In our quest to assess the intelligence of a student, through mechanisms
like exams, classroom participation, quizs, and so on; we often forget to
distinguish between a student and a ‘studentoid’!
Heard of the humanoid? A humanoid is a thing in the guise of a being
that has an appearance resembling a human being without really being one
(Oxford English Dictionary Online, n.d.). For example, a smart phone! It can
perform many intelligent functions like a human being, but it's not a human
being. Rather, it has some characteristics that intrinsically are humanly.
Similarly, a ‘studentoid’ is something, not someone, who attempts to
look like a student, comes to the classroom, participates in the classroom
activities like hearing the lectures and taking quizzes but not necessarily
being endowed with all the attributes a student.
In the view of the above, it is important to mention that a student
should be interested in grades and getting a job, but a defining trait of a
student is to take “an interest in a particular subject” (Oxford English
Dictionary Online, n.d.).
Interest is “being engaged, engrossed, or entirely taken up with” an
activity, object, or topic (Dewey, 2009[1913]: 17). It is studied as a part of:
(a) “emotional experience, curiosity, and momentary motivation;” and (b)
“personality, individual differences, and people’s idiosyncratic hobbies,
goals, and avocations” (Silvia, 2006: 4). Hence, interest can be segregated as:
emotional interest and developed interest; what someone is born with in the
case of the former and what s/he grooms her/his inclinations in the case of the
latter. Hence, the holistic facet of someone’s interest is the combination of
the inclinations that s/he is intrinsically good at and what s/he has acquired
through studying theories and experiencing (student) life in general.
Now, how many teachers in the MBA level assess a student based on the Holland
Code, one of the highly reliable and valid tests to know what a person should ideally
become professionally? Similarly, how many of them assess a student based on his
theoretical abilities along with practical competencies? And, from a common
sense angle, how many teachers note the active listening ability of a student while
assessing for classroom performance? I’m afraid, not many!
Teacher or teacheroid (a discussion for another time)!
To conclude, in line with all that looks like a human isn’t necessarily
human, but some could be a humanoid; all that looks like a student may not be a
student but may be a ’studentoid’.
References
Dewey, J. 2009[1913]. Interest and
effort in education. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Oxford English Dictionary Online (n.d.). Humanoid. Retrieved from https://www.oed.com/public/learning/loginpage
Oxford English Dictionary Online (n.d.). Student. Retrieved from https://www.oed.com/public/learning/loginpage
Silvia, P. J. 2001. Interest and interests: The psychology of
constructive capriciousness. Review of
General Psychology, 5: 270-290.
Comments
Post a Comment