From the day we are born, till the day we die, humans are constantly learning new things. Whether it be learning how to walk, learning things in school, or how to navigate the latest technology, everyone of all ages has something new to learn. Learning new things takes often takes a lot of effort on the part of the learner. It is because of this that Leland Ryken said in his speech, the students calling, that “All education is ultimately self-education” I believe Ryken is correct, everything we learn is processed by us, through either direct or unconscious thought.
First, it needs to be realized that self-education as defined by Ryken is different than that of self-directed learning. In the context of The Students Calling, Ryken states
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If thought about in this way, Ryken is right in his presupposition that all education is self-education. Learning and retaining any amount of information takes effort on the part of the learner; the self.
To further build my case in support of Ryken’s ideas, I would like to illustrate some of the counterpoints that could be made in its opposition, and show how Ryken’s statement holds true in the face of them.
I believe the biggest argument to be against the idea of all education being self-education is the idea that every now and then we learn things, despite no brain power or effort being put towards learning them. About three years ago while I was standing in my kitchen talking with my brother, a commercial with a catchy jingle about peanuts played on the TV in the other room. How is it that I can remember the exact tune and notes of the jingle years after the fact? I clearly remember trying to ignore the background noise the TV was providing, and yet I remember regardless. On its face, this would seem like a big exception to Ryken’s idea about all education being self-education; I learned something without any effort put forth on my end of things. The commercial was “educational” and I myself put in no effort to learn.
What is happening in our brain exactly when we remember information
The film Higher Learning is a call to action. It is a film that shows people as products of their environment. The film is set on a college campus, a place where most people learn about what they will do in their adult life to try to better the world or simply educate themselves in order to live a better life. However, life on the Columbus campus is not good; it is a battlefield between the races and sexes. I feel it is a bit exaggerated, but it allows people to see some of the issues that go on, on a college campus. The film focuses on three freshman (Malik, Kristen, & Remy) entering college. They enter a less than ideal new world that is filled with tension, anxiety and fear. Although the writer uses stereotypical characters, it
One thing we do know is that education fits in all stages or groups in life. These groups help us to learn new rules and patterns associated with that age group. People do not play by the same set of roles throughout their lives. The different roles go with different patterns of behavior and learning levels that have to be taught. This implies that throughout our lives we are constantly being taught the education process.
In this study, self-determination was identified as feelings of autonomy, self-regulation, psychological perspectives, empowerment, and self-realization (Jones & Hensley, 2012). The area most impacted for self-contained students was psychological empowerment. Teachers in the research study stated that the self-contained students were more dependent on the classroom staff for learning support (Jones & Hensley, 2012). These students were more likely to seek assistance on simple assignments that they could have easily completed on their own. While it is important for teacher-student relationships to be positive, an overdependence on teachers can hinder the learning process and negatively impact the confidence level of the student (Jones & Hensley, 2012). However, students in resource classrooms displayed higher levels
The vocational purpose of education refers to the information and abilities students master through their learning experience in schools. In other words, the main goal of this purpose is to prepare literate and economically aware adults. In reference to early elementary school years, skills that students must master are basic addition/subtraction, memorization, learning to read, and basic sentence writing. Mastering these skills are an important piece of the economic educational purpose because in adulthood it often leads to the pursuit of a career and financial independence. Those adults that struggle with basic arithmetic and reading often settle for jobs that simply pay the bills, rarely do they have an opportunity to pursue a career that they love. Without fully grasping these skills, it makes it impossible to understand higher order thinking skills, like analysis and dialectic reasoning. For example, the majority of adults will have to analyze a legal document, apply their knowledge of arithmetic to determine a budget for their family, and be placed in everyday situations where they must think critically. Without the skills, it would be impossible for someone to perform these actions. The vocational purpose of education is to prepare students with the skills that they will need to be successful in life once they reach adulthood.
Because teaching is one of the best ways to learn, Honors College takes learning to the next level. Self-directed learning is essentially being able to teach yourself. Teaching yourself means being willing to go above and beyond to learn thoroughly, sometimes by using outside sources. The book The Art of Racing in the Rain, authored by Garth Stein, altered my view on the humanities.
