A Learning College for the 21st Century: Age of the Learner

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

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).

2 comments:

KristinaAugust 5, 2010 at 4:52 PM
Wow. That's a pretty lofty statement from An American Imperative. I personally think our nation does an excellent job at providing education to everyone. I get a little frustrated with pundits who try and compare American education to other countries. I'm not aware of any other country where a free education is the right of every citizen. I would put our best up against any other country's best any day. In that spirit, I think more community colleges are learning colleges than O'Banion might have us think. They continue to open doors of opportunity to anyone who wants. Again, where else does that exist?
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rachloveAugust 5, 2010 at 10:11 PM
I agree with you Kristina. O'Banion seems to really rip our educational system apart and point out all of its flaws for sure. Honestly, I am not sure what to think. I read an article that was posted by CBS News called "Poor Marks For U.S. Education System" and it stated that South Korea has the most effective education system in the world's richest countries, with Japan in second place and the United States and Germany near the bottom, a United Nations study said Tuesday. The ranking "provides the first 'big picture' comparison of the relative effectiveness of education systems across the developed world," the UNICEF study said. "It is based not on the conventional yardstick of how many students reach what level of education, but on testing what pupils actually know and what they are able to do," UNICEF said. I was shocked reading this because it said this study was conducted because of this perception that our schools are simply not good enough and they don't compare well with systems in other countries.
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Quotes

When Describing Educational Reform - "All of these solutions work toward trimming the branches, when attacking the root is the only viable source of action" (p. 7).

"The reform movement of the past decade has been trimming the branches of a dying tree" (p. 7).

"Putting learning at the heart of the academic enterprise will mean overhauling the conceptual, procedural, curricular, and other architecture of postsecondary education on most campuses" (p.9)

"The student has always been the first priority in the community college, and the current interest in learning is the next evolutionary step in the continuing quest for quality education" (p. 28).

"The purpose of teaching is to help students make passionate connections to learning" (p. 28).

"Technology is like a Swiss army knife, in adept hands, it has many uses including that of opening a 'can of worms'" (p. 70).

"For technology to 'work' in the classroom, there has to be a convincing pedagogy and rationale behind it" (p. 82).

"The world is not won by those who are right. It is won by those who can convince other they are right" (p. 130).

"The community college as an institution is one of the most important innovations in the history of higher education" (p. 232).

About Author - Terry O'Banion

Terry O'Banion, Ph.D., is president and CEO of the League for Innovation in the Community College, an international consortium of leading community colleges in the United States and Canada dedicated to experimentation and innovation. He is the author of 12 books, including Teaching and Learning in the Community College, Innovation in the Community College, and Teachers for Tomorrow: Staff Development in the Community Junior College. During a 36-year tenure in community college education, he served as dean of students at two Florida community colleges and as professor of community college education at the University of Illinois in Urbana. Dr. O'Banion has written more than 100 articles on community college issues and has been a consultant to over 500 community colleges and universities in 45 states and Canada. He earned a doctorate in administration in higher education from Florida State University and holds a master's degree in guidance and counseling from the University of Florida.