Both of these articles were fascinating, particularly the first one, "As Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students." The second, "As a Weapon in the Hands of the Restless Poor," was more inspiring than it was enlightening.
"Lite Entertainment" reminded me so much of my high school English teacher Pat Marble. Marble was always preaching about the death of creativity and motivation as a result of consumerist culture. I heard Marble's voice in my head especially as I read Mark Edmundson's description of "rebound teaching," where the student contributes only half-hearted comments and the teacher responds by desperately fleshing out the student's whisper of an idea into something meaningful. I am embarrassed to say that I identify with this concept, that I have come to class unprepared and have only been able to contribute shallow general statements to the class discussion, and that I have felt a sense of relief and undeserved pride in my own intellect when the teacher has developed those statements for me. I have been on the receiving end of rebound teaching, and I feel guilty about it. Even in the moment, I knew deep down that I was not really learning or working hard enough. Marble was the only teacher I ever had who did not succumb to rebound teaching; she was not so desperate to keep the discussion going that she was willing to compromise the quality of the conversation. She felt no personal shame whatsoever if her students had nothing brilliant to say. If we were not prepared, there was no discussion; we would sit there in the most awkward silence you can imagine while she leaned back in her swivel chair, folded her arms, and smirked at us. Pat Marble forces the ice cube mentality upon her students. Mark Edmundson, the author of "Lite Entertainment," seems to be dealing with some buckets in his classes.
I actually identified with a lot of the content of "Lite Entertainment" and it was quite horrifying to read...Edmundson describes a lot of qualities that he associates with the consumerist mentality, qualities that I admittedly possess, qualities that I had never seen as weaknesses until I read this article. Humble politeness when talking to professors, ending arguments with a "whatever" and shying away from confrontation, eagerly viewing surveys as a chance to assess a product that has been marketed to me...I'm guilty of all of these things in moderation! I don't like confrontation, and I don't necessarily believe that that's a bad thing, but I can see now why a professor or potential employer or respected colleague might see my pacifism as a lack of passion. But, all of that being said, I still see myself as a good student, because when given the freedom to choose my own classes, I'm always going to choose the most challenging ones. I agree with Edmundson's assertion that it does "depend on the individual"; in our society, where students are given the power to be consumers of their education, some students will choose to take the easy way out, but there are still students out there who are motivated enough to strive for their fullest potential.
I found it interesting that the students described in "A Weapon" were so successful in their pursuit of a liberal arts education. Isn't it fascinating that those who have nothing to lose, those who are not driven by grades or scholarships or parents or credit requirements, those who are seeking an education for no other reason than to be educated, are the best students in the end? Reading the works of Plato and Socrates because it's fun and worthwhile, and not because you have to... I couldn't help but think that the people described in this article, many of whom were high school dropouts, must be so much smarter than many college students in the areas of literature, history, and philosophy. The difference? They're ice cubes, and a lot of us are buckets. This article inspired me to call to mind motivation as an important factor in learning; someday it will be my job to motivate my students to be energetic about their education rather than simply being consumers.
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