Knowle’s Assumptions #2 – Learner self-concept
Posted by Mark Winegar on August 20, 2008
“Adults need to be responsible for their own decisions and to be treated as capable of self-direction.”
Legendary drummer Dom Famularo talks about winning and self-empowerment in this video clip. Listen to the passion he has about his teaching and his art. It’s contagious!
Dom is passionate about his work because he is following his own path. He loves what he is doing and he’s a mater but he was once a neophyte learning his art. At some point he decided this was his path. His parents didn’t choose for him. His teachers didn’t either. Who would advise a young person to pursue a career in rock’n'roll drumming? It was his decision. And because it was his decision is acted on it with a passion that brought him success against great odds. Wouldn’t you enjoy teaching students who were passionate about your subject?
First students must be empowered to make their own decisions. This means allowing them to fly and to fall. “Why do we fall? To learn to pick ourselves up.” I think we need to give undergraduates more flexibility in designing their curriculum. I’m not talking about just picking out electives but designing custom majors and majors by remixing courses to foster individual passions. This is empowerment.
Undergraduates are learning to be adults. They are on their own for the first times in their lives. They are going to make mistakes. We can’t prevent it and we shouldn’t try. What we should do is mentor our students when they goof up. We should help them see the mistake as just that, a mistake. We should show them that they are valued but the mistake is not. It is critical we hold them responsible for correcting their mistakes and tell them what our future expectations are. I suggest reading Ken Blanchard’s One Minute Manager and focusing on the methodology of the one minute reprimand. I like this technique because it builds self-respect rather than tearing it down.
I think we demonstrate a deep respect for our students when we allow them to follow their passions and hold them accountable for their mistakes. In this way we accept them as peers in the learning process and adult life.
