I Learned Something

It's everywhere you turn. On the nightly news, on the cover of magazines, talk radio, podcasts, the Internet. The headlines scream it out, "Schools Failing", "Can the Education System be Fixed?", "America Falling Behind". NBC recently dedicated a whole week with numerous news programs focusing on education. And this may be one of the rare times when the media is actually correct that things are bad. Obviously, not every student in America is flunking out, but the problems are real and large.


However, while this may be news, it is not exactly new. These problems have been discussed for decades. Numerous solutions proposed. Spending increased. New standards adopted. Yet, here we are, still looking for a true fix to the problem. Most recently, there has been the widespread call for a better means of evaluating teachers. We must pay good teachers more, and get rid of the slackers. Only, we can't seem to agree that this is a good idea, nor on how you actually evaluate a "good teacher." So we keep arguing, and thinking, and debating.


Recently I had an experience that may shed a little bit of light on the situation. Every other Saturday I teach a class on parenting. This seminar is a court-ordered class and the majority of those attending are doing so because they are in the midst of divorce proceedings and they have children still living at home. Needless to say, many of those ordered to attend are not so happy to spend half a Saturday doing this. To lighten the mood, I start off with a quip about how this class is going to be way more fun and interesting than defensive driving. This is typically received with nervous laughter.

Last class I taught began even worse than normal. A monsoon came that morning, and everyone was drenched. There was a mix-up with the key to the building and people had to wait outside in the downpour. If it was possible, those attending were even less enthused than usual. But, believe it or not, four hours later several people told me as they were leaving how much they appreciated the class and that they really learned some things to help their parenting. One man even admitted that he came in not expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised by the material.

Now, according to the debate raging in this country, I must be an excellent teacher. I took a tough crowd, made tougher by circumstances, and convinced them to learn some new things. Some people actually enjoyed the class! And I will admit that I felt it was one of my better classes. Some days you just have it. However, on the evaluations participants fill out, a couple of people seemed to believe it was the worst experience of their lives. One person, when asked what they learned wrote, "Not a damn thing!"


So, if I'm such a good teacher (and I am!) then how did these few people get so little out of class, while others raved about what they had learned? Most people I know would say, "well, they had such bad attitudes, they weren't gonna learn anything no matter what." I agree. The problem in this case was not the teacher or the material, but rather the student (at least I hope). But then the question must be asked, "How do we evaluate education if the problem is sometimes the students themselves?"



It seems the one thing we refuse to consider when discussing education in America is that the problem may lie with the students. Specifically, that many students are unmotivated to learn. We all know of students (Abraham Lincoln being our favorite example) who seek to learn no matter the barriers placed before them. How do they learn without good teachers? Determination and motivation. Those traits seem to be conspicuously lacking in many students today.

Now please understand, I am not blaming seven year-olds for our educational woes. I am blaming the motivation and determination of many students for crippling the educational system in our country. There was a time when education was seen as a privilege that allowed you to seek a better life. It is still that way in many countries. In some developing countries there is an almost violent struggle to get your child into a school, because education is so valuable. But in America, many kids don't see the value in it. Many (including parents and children) assume that prosperity is some kind of right that just happens. So while our kids play video games and disrespect their teachers, they assume that in the end it will all work out. Meanwhile, kids in other countries know the real score and are passing our kids by.

So how do we build in some motivation for our students? How do you create a love of learning and a thirst for knowledge? Let's start by getting one thing out of the way. Good teachers make a difference. But, how much? A good teacher can probably take a student on the borderline and push them toward motivated learning. The better the teacher, I am sure the farther over that line they can reach. But only the rarest teacher can reach well beyond the line. So we can't count on a rare occurrence. We should get rid of terrible teachers (teachers that make kids who are interested in learning lose interest) but that still leaves us with our problem.

I am also sure that improvements in classroom management, better curriculum, etc... can have some sort of positive effect. But, can any of this overcome a student who is dead set against being there and learning? And can it even make a dent when that student is put in a classroom with several other students who are also determined to not learn?

At some point we must look at the student directly. The key to learning may be the learner! There is debate about how much difference a good verses great teacher makes. But we all know that someone really determined to learn is almost impossible to stop. A decent teacher with a student who is a voracious learner equals lots of learning.

