What Makes Students Tick?: Unlocking the Passion for Learning

Copyright © 2014 UDOH ELIJAH UDOM.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4525-1724-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-1726-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-1725-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014911275

Balboa Press rev. date: 9/26/2014

CONTENTS

Prologue: Why I Wrote this Book

Acknowledgements

Introduction

The Long Road to Discovering what Makes Students Tick

SECTION ONE

Educational environment

Light Bulb1 - Institution

Light Bulb2 - Accreditation

Light Bulb3 - Admission Officers

Light Bulb4 - Bricks & Mortars vs Virtual Schools

Light Bulb5 - Program of Studies

Light Bulb6 - Internship Program

SECTION TWO

Teaching Staff

Light Bulb7 - Faculty

Light Bulb8 - Empowering The Students

Light Bulb9 - Expert Knowledge

Light Bulb10 - Communication

Light Bulb11 - Professionalism

Light Bulb12 - Empathy/Sympathy

Light Bulb13 - Technology In Teaching

Light Bulb14 - Classroom Management

SECTION THREE

Social Determinants of success

Light Bulb15 - Family

Light Bulb16 - Marriage

Light Bulb17 - Finance

SECTION FOUR

Students Factor

Light Bulb18 - Vision, Knowledge, and Responsibility

Light Bulb19 - Emotional Thermostat

Light Bulb20 - Classmates

SECTION FIVE

Students with Special Needs

Light Bulb21 - International Students

Light Bulb22 - Persons with Disability

SECTION SIX

Great Expectation

Light Bulb23 - Separate and Unequal Schools

Light Bulb24 - Labor Market

Conclusion Culture of Schooling

References

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Recipient of Faculty Award of Excellence

Figure 2: Teacher-Student Interactive Environment

Figure 3: Three-Legged Chair in front of United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland. A Symbol of Peace

Figure 4: Single Parents Families (2012)

Figure 5: Share of Men and Women Ages 25-34 Living With Their Parents, 2000-2011

Figure 6: Writing Lab Team

Figure 7: President’s Proposed Total Spending (Fiscal Year 2014)

Figure 8: Average Tuition and Fees at For-Profit and Public Colleges 2012

Figure 9: Spending Per Student on Marketing and Instruction at the Five Most Profitable For- Profit Education Companies, 2009

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Ten success tips I developed as a student

Table 2: Self-Assessment

Table 3: Estimated Cost of Education Borne by International Students (per annum)

Prologue

Why I Wrote this Book

"The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money"

Thomas Jefferson

E ducation is a state of complete mental, psychological, physical, and social well-being and not merely the ability to read and write. I like Jean Jacques Rousseau’s analogy: Plants are shaped by cultivation and men by education. We are born weak, we need strength; we are born totally unprovided, we need aid; we are born stupid, we need judgment. Everything we do not have at our birth and which we need when we are grown is given us by education. Rousseau is right. Of all the resources created by God, there is none as powerful as human mind. An investment in education as a tool for strengthening human mind is one of the most important investments an individual can make for oneself or a country can make for its people and its future. Education gives people critical skills and tools and empowers people with the knowledge, ability, and confidence to shape a better future. Education represents opportunity while the lack of education leads to ignorance, which in turn leads to poverty. The impact of the investment in education is, therefore, profound: education results in raising income, improving health, promoting gender equality, and reducing poverty. The truth in these statements makes me wonder whether or not educational system is fulfilling its purpose.

Educational systems in the United States, or the world at large, have undergone massive transformation in the last 100 years. The most noticeable change has been the mushrooming of both public and private institutions, which has helped the citizens to achieve the highest level of participation in postsecondary education. College and university campuses are no longer the special preserve of 18-year-old high school graduates. Adult learners are more and more competing with high school graduates for admission to colleges and universities.

The demography of the student body has equally changed. Laws against discrimination, from Brown v. Board of Education to the Civil Right Acts of 1964, have opened school doors for Americans irrespective of age, color, race, national origin, disabilities, and gender. The United States deserves a pat on the back for not only making it unlawful for educational institutions to discriminate against any citizen, but also for making resources (student loans) available, which have fueled enrollment in colleges and universities. Certain groups of American citizens who were unable to attend colleges in the past, here I am referring to African Americans, Latinos and women, have the laws on their side to support their quest for college education. Because of the laws and resources made available to students for postsecondary education, enrollment in degree-granting institutions has increased by 37 percent; in terms of head count, enrollment rose from 15.3 million in 2000 to 21.0 million in 2010. Out of this figure, 45 percent were full-time students, while 26 percent were part-time students. It is interesting to note that the number of female students rose 39 percent, while the number of male students rose 35 percent.¹

Age is no longer an impediment for education. According to the report by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in recent years, the number of students aged twenty-five and over has been larger than the increase in the number of younger students, and this pattern is expected to continue. The NCES also reports that between 2000 and 2010, the enrollment of students under the age of twenty-five increased by 34 percent, while enrollment of students 25 and over rose 42 percent during the same period. By 2020, NCES projects a rise of 11 percent in enrollments of students under twenty-five, and a rise of 20 percent in enrollments of students twenty-five and over.² Adults should take pride in their decision to return to school.

