Comments on: life-long learners my ass

By: Brian Carlton

Brian Carlton — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:23:30 +0000

These aren’t exactly learning in my book. Sure, they are good things, but why call them learning?
* Accept [sic] responsibility
* Respects classmates
* Respects authority
* Works collaboratively

By: david carlton

david carlton — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 19:11:54 +0000

But 4 is the snarkiest answer of all! And I agree that most of them fall in that bucket, but I’ll also speak up in favor of 3: the clearest example of that to me is “Works neatly”. For example, I am both messy and good at learning stuff, but I wouldn’t make the claim that my being messy has helped (or hindered) me towards that end.

I also wonder how to classify stuff like “Respects classmates”. That seems to me to be unambiguously good, but for reasons which don’t have anything to do with life-long learning. I think it probably correlates somewhat with being a good learner, but only because I think it probably correlates with positive outcomes across a wide range of measures. (And even those positive outcomes for the individual aren’t the main reason why I think it’s important: I think it’s important because of positive outcomes for everybody else.)

Totally agree with the last paragraph of the comment.

By: Jordan

Jordan — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:05:14 +0000

I guess I’m not snarky enough because I think almost all of these are 4, except maybe “communicates effectively” which I think is 1. I mean, you _can_ read “respects authority” as “obeys more powerful people blindly” but also as “pays some heed to existing social structures, which is not to say doesn’t think about them critically.” And so on down the list.

I think the startling thing about this list isn’t what’s on it, but what’s NOT on it — no “thinks critically” or “asks questions” or “does more than is strictly required,” all of which I think are pretty crucial life-long learning skills.