FYI
on 5/31/03 8:19 AM, Williams, Diane
> It appears that the word "student" lends itself to the process of
> concept map brainstorming.
I agree with the vast majority of the discussants on the POD list that
this has been one of the more useful and passionate--also unusual for a
summer when the list is generally devoid of much activity.
Diane's suggestion to look at concepts is a good one, and one does not
require a smart board to do so. This debate indeed seems rooted in two
larger concepts--respect and responsibility.
Those who champion the word "customer" are doing so out of obvious
respect for students--the desire to serve them well and to promote good
service. In that way their views are in accord with others who use
"student," "client," "colleague" (or "scholar"--a term not yet
introduced on this list but it inevitably would be). The fiery defense
of the use of "customer" appears to come from seeing/being students in
situations where they have been disrespected.
The rub seems to come in the different concepts of responsibility that
are seen between "customer" and "student." While a customer has every
incentive to advocate for quality, the customer is not responsible for
quality of whatever he/she is in the market to buy. In contrast,
learning and the process of becoming educated, as has been stressed more
clearly by Bob Leamnson than any other writer, can occur ONLY in the
mind of the student and ONLY through willful participation in
construction of that knowledge---in acquiring the mental capital. Unlike
a service or a material product, an education cannot simply be bought.
It cannot be bought at any price! It can be obtained only by taking the
responsibility through exerting considerable effort--effort so great
that it must take time away from other endeavors both pleasurable and
important. This places a responsibility on a student that no customer
can claim. It is the lack of stress on responsibility that seems to
rankle those who oppose the word "customer" as a synonym for "student."
It's an accident that a comparably passionate discussion over years on
this list has been about student evaluations. The fiery debate here too
seems again rooted in differences in emphases on respect and
responsibility.
Ed
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