This is a good question that I"m sure many adult educators have struggled with. There seems to be two schools of thought on this, at the very least.  One is that hopefully by helping the student with his personally established goals (getting the GED) we form a conduit, an opening, for them to realize they are capable of learning much, much more. I've seen this happen--students come in with very limited horizons and as they discover the power of their own learning capabilities, their horizons grow wider. It's a confidence thing. One interesting thing I've noticed is as they discover how much they can learn, they always want to attribute it to you--their teacher. You've somehow opened the door, taught them in a way they've never experienced, etc etc. As a young teacher I was quite gratified by this deluge of praise, and didn't question it much. However, as i noticed it more and more, I began realizing that this was another way my students sabatoged themselves----by attributing any success THEY had to someone else's effort. I began talking to them about the fact that THEY were responsible for their learning, and for whatever reason, at that time, THEY had decided they could learn.And that it was not dependent on teachers, or classes, or books--but on them.
The other view is that we (adult educators) do our students a great disservice by teaching them a very, very different curriculum than those who are in the power class, for lack of a better word. That we make the choice for our students that they would not be interested in, nor have time for, really great writers, thinkers, and intellectuals. And in no small measure we are pressured by agencies and funding to do exactly that--teach "workplace skills", "life skills", --when was the last time you were asked to document how you helped students THINK?  I've thought about this, and as a result, I've decided I'm doing my students a disservice if we don't have philosophical discussions, if we don't talk about good writing, big problems, and world views. And not surprisingly, for the most part, as long as you can tie it to that which they know, they engage in deep and thoughtful discussions that, I think, lead them to developing that intellectual curiousity we all hope to awaken. However I will admit that it doesn't show up as a documented level gain on a standardized test--but frankly, some things are more important. 

________________________________

From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Geo LeGeros
Sent: Fri 3/2/2007 9:56 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: [FocusOnBasics 740] Re: creating a thirst for knowledge



Sorry I'm a bit late to get in on the discussion but there was one point
that I wanted to respond to that I hope will elicit more discussion. Katrina
Hinson stated, "I think [our] students need to not focus so much on passing
a "standard" tests but on truly learning the information. The problem often
comes from outside though - they're being pushed to "pass the test" by
various agencies or life needs." Yes, we would all hope they truly learn the
information, because it's the knowledge that provides the foundation for
post secondary education. But most of our students don't even have any
interest in even reading unless there is some explicit reward - passing the
GED test and getting their diploma. Unfortunately, utilizing knowledge in
life isn't about passing pencil and paper tests.

I teach in a GED program in a prison for incarcerated adults. Many of the
students seem to lack that natural curiosity and love for learning but seem
doggedly committed to passing the GED test and getting their diploma. They
have so little genuine interest in knowledge and spend no time learning
outside of class but prefer spending their time watching drama and
action-type serials on television.

Can anyone throw a little wisdom born of experience on this: What innovative
instructional approaches might light that fire which will motivate, inspire,
and engage our students to invest themselves in learning and encourage them
to discover, for instance, the joy of reading.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Julie McKinney" <julie_mcKinney at worlded.org>
To: <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>
Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 10:06 PM
Subject: [FocusOnBasics 739] Thanks for a lively discussion!



> Hi Everyone,

>

> Thank you all for sharing your information, questions, and insights about

> the transition from GED to postsecondary education. It seems like a topic

> that we should continue to discuss, and I hope that you all will. Thanks

> especially to Barb, Cynthia and Sandy for being our guests this week!

>

> Although the discussion formally ends today, I hope we can all continue to

> discuss questions and successes in this area and share resources. In the

> next 2 weeks I will get the discussion and a list of the resources posted

> on the NIFL website and also on the Transitions page of the ALE Wiki.

>

> Have a great weekend!

>

> All the best,

> Julie

>

> Julie McKinney

> Discussion List Moderator

> World Education/NCSALL

> jmckinney at worlded.org

>

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

> Focus on Basics mailing list

> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to

> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

> Message sent to glegeros at alltel.net.

>



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