Common Sense
The two statements made here about some students coming in with a sense of entitlement and the one about using common sense really struck a nerve with me. I teach at a for-profit technical education school located in a city with a high population of lower-income students, many of whom see this as a way up out of poverty. I'm glad they're trying to improve their lives and make a better living for themselves and their children, but so many of our students come to us expecting our education philosophy to be the same as in the large public city high schools from which they graduated. As the author said, they feel they should pass all classes because they are paying a tuition for them, so students listen to music or check their Facebook pages, and get mad at me when I expect them to answer a question based on the material they ignored.
With the introduction of state-wide standardized testing, teachers concentrate on teaching to pass a test, and students not only don't KNOW how to think, they don't see a reason for it.
One of my favorite mantras in class is that students, when they get to their jobs, will have to make decisions that will affect their patients. They will have to decide if the number answer they see on the calculator is a sensible thing to say, such as "He needs to buy two and a half bottles of bleach." I'll always add a note questioning this, asking the student if a person CAN buy half a bottle of a product, and some of our liveliest discussions in class address this type of reasoning. Of course, those students who didn't bother participating and instead listened to music or checked their online status missed out on the whole point of the discussion, and so they don't understand why I didn't give them full credit when the calculator clearly gave the correct answer.
And then they tell me "You're not helping me. You gave me a bad grade."
Sigh
On the first day I always make known my expectations. When we discuss the material I try to relate it to real world situations. I have found that if you want them to be independent thinkers you have to set up a safe non judgmental environment. That way they know it is alright to explore many avenues before coming up with the right answers. After all if you want them to think outside the box first you have to show them what the box is.
Carlton,
Well said. Life is a tough instructor in many cases. The students need to see how these experiences influence their lives and strive to overcome the barriers that are in front of them and continue on with their career preparation. Can be tough for many students to grasp this concept.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I run into this attitude a lot myself. Sometimes there is a gruff attitude that goes with it as well. Most of my students have not lived away from home for very long. They haven't had the life experience yet that failures at things tried are possible. Getting fired from a job, forgetting to pay the power bill and getting disconnected,a car accident where they were held responsible are all experiences they may go through. All of life's failures can add maturity to us as teachers and will to our students as well.
Thomas,
Great quote because it says so much. Students need to see the value of education, whatever form it may be in and how it will impact their future and the success they have.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
That degree sure is costly- the lack of education costs a whole lot more. I heard a recent study that stated the average college student spends less than an hour per week outside of class on their studies.
You can not teach someone to have common sense,
I think some instructors believe common sense and critical thinking are the same, they are not.
You can teach someone critical thinking.
I read this somewhere.
"Common sense, something we know and expect others to know as well"
I also struggle to get students to use common sense. I am constantly bringing up scenarios for practical application of theories and techniques. It usually instigates more questions and a lively discussion which I think increases learning. But I do agree that students these days are not used to thinking for themselves. They want their teachers to do it for them. I often answer a question with, "Well, you tell ME what the answer is."
Angela,
This attitude is becoming more common all the time. They need to understand paying tuition is not buying a grade. They must earn that grade and in earning the grade they will acquire the knowledge and skills required for success in the field.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The students pay a large sum of money for the program I teach. There is a sense of entitlement shown by the students referring to the amount they pay to be in the program. I remind them, they will not be successful in the field, if I just hand them a degree with out skills and knowledge.
Melissa,
Well said yourself. I find the same thing with my students. Common sense is not common and in many cases not even understood in terms of how valuable it is in problem solving. So we have to go back to ground zero and try to help students develop some approaches to using common sense in their reflective thinking.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Well said, well said. I tell my students on the first day of class that this is a career choice. I am here to train you and make you employable. I feel common sense in not very common.
Antonio,
Sad we are faced with these challenges in terms of student attitudes. Makes our job tough when we ask our students to do in-depth analysis and careful research to come up with possible solutions. This is where common sense would be so valuable to the thinking effort for our students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I know where you asre coming from , I am in the same boat , students these days have the attitudes that the world oes them and since they are paying for something it should be automatic that they earned it and pass it , common sense comes hard to alot of them and its something that noone can teach .
Dianne,
Powerful content in the HABE model. Having this understanding can give you insight into how to approach and work with your students to try and help them develop some "common sense" as well as reflective thinking skills.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It is nice to know that others have the same mantra as myself..."Common sense is not so common!" Struggling with students who have a sense of "entitlement," is a common thread to discussions and concerns in the classroom. I teach at a for-profit vocational school and we recently had a guest speaker who spoke about the Pacific Institute's Thought Patterns for a Successful Career. He spoke at length about HABE (habits, attitudes, beliefs and expectations) and how the instructor's HABE will of course be different than the students' HABE due to education, socioeconomic status and age. He reminded us that not only do we need to teach the skill set for the student to obtain a job/career - but being successful at this requires our ability to understand the students' HABE and gently moving their HABE toward defining a goal. It was an academic training well worth attending and reminding myself of constantly.
I have done this many times and find that it is quite effective and sets the tone for the expectations right from the start.
Good luck!
Kimberly,
Like your saying because it is so true. We say "use your comment sense" but this is tough if you don't have any or have not learned how to develop it. Practical approaches to problem solving will go a long way in helping students to see how common sense can be used to reach solutions to problems.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I tend to agree with your statement about common sense, my mantra: "common sense isn't common".
I am begining to understand why; this generation of students haven't been taught the skills. I am glad for the opportunity to work on training myself as an educator to encourage critical thinking in my students. So often students will ask for the answer to questions they could figure out, as it's the easy way out. I have to stop and decide if it is a reasonable question, or if they are engaging my brain before their own.
Although the public education system hasn't set our students up for success in this area, we just have to do the best we can and cultivate this skill. Forums like this help make our job easier!
