Linda White

Comments -

• I like Frank Codispoti's comments about writing and critical thinking and agree that the notion of a learning community is much better than business terminology. It seems to me that we are all poorly served by some of the common metaphors we use to think about learning.
• At its worst, our educational system is a place where students purchase a commodity--knowledge. The lecture system--among other things--encourages us to think of learning as having some information poured into our brains. Then we demonstrate that we got the information by returning it on pieces of paper or Scantron forms, so that we can get the real payoff--the "A" on the transcript.
• I think we really all know that it doesn't work that way. I try to think of my classroom as one in which I can create a setting and provide a starting point for people to try things that will engage them in learning. We make our own knowledge and change ourselves when we work and talk with other people about problems and issues--do things that we want to get done.
• Thinking about learning this way doesn't mesh well with a commoodity-view of learning, where everything can be measured so that students get points and lose points toward a grade.