A Delicate Balance Student irresponsihility has always been a problem for teachers, a problem perhaps not unexpected considering the general lack of maturity of most students. However, many experienced teachers sense that this problem has grown markedlv worse over the oast few vears. Indeed. some ohservers suggest that irresponsible behavior seems to have increased in most segments of modern society; self-discipline and responsibility appear to have declined in importance as social values. Indeed. i t could he argued that the current svstem of education is asignificant co&ihutor to this perceiGed orohlem. Some sav that contemporary educational practice iocusesso intentlion teaching that thkstudent is rciirved of the res~onrihilityfor learnina. In the pursuit of clarity, fairness, A d definition-all laidable g&als-we have created mastery learnina and student-oriented learning objectives. A t the same time, we have, in effect, abandoned the teaching of such values as responsihility and self-discipline. From a theoretical point of view, mastery learning makes sense because, under such systems, teachers can measure what students rather how lone students sit in lecture . ~ know -~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -than ~ - ~ ~ halls, which has little to do with student achievement. Clearly stated eoals and ohiectives benefit not onlv the students. hut they ago force theUteacherto define what is he accomolished. Goals and ohiectives establish a rational link hetween what teachers say tLey want to do and what they, in fact, are doing. The hasic strategy and philosophy appear irresistible; yet possibly unintended messages are also transmitted. Thus, failure is never the student's fault; it's due to had teaching. Anything can he made up; poor performance is rewarded: if a t first thev fail, students have an opportunitv to take the test again. here is always another chance. ~ h e i e is no oenaltv for foulina- UP, planninc, or indeed, for . . for poor . laziness. l i f e ir difficult, and the student o h v i o u s ~needs ~ an extension on the paper that was due today. Thus, despite the positive aspects of current educational methods, they ;an also encouraae irresponsibility and a lack of self-discipline among students. students, for t h e most part, have never trained themselves t o produce on demand-their own or someone else's, to think quickly and independently, to work efficiently, or to postpone an immediate reward in favor of a more significant. hut loneer ranee. eain. Thev have never trained themselves to do ihese things because they have never had to do them. In such an environment students' skills and intel~~~
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lectual abilities are neither challenged nor developed to their full potential because they take so little responsihility for their own learning. I t can he argued that contemporary teaching methods not onlv tend to sidetrack teachers.. thev also breed student irresponsihility. By overly emphasizing the subject matter and stressing skills that are easv to test. teachers can easilv lose sight of ;he need to foster learning k m a n y directions, i.:., not only subject mastery hut also intellectual skills, personal hehavior, and values. By concentrating too hard on stating clear ohjectives and providing a supportive, non-threatening environment for students, there is a real passihility that teachers will de-emphasize the need to, and the value of, developing good personal behavior characteristics. Students should learn to value responsibility to others-both as croups and individual-berause it will permit them tofunction&adultnwith an ultimately ureater freedom. Self-discipline is the rein on personal desires and passions that us to command a responsive mind. A mind that does what its owner wants is precious heyond value. Ultimately students will need these kinds of attributes, because they will work a t tasks for which their supervisors cannot, or choose not to, define their ohjectives and expectations. At one extreme, they might encounter employers or supervisors who demand the highest standards; on the other hand, some will perform so shabbily that an employee's only recourse is the standards helshe set for himselfherself. In either case, it is essential that a student develop an internal system of values, of which self-discipline stands high on the list of desirable attributes. Teachers need to go heyond the pedagogy of skills and quantitative ohjectives and foster learning in other directions through their expectations for their students. Important values are taught when teachers refuse t o tolerate procrastination, self-indulgence, laziness, or lack of any sense of priorities. Students should he encouraged to make decisions about what is important to them, and they must he given tools and guidelines to make those decisions. Without sacrificing the gains made through the application of modern teaching strategies, teachers must strive to devise methods to force students to practice selfdiscipline and to take responsihility for their own learning.
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JJL
Volume 61 Number 11 November 1984
937