So how can we motivate a large population that does not seem to care about their own education? Economists would say we must find the incentives. Something drives people to learn. There is some kind of payoff. As mentioned earlier, if you are in a poor, third world environment the incentive for learning may be survival, or drastic improvement of life. On the heels of this comes family pressure, since you may be the only one fortunate enough to have the opportunity of education. But what are the incentives in America? Should we pay students for attendance and grades? (Before you scoff, this is being tried with some success in a few school districts, and besides it kind of fits the idea that you have a job and there is a pay-off for showing up and doing it well.) How big a role do parents and family play in providing incentive? I'm thinking beyond a quarter for every A, but rather a family providing both examples of learning and incentives. Why should a seven year old learn to read if mom and dad know how but never pick up a book? Are parents viewed by their children as learning and growing even beyond "school"? What role does society play? Have we removed incentives for learning by focusing on screen-based entertainment? (You don't have to read or use algebra to play your Wii and watch Jersey Shore.) Have we elevated technology as the answer to the point that students believe if they can use Facebook and Twitter they are de facto computer scientists? Do the safety nets we place around people rob them of the motivation to improve their existence through education?

The bad news is that the problem may lie with the students. The good news is that the answer lies with the students. That class I taught had a couple of really unmotivated learners. But most of the people, even while struggling through a difficult time in their lives, seemed to interact with the material and at least made an attempt to apply it to their life. Of course they have a big motivation. I was teaching a parenting class. Most of them are about to become single parents. That could be considered quite an incentive to learn.

The Duke of Hazard

Moral hazard is the prospect that a party insulated from risk may behave differently from the way it would behave if it were fully exposed to the risk…Moral hazard arises because an individual or institution does not take the full consequences and responsibilities of its doings, and therefore has a tendency to act less carefully than it alternately would, leaving another party to hold some responsibility for the consequences of those actions. (From Wikipedia)

Moral hazard is a term particularly used by economists, although it can be applied to all sorts of situations that are not economic. It has become one of the favorite ideas floating around in my head. I am now seeing it everywhere I look. Let me explain it a little so you can join my insanity.

Imagine I am teaching my children to play Monopoly. As their turns proceed, Madelyn makes some bad choices. She mortgages Boardwalk and Park Place to buy Baltic and St. James Place. Because of the loss of rental income she decides to sell a couple of railroads to get some quick cash rather than sticking with the steady flow of money they produce. Meanwhile, the other kids are methodically building houses on property to increase value. Then Madelyn lands on Pacific Avenue. It’s got three houses. She can’t possibly afford to pay, game over. But wait, as the banker I step in and give her a couple thousand dollars. Think about how this upsets the game (not to mention the other players). I have rewarded risky and stupid behavior. Now Madelyn will expect this every time. So she will continue with the type of thinking that got her in trouble in the first place. Even worse, what if I don’t offer this type of financial help to every player? What if I only give it to those who spend lavishly and without care? Or only to those who own extremely valuable property (Boardwalk and Park Place) but not to those who stayed within their means and bought St. Charles. I have so disrupted the rules of the game that it becomes impossible for anyone to know what they should do.

This happens in real life all the time and it is extremely destructive. It teaches a lack of personal responsibility and rewards idiotic behavior. For instance, you can go try and climb some impossible canyon out in the Mojave Desert. When you get stuck all sorts of rescue personnel are dispatched to save you. This is good, because you live. But it costs the tax payers thousands of dollars. Why should everyone else have to pay for your stupidity? And besides, by not placing the financial responsibility at your feet, we only encourage you to do it again next weekend. The rescued person should have to pay not only for the benefit of society, but for their own long-term growth as well.

This occurs with athletes who have been passed from grade to grade regardless of their academic standing. They come to believe that they are above the normal consequences and therefore responsibilities of life. It happens with children who are allowed to behave in whatever way they see fit, and whose parents seem held hostage by this behavior. Eventually, when a teacher or employer brings severe consequences for such behavior the child is enraged. They thought the rules didn’t apply to them.

And of course it happens financially. If I know you are going to bail me out, then why worry about how well I perform? When people are allowed to commit stupid or risky acts, and then someone else shields them from the consequences, it often creates an environment that only perpetuates that behavior.

The rub for Christians is that we have been shielded from the ultimate consequence of our actions. This is wonderful, yet also creates a moral quandary. Paul asks the Romans “should we keep on sinning so grace will abound?” That’s the moral hazard. Since Christ’s love and forgiveness and grace are offered in place of our sin, then by sinning I get more of God’s grace. Of course Paul’s answer is “certainly not.” We should not continue the behavior even though our experience of God’s grace is a good thing.

So we must wisely meet the dilemmas of our day. We extend God’s grace. But we also recognize that to allow people to continue in risky or stupid or sinful behavior is detrimental to them and everyone around them. It is not grace to pass a kid on to the next grade even though they can’t read. Nor is it Christian to allow people to starve because of a stupid mistake. Wisdom is not easy.