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Dan Richmond
Stefan Britt
English 111
30 April 2015
The Peoples Prospective
The 21st century education system does not emphasize focus on the
difference in peoples learning. Due to the lack of students motivation the
teachers role as an adult educator, with the learning methods of todays
education system being focused on a different frame of reference. The
education system does do a good job with competition but is it good
competition or bad? Teachers set in their old ways of teaching and not
embracing the new technology is only hurting their students.
Motivation is a key role in any students educational career. Depending
on what motivates each student dictates how well and effective the students
will be in each class. Professor from Binghamton University, John Taggs article
Why Learn, Tagg wrote about how the education system is failing its
students, The purpose of multiple-choice tests is to convert knowledge into
numbers, to quantify. This process is inherently reductionistic; it reduces the
full-color relief map of the students understanding into a two-dimensional,
black-and-white cartoon. And the assignment of a grade on the basis of
multiple-choice tests further reduces the delineations, leaving as the
surviving report a primitive blot (4). In life we cant solve our problems with
a simple multiple choice answer sorry but lifes actual problems arent that

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simple to solve. Professor of adult education Jack Mezirow supports Taggs

idea There is an egregious assumption that the acquisition of knowledge or
attainment of competencies will somehow automatically generate the
understanding, skills, and dispositions involved in learning to think
autonomously (271). Educators think that you are already a complex thinker
so they just dont go back to the fundamentals of autonomous thinking per
say. Are we really learning to better ourselves or did the education system
brainwash us at a young age to only think that? On the other hand though
school does a good thing by incorporating a good healthy sense of
competition. Gerald Graff a professor of English and Education at the
University of Illinois at Chicago, it down on me that the sports world was
more compelling than school because it was more intellectual than school,
not less (248). Basically put simply students that also participate in sports
will help them in school on the sense that the thrill of competition will be
there.
Students can have a very productive and knowledgeable learning
experience if the students have a good relationship with the teacher or if the
student has good grades. In the story of Jack and Jill the teacher
remembered Jack because he passed the class and had good grades but did
not remember Jill, but who actually accomplished more? The success story
here, you quickly decide, is Jill. Why? The learning experience Jill had in your
class continued after the class was over (3).This will also have an effect
on the teachers teaching style for each class. Professor Jack Mezirow is

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trying to teach his students to motivate students to make learning a lifetime

goal, The adult educator must recognize both the learners objectives and
goal. The educators responsibility is to help learners reach their objectives in
such a way that they will function as more autonomous, socially responsible
thinkers. Helping people learn to achieve a specific short-term objective may
involve instrumental learning. For them to achieve their goal requires
communicative learning (270). Mezirow is attempting to teach his students
to be more autonomous which will allow the students think on a deeper basis
in which case will motivate the students to make learning a lifetime goal. Just
because a teacher does his best to teach his students the material as
effective as the teacher can, one student might be motivated by something
other than the next.
As stated in a previous paragraph everyone is motivated differently so
what has to happen students have to be taught differently so they can be the
best that they can be inside and outside of the class. Adult educators need
to understand that transformative learning can take several forms involving
either objective or subjective reframing (Mezirow 272). Basically there are
three types of learning visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. It doesnt just end
there though after that you can combine them and use many different
examples for each.
There are many ways that a student can succeed in the world of
education; on the other hand there are many ways that students can fail. Be
it lack of direction, motivation, and competition. Its up to both the student

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and educator to sit down and talk about whats going on so that the student
has the best chance to pass and move on.

Works Cited
Graff, Gerald. Hidden Intellectualism. They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic
Writing. New York: Norton, 244-251. Print.
Mezirow, Jack Transformative learning: Theory to Practice. Exploring Relationships:
Globalization and Learning in the 21st century. Ed. Mid-Michigan Community College
Boston: Pearson, 2013. 268-274. Print.
Tagg, John. Why Learn?: What We May Really be Teaching Students. About Campus 9.1
(2004):2-10. Print.