Where is the Space for Education?

Abstract

Why do we have to do these projects? It's not your job to make sure all these students are learning, and I don't see why I have to do this your way, said the student.The professor thought a moment -was this a rhetorical question so the student could complain out loud or did the student really want to know? Was there a need for the professor to repeat (again) the reasoning behind having measurable criteria for coursework, defend the job of a teacher, or simply cut the conversation off during class time? This interaction between teacher and student could be a result of a number of factors -it may even be a simple question of discipline or classroom management. With a room full of adult college students, however, there is potentially more at stake, given that roles for higher education "performers" have become convoluted in various ways. Is it possible that both stakeholders are learners in this situation? What is the balance of power here and what precipitated this conversation in the first place?Questions such as these are on the minds of many educators as they attempt to understand students' current attitudes and behavior. In a recent issue of College Teaching, Stephen Lippmann, Ronald E. Bulanda & Theodore C. Wagenaar wonder how the issue of "student entitlement," for example, relates to the delivery and nature of course content. And in a treatise on the "consumerist academy," Jordan Titus muses on the context of student entitlement as students consider education a "right," but without