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This response has been accessed times since June 3, 2005

Response to Marina & Darumich’s Review of Learning to Learn: A Philosophical Guide to Learning

Lee Rademacher
Purdue University Calumet

June 3, 2005

I want to thank Dr. Brenda Marina and Dr. Lena Darumich for the review of my book, Learning to Learn: A Philosophical Guide to Learning. I believe they conducted a diplomatic analysis to understand my main arguments. Given that, I want to clarify some points for readers of their review.

While Learning to Learn came out of my experience teaching a freshmen success course, its intended audience is the general public. I believe that the human spirit holds a desire for transformation. Indeed, as a twenty-two year old entering college many years ago, I had a thirst for knowledge; but I did not always have the tools to appropriate it accordingly. The same is true for many persons who wish to undertake a new endeavor: where to begin, how to progress, which questions to ask?

While Learning to Learn can be used successfully in a classroom (I have used it in my freshmen seminar), it can also be used by any interested learner who needs help in the learning process. I think it is often confused as a textbook because I include critical thinking questions in each chapter. These questions guide learners’ thinking to help them get the most out of each reading.

A second point I want to address is the reviewer’s discussion on the banking system of knowledge. I’m unclear about their argument, but it appears as if they are claiming that I support such a system. I do not. However, I do believe that the banking system, outlined by Paulo Freire in his book, The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, is unfortunately actively engaged in many classrooms. Strangely, the reviewers use my own quotation against me, without attribution, stating that students “do not come as blank slates without prior existing knowledge.” I agree – in fact, I strongly state that learners come to a learning environment with a host of skills. An instructor’s job is not so much to transmit knowledge but to show learners how to find it for themselves.

In their analysis of chapter six, “Resources, Communication and Critical Thinking,” the reviewers are critical of my statements concerning a learner’s need to gather information concerning their new undertaking. They state, somewhat sarcastically, that I might as well suggest that each learner become “content experts” in their field so that they can become content experts in their field (quite a tautology).

I do claim that a learner should meet with experts in order to gather useful information. When I taught guitar, many of my successful students would ask me different questions about types and brands of guitars, various playing styles, learning to read vs. not learning how to read music, etc. As an academic advisor, I see the same thing. Quite a few students choose hotel, restaurant and management majors because they worked in a hotel or a restaurant previously. I have two advisees who are pursuing criminal justice because they had internships with local police departments. In my freshman seminar, each student is required to interview someone in his/her chosen field as part of a career project. Are these persons “content experts”? No, but they have often gathered enough information and knowledge to know what they are getting themselves into, and that is all I am asking persons to do: to become an informed learner.

The reviewers also state that I do not provide any practical suggestions to help learners go out and seek information from experts. The point that needs to be made here is that many learners don’t even know they should go out and talk with other people. The suggestion I make to learners to go out and interact with experts or people-in-the-know is novel for some. Learning is an intersubjective act – it cannot be accomplished alone. Furthermore, chapter six provides an excellent discussion to help learners communicate more effectively, and I also discuss the art of questioning. These discussions can help learners who might have initial fears.

In the introduction of Learning to Learn, I state that many “self-help” books are very procedural, and take a very step-by-step approach to learning. In general, I find nothing inherently wrong with such methods. But I also claim that it is dangerous to assume that simply following a procedure will solve all of one’s problems or fulfill all of one’s needs. It is foolish to assume that any one book or method can do everything for everyone.

Learning to Learn: A Philosophical Guide to Learning does provide some step-by-step procedures, but it simultaneously breaks from that methodology. By using philosophy as a guide, I force the reader to develop his/her own answers. I have always seen philosophy as a means to open up new possibilities to the world, to help us in the development of our critical thinking skills, and to help each of us to become architects of our existence. I challenge readers to think through the issues in order to become more independent. Philosophy is used in a positive way to encourage growth. I admit that I do not provide many answers, but I do provide a means to obtain them if the learner is willing.

About the Author

Lee Rademacher
Purdue University Calumet
Hammond, Indiana

Lee Rademacher received his PhD in Political Science from Purdue University. He is currently Instructor in the Department of History and Political Science at Purdue University Calumet, as well as Academic Counselor in the Department of Developmental Studies. He is a contributing author and editor of Foundations of Learning (Pacific Crest Software, 1999).

Copyright is retained by the first or sole author, who grants right of first publication to the Education Review.

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