Re: Unteachableness?

[Cynthia Haynes <cynthiah@utdallas.edu>]

I wonder why we perceive students as unteachable when they are 
conditioned at a very early age, and through most of their primary and 
secondary education, to LEARN and PLAY at such bizarre times.  For 
instance, we tell them, "OK, now for the next 50 minutes you have to sit 
still and learn or we'll discipline you."  Then the bell rings, and we 
tell them, "OK, now go out and play for 50 minutes and if you don't, 
we'll discipline you."  Then the bell rings, and we tell them, "OK, for 
the next 50 minutes you have to sit still and learn..." etc etc.  Makes 
me wonder more about ourselves than about them.

WE should also consider the factor of their resistance to learning.  
Roger Cohen coined the word "aliteracy" referring to "young adults who 
know how to read but choose not to" (qtd in _13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, 
Fail?_, p.132).  There's also no necessary link between what WE term 
apathy and unteachableness (if that's a word).  As the authors of 13th 
Gen put it: "Older people could swear that nothing's on [students'] 
minds, that they just 'don't care' (elder translation: selfish, 
apathetic, uninformed).  It's all a matter of perspective.  As the 13ers 
see it, what elders care about is 'history' (13er translation: dead, past 
tense, NOT!)" (132). As two teenagers in a mall scene put it, "Oh, that 
was so five-minutes ago." (from *Buffy the Vampire Slayer*).

NOTE: I guess I'm also guilty of 'aliteracy' in this thread...I must 
admit I've barely skimmed some of the messages, but Neal's post got me to 
thinking...so, forgive me if these comments aren't particularly relevant 
to the previous postings on this thread :)

Cynthia Haynes 

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