I agree with Mihaela V in that the level of information exchange, interaction, and student empowerment is a good thing — afterall, as Confucius said: “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”

As the challenge grows for the educator, so too does it grow for the learned. The challenge that students want and need is relevance — present authenticity and vision, and though shall appease the future.

The critical theorist in me is happy this is happening. Alana’s post is an example of tearing down the Golden Wall I wrote about some time back. It’s good that students have a voice. Education is by definition a power imbalance, where students pay to subject themselves to our authority and power. In theory, I say, bring it on!

The professor in me smiles a sad smile: I was once young and arrogant and thought I knew it all. I hated classes that didn’t teach me real skills for the real world.

It took me years to get over myself and understand that the best classes are not the ones that teach me skills that will be dated in 2-3 years (though you need those, too, to get a job next year) but those that teach me how to think.

Here’s critical theory again: Students expect us to train them to be good employees, servants to the Corporation. They’re lost and disappointed when we teach them how to be free thinkers, free people. That’s called hegemony, I think.

A recent opinion article at Clemson ranked liberal arts courses as the worst, most useless ones. How sadly misguided.

Where we profs fail is that we don’t help students understand WHY we do what we do and how it WILL be more useful than teaching button-pushing.

As a prof, I try to teach students skills that will be relevant 10-20 years later. They can’t appreciate that now. They need help. They’re too young to think in that time frame. So I take time to explain.

See also my comment on Alana’s post.

Robert: I agree with you on all points & appreciate you adding them here. I feel like many times students get so caught up in the quick, emotional online tirade & forget how professional adults operate. Talk about the anti-thesis of relationship building! Learning how to have difficult conversations & adult disagreements is MUCH better learned in the safety of college rather than the harsh reality of the real world where a post like we’re talking about could get someone fired!

I also see/hear the disorganized/unclear side of the students. With such new subject matter (for most students), teaching to the lowest common denominator would mean never getting anywhere, IMO. So, I often have students feeling that way. It frustrates me as much as it frustrates them, but try and tell them that. ;o)

This is a tough row to hoe, isn’t it. I’m frankly surprised there hasn’t been more of it.