Breaking down the number into race, the NCES report shows a continuous increase in the percentage of American college students who are Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islanders. From 1976 to 2010, the percentage of Black students rose from 9 percent to 14 percent; the percentage of Hispanic students rose from 3 percent to 13 percent, while the percentage of Asian/Pacific Islander students rose from 2 percent to 6 percent. During the same period, the percentage of White students fell from 83 percent to 61 percent.³

Another significant development in higher education establishments in the United States is that the spirit of the free enterprise capitalist system has found a home in higher education, leading to the growth of for-profit schools (the fastest growing segment of educational industry) and online platform. The for-profit institutions are organized by individuals or corporations as profit-making enterprises. These institutions are so-called because they are run with corporate mentality. As discussed in Light Bulb #4 below, for-profit institutions have shown enormous growth in the number of establishments and the number of customers (students) enrolled in them.

Equally remarkable is the popularity of online education. In the privacy of their homes, students are connected synchronously or asynchronously to their teachers, classmates, and course materials. As discussed in Light Bulb #3, students taking courses online do not have that face-to-face interaction with their teachers and fellow classmates, but this format is considered a viable alternative to brick and mortar environment by adult learners with family and full time jobs.

One undeniably positive aspect of the education industry in the United States is that there is an avenue for anyone who wants to improve or reinvent his or herself. There is plenty of money that students can tap into to support their education, from corporate and private lenders to government grants. There are also different qualities of schools that a student can choose from that match his or her intellectual capacity and admissions criteria. For some students, postsecondary education is inevitable if not non-negotiable. Modern workplaces require broader skills than ever before and place intense pressures on prospective employees and providers of workforce preparation to enhance the competitiveness of America’s workforce. Holders of high school diplomas can no longer compete favorably for highly paid jobs with those who hold college degrees. Some adult students with high-paying jobs enroll in schools just to change their family history by being the first to have college degree in their families or not being left behind.

The kernel of this book is the idea that institutions of higher learning, be they public, private, or for-profit, should be structured to enable students attain their highest possible level of education and overall knowledge. The words in bold signify that educational objectives differ from student to student and that all students do not have equal resources and intellectual capacity to reach the finish line or to achieve the same level of education. However, they should be encouraged, guided, and motivated to achieve whatever they consider achievable in the light of the resources available to them and their capacities.

When I was growing up in the 1960s, my parents told me that education was the key to my success in life. At the least opportune moment, they would repeat the advice or subtle warning—study hard, get good grades so that you can go to college. That message sank into my conscious and subconscious mind. I listened to my parents; I studied hard and achieved the highest possible level of education commensurate with my intellectual capacity. My hard work and eventual success did not depend on me alone; my teachers played an important role in my education as mentors, models, or even surrogate parents to make sure I achieved my educational objectives. I am grateful to them. I was also privileged to attend good schools—elementary and high schools established and managed by British Missionaries. The schools that students attend also matter. In my country of origin in the 1960s and 1970s, the Missionary schools were better equipped than public schools, with good books, good teachers, and career advisory programs. These schools not only developed and nurtured students’ intelligence, but also character. I think that’s the essence of quality education.

Twenty years after leaving the university and flirting with a non-academic career, I found myself in the classroom as a teacher. I am not sure that I was born a teacher, but I love it. I wish I had gone into teaching upon graduation from the university. I believe teaching is the most honorable profession. I prefer or would rank teaching above pastoring a church, although both teachers and pastors are technically in the business of positively changing lives.

Since becoming a teacher, I have spent time thinking about how to make teaching rewarding; both to myself and to those I have had the honor to serve as a teacher, advisor, and mentor. I am conscious of the fact that teachers from different countries of the world faithfully taught me what I know today. I decided to change my career to teaching to be able to give back to my students, and more, what I received from my teachers.

In order to assist my students to attain their highest possible level of education, I sent out a questionnaire to more than 200 students that took my courses on campus and online between 2008 and 2012. I asked the students the simple question: What makes students tick? This question was asked every quarter from 2008 to 2012 in the form of a discussion question. Online students were able to share their views among themselves in an interactive manner through the Blackboard system. On campus students responded to this question via email. The objective was to reach out to students and to hear directly from them about the factors that motivate them to work hard, remain in the program, and graduate. The students were very excited about this because, for many, this is the first time their voices would be genuinely heard. Answers and comments received from these students are analyzed in this study as light bulbs that turn on students as well as their levels of watts within the light bulbs.

