to these quotes? If not, what are your hopes for the future in higher education?

Education vs. Learning

Terry O'Banion points out how educational reform has caused many changes in education across the nation such as: increased requirements for high school graduation, increased standards for teacher clarification, increased use of assessment, and increased use of technology. However, what I thought was most significant is that he points out that with these changes, there has been little or no increase in learning among the nation's students. This made me think about the difference between education and learning. The two terms are completely different in my opinion. Learning is defined as "the cognitive process of acquiring skill or knowledge." Whereas, education is defined as "the activities of educating or instructing or activities that impart knowledge or skill." The two terms definietly go hand-in-hand, however, a person does not necessarily need the activities of educating in order to learn something. A person can say that they have been educated throughout their life, but did they actually learn anything? In addition, it seems as if policy makers are focused on the educational aspects of schools, educators, and institutions, but not the actual learning processes for students.

I never would have imagined a person such as George Leonard (1992) saying, "We can no longer improve the education of our children by improving school as we know it. The time has come to recognize that school is not the solution. It is the problem." I would have never thought school as problem for anyone ever. I think that schools do not need be focused on, but it is the actual learning that is taking place that is important. Ways of learning is what needs to be improved, not the education.