Education is the gradual process of meaning making and acquiring “knowledge.” One views the world through his or her own set of lenses or filters, from his or her own perspective, and the mind of the learner attempts to connect new information to existing schema to make new connections. These constructions and connections in the brain become "knowledge." Therefore, knowledge when people begin to understand facts or information through experience and/or learning. We begin to realize, through knowledge, details that we learn in isolation are actually interconnected. Education can be intentional or unintentional and can occur everywhere and at any time. Education is greatly influenced by affective factors and social context. It has both internal and external value, both to a person and to all of society.
As educators, we are instructing our students not only in matters of scholarship, but in matters of self. Expression through confidence of autonomy, self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation are integral to the development of any individual.
Being Self-Aware . Being self aware while teaching meant that I was aware of what I was saying, what I was thinking and how I was responding to the leaners’ and the instructional material. I was self-ware of the decisions I made in and out of class. This is also what I encouraged in my students. Encouraging students to be self-aware, they consciously paid more attention. The learner proactively viewed themselves from the position of their higher self, through their feelings thoughts, decisions, and actions. I expected no less of them than what I expected of myself.
A big concept behind this idea of education is learning how to think- learning how to exercise some control over what we think about.
From the start of time, to present day, the only way to achieve almost anything this world is to have an education. But, who decides if you’re properly educated, and where does this education come from? What it means to be educated is perceived differently by everyone. To me, education focuses on the mind. But more specifically, factors and characteristics that shape one’s mind. To be educated means one should have the ability to think critically, show respect, and have a level head while obtaining some overall knowledge.
Students waste plenty amount of time attempting to learn a topic if they are not provided with guidance about what is truly important about the topic. Students come into the self-study with misconceptions; they will play the new information to fit into their current mental model, causing negative training. They will also sometimes misinterpret new concepts as meaning something other than the right meaning. Moreover, the students may not understand the topic well enough to decide what is necessary and what is good to know. Self-study has many issues because without guidance; maybe students could not make the best way to learn. The instructor part in education is very important which cannot be ignored. The instructor will introduce the topic, setting a good foundation for which information that might be confusing, and clearly establishing what is important and what is not. For example, when I was in high school I had a question while I was studying for my exam. The school canceled when the weather changed and became dusty. Therefore, I had to try to figure out the answer by myself, but I missed it up. This was because the question that I did not understand was very tricky and
There are many people in the world that have been noted to be some of the most intelligent and educated people in the universe, but it seems that the idea of education is often mistaken with the idea of schooling. Being an educated person is not based off of how high one’s GPA is or how well one can write an essay. Rather it is how one lives their daily life and can overcome obstacles that lead oneself to the true understanding of experimental education. Education does not only exist in the academic world. Don 't be fooled; education most definitely exists in the classrooms of a university but it also exists everywhere else. It is through experimental education and how one overcomes certain obstacles that one is truly shaped into an educated person. Experience is the basis of all knowledge. It is quite the chilling thought to grasp that at any moment, one’s life can change forever. Jim Davison’s story in The Ledge is one about self-reflection and conquering a physical and mental battle that many would be incapable of doing. Similar to Davison, John Locke’s theory of education deals with learning from the process of experience through sensation and reflection. Textbooks and professors can help students understand certain ways to read, write, and do math, but none of that knowledge becomes useful when life twists and turns and something unexpected happens. Students are not taught through a textbook how to react when a loved one dies or when a traumatic experience occurs.That
Education is not just the amount of information that is put into a child’s brain undigested, unrelated an unassimilated. The very essence of education is the concentration of mind and
My passion is to not only teach students in a creative and positive way that they are actually learning but also to inspire them to learn and make something great of themselves in their future. The reason being when I was younger I did not take my education that serious. If I would have known then how serious an education was, I feel that I could have accomplished more in middle and high school. After school I wouldn't care about actually learning about my homework. For this reason I want to inspire kids to want to learn at a young age and for them to see that their education and work ethic is very important even at their age. Most importantly I want my future students to want to learn.
The Self Every situation that an individual is exposed to throughout life, helps mold our “self.” As humans we have the ability to see ourselves from the outside, and all through life we try to see what others see and our “self” revolves around the generalized other. We observe how others perceive us and we make conclusions depending on our observations. How we act around others depends on the image we feel they have towards us.