There are many people who have argued that the education system in the United States is broken, while others have argued that the education system is working just fine. As a teacher I can add to the confusion or debate by saying that there is an education crisis in the United States. Those in authority are yet to answer the most important question about the education system: What’s the goal of education? Or what kind of citizens is the school system expected to produce? Should the educational system be concerned with inculcating a sense of loyalty to the nation and producing productive members of the society or should it be concerned with awarding diplomas in recognition of three or four years of attending classes? It is this kind of questions that warrant a paradigm shift in how we view the educational industry. Rather than creating schools and making student loans available to whomever wants to go to college, this book advocates a paradigm shift that would allow the attainment by all students of the highest possible level of education. This is what I believe to be the objective of teaching and/or education in our society and the advancement of this thesis is the reason why I wrote this book.

The education environment is similar to the marketplace, for example eBay. In the marketplace, there are many goods with different qualities as there are many buyers with different buying powers. In modern education environment, there are as many students with different capabilities and educational objectives as there are educational institutions with different missions, structures, philosophies, and programs. In the marketplace where supply drives demand, and conversely, the choices people make as to which good they will buy, would depend upon the utility of the good they bargained for and their ability and readiness to pay for the good.

Let’s look at the different brands of athletic shoes—Nike, Adidas, Puma, Reebok, to name but a few. In addition to these brand name athletic shoes, there are non-brand name athletic shoes that consumers are exposed to in the marketplace. The non-brand names are always cheaper than the brand named product, but the utility and satisfaction derived from them may be different or the same depending on the user. The decision to buy brand name or non-brand name is that of the consumer, and most often that decision reflects the reason d’être of the expenditure. People buy athletic shoes for different purposes. I imagine Roger Federer of Switzerland or Serena and Venus Williams of the United States would buy shoes that would enhance their success at a Wimbledon competition. Therefore, they would be attracted to expensive brand name shoes. I buy tennis shoes solely for walking and jogging—my favorite sports. I do not need expensive brand name shoes—I just need comfortable shoes to help me walk one or two miles, a few days a week in pursuit of active aging. The satisfaction that brand name shoes give to professional tennis players is likely to be the same satisfaction I would have using non-brand name tennis shoes.

In the educational environment, students enroll in classes for different purposes, for example some students come in as non-degree, non-program (NDNP) students. This class of students usually takes one course either to test academic water or to sharpen their knowledge or upgrade their skill on a given subject in order to enhance their performance at work. Some students come in for an Associate of Arts (AA) Degree, some for a Bachelor degree and some for graduate level programs. Whether a student enrolls for AA, BA, MA, or in a doctorate degree program, each category represents the highest possible level of education for each of them at that particular time and commensurate with the resources available to them and their intellectual capacities. Each student should be encouraged to achieve the level of education they can afford—financially and intellectually. No degree is inferior to the other.

In working with students to attain their highest possible level of education, teachers must always bear in mind that no two students are the same. But in spite of any differences, every student matters and is capable of learning and acquiring knowledge to the level of his or her natural ability in the field of their interest. This is where teachers, the channels of knowledge, are needed to sharpen the intelligence and character of the students, so that at the end of their studies, they will become useful to themselves and their communities. Knowledge is like a river; if a river does not flow, it becomes a dead sea. Teachers are not, per se, paid to manage compatibility; they are paid to reconcile incompatibility among students with a view to ensuring that each student has the level of education his or her ability or motivation allows. This philosophy will be repeated at regular frequency in this book as it is the major contribution this book intends to make to higher education.

The attainment by all students of the highest possible level of education would depend upon factors internal and external to the educational institution. Internal factors would include the quality and commitment of the faculty, funding, and the behavior of the non-faculty staff. The external factors would include all the social determinants of human existence, including students’ family structure, work/life balance, students’ inputs, and healthy lifestyle. These factors are discussed in detail in this study.

The message to teachers, educators, and institutions is that though students are not equally endowed by nature or through accident of birth, all students want to achieve their highest possible level of education. Helping students to achieve their highest possible level of education is the most effective way to ensure that no citizen is left behind or left to rot in the valley of illiteracy and hopelessness. The proliferation of online educational system and for-profit universities may appear to be the channels through which students would achieve their educational objectives, but the onus rests on the government and the students themselves to ensure that they are not victims of the culture of schooling and the greed of the capitalist system. Napoleon once said that Nothing is more difficult and therefore more precious than the ability to decide. The most important weapon at the disposal of college level students is the audacity to choose from among the universities bombarding them with enrollment information. As they process this information, students must bear in mind that education is a business enterprise in America, and therefore caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) applies.

It should be emphasized also that success is about accepting responsibility. Students know more about themselves than their teachers and school authorities. Students cannot blame the teachers or school authorities for everything that goes wrong in the course of their studies. Instead, they should develop collaborative relationships with teachers and classmates and make use of the power of participation available to them in different sectors of the school environment. Finally, students must have vision because where there is no vision, the people perish.

I would like to end this Prologue by reminding my colleagues in our noble profession that a teacher refers to a person who imparts knowledge to the students. Unfortunately, as Eric Hoffer rightly stated, "It is the malady of our age that the young are so busy teaching us that they have no time left to learn." All teachers can testify to Eric Hoffer’s aphorism. We may not like the attitude of students towards learning but we must always remember that education