Dr. Mike Wesch Response

If asked how I learn best, I think that I would probably say experientially or experimentally. Though when I look back at my school experiences, those specific memorable moments of experimental or experiential learning are few and far between. They tend to center around elementary field trips, and dissection labs in high school. That is not to say I did not have incredible learning experiences in college, they just seemed regimented and restricted by the "norm" of what college classes should look like. You know, lecture hall with a professor speaking at you, chemistry labs where the TAs roam and help you clean up your (inevitable) chemical spills, or discussion courses where we all bring three points to speak on from the reading. Learning by stumbling through, getting messy, or making your own meaning happened rarely in those settings because the environment was not conducive to inquiry-based learning styles

Dr. Mike Wesch discusses his philosophy on student learning in colleges in his 2016 TED Talk titled "What Baby George Taught Me About Learning." He begins by detailing that the strangest research he has conducted as an anthropologist has occurred in his own college classrooms. He describes the idea of just "getting by" in college, and how he feels as if his students are "trying to sneak past their education." He likens this to the vaccination theory of education (one class in one subject is sufficient for learning that subject), and questions why students are not in college to genuinely learn and enjoy learning, but to instead just do what it takes to pass. Part of the conclusion he draws centers on his theory that "real learning is about the questions that inspire you" because real learning should drive you to want to learn more. So why, at such a high level of education, are majority of students coasting and not being inspired by learning? Could it be our structural expectations of colleges, or our institutionalized view of what school should be versus what school could be? 

One of my favorite "nerdy" book series!

I believe it to be true that we are all life-long learners whether we think of ourselves as such or not. Everyone is nerdy in their own way. It could be nerding out about a video game, clothing brand, national park, art medium, k-pop group, or fictional book series -- everyone has something they really enjoy doing and learning more about. This is the part of learning that is missing in traditional education, and is what Dr. Wesch works against. His view that learning and education should be about "building a life worth living" goes beyond textbooks and standardized tests, and emphasizes the experiences that we as teachers can create for our students when we have them in the classroom. It reminded me greatly of Sir Ken Robinson's critique of the American education system as too federally controlled and not individualized enough. There is so much more we can do to find those students who are not perfect, but have hidden and unrecognized talents. We can tailor education to fit all students strengths, but that takes work, dedication, and a true passion for teaching on the side of the educator. In order to do that, I would argue that we need to listen to Robinson's idea that becoming a teacher or educator needs to be seen as a high status career. 

Later in his TED talk, Dr. Wesch tells the story of a student who is constantly falling asleep in class and seems completely disengaged in his lectures. Wesch asks him to lunch where he discovers that this student loves to design and play video games, and spends all night doing so, hence the sleeping in class. Instead of punishing the student for not getting the proper amount of sleep, or not prioritizing schoolwork at night, Wesch pulls that student into a group of peers who use their skills to learn through group projects in a different way. This particular vignette really reminded me of the youths that we all interact with. What can we do to highlight their strengths and interests in the classroom? How can I as an educator continue to learn about the cultural touchstones they experience every day as current teenagers? How can we be more culturally responsive in the activities we plan? How can we individualize learning to best suit even the students who are falling asleep in the back of the classroom? Clearly these questions are unanswerable on a national scale without major federal regulation changes. However, like Wesch's son George, who keeps trying until he finally succeeds in walking down the stairs, I believe that if we keep trying to take the time to repair our education system we might just succeed. If we make learning attainable for a wide range of youths, accommodate the fact that they are more digitally creative and adept than many professors are, and create something that we as a society want to keep coming back to, we will realize that continuous learning in life is possibly the most important part of who we are as humans.

Some Interesting Reads Related to These Ideas:

1. This New York Times article titled "Teachers and Students Describe a Remote-Learning Life" captures quotes from both teachers and students describing the largest changes to learning they have seen as a result of the shift to online platforms. 

2. Take this Learning Style Inventory Quiz to find out what type of learner you are!