Why Many Students Are Not Learning

In recent years, study after study has addressed the ongoing failure of students to achieve fundamental skills of reading, writing, arithmetic, and other subjects. Although readers may get the impression that the failure is a recent phenomenon, it is in fact decades old. The following essay begins a series discussing the origin of the problem and the most effective solutions, both drawn from my book “Changing Attitudes: A strategy for motivating students to learn” Copyright 1998.

Some years ago, while conducting a workshop, I had an interesting conversation with a teacher who had recently been a runner-up for “Teacher of the Year” in her state. Even though she had been in the profession for at about 15 years, she seemed to have retained the high enthusiasm and optimism of a beginning teacher. Nevertheless, something was troubling her. “A few years ago, when I returned from a sabbatical,” she explained, “I noticed a difference in the students. They seemed less interested in learning, more impatient, less polite to one another, and less respectful of me than my previous classes had been. At first, I decided that the students were probably no different, but that being out of the classroom for a year and working with adults had affected my perception.”

“When the perception didn’t go away but became stronger,” she continued, I thought I might be experiencing burnout. But that didn’t seem likely because I was still excited about teaching and enjoyed interacting with students. In addition, preparing lively and interesting lessons had always been a strong point for me, and I was sure the lessons I was then using were at least as good as any I had used in the past. Eventually, I decided my original impression had been correct—the students had changed, in fact were continuing to change, and not for the better.”

My interest in that teacher’s story was heightened by the fact that my own experience in the classroom supported it. And since that time, hundreds of teachers have shared that story with me. Indisposition to learn seems to be considerably more widespread than it was a generation or two ago.

What is the cause of this indisposition? Depending on which pundit one reads, the fault lies with teacher incompetence, parental dereliction, or socioeconomic deprivation. Without denying that these factors exist and, in many cases, aggravate the situation, I propose they are not the main cause of the problem.

That cause is the attitudes students bring to the classroom, attitudes that obstruct teaching and thwart learning.

The negative attitudes we see in our students can be traced to ideas of “selfism” advanced by modern philosophers and/or psychologists throughout this century and in some cases previous centuries. Of course, very few students are familiar with the original expressions of these ideas, but many are familiar with popularized (and sometimes distorted) versions of the original ideas. And virtually all students have been exposed to the advertising industry’s and the entertainment and communications media’s glamorization of the self-help message. This glamorization may have a more powerful effect than reading because it occurs when the mind is essentially at rest.

The concept of self-improvement has undergone drastic change since 1911, when Ambrose Bierce mockingly defined self-esteem as “an erroneous appraisement.” Good and bad character are now known as “personality differences.” Rights have replaced responsibilities. The research on egocentrism and ethnocentrism that formed discussion of human growth and development in the mid-20th century is ignored; indeed, the terms themselves are considered incorrect. A revolution has taken place in the vocabulary of self. Words that imply responsibility or accountability—self-criticism, self-denial, self-discipline, self-control, self-effacement, self- mastery, self-reproach, and self-sacrifice are no longer in fashion. The language most in favor is that which exalts the self—self-expression, self-assertion, self-indulgence, self-realization, self-approval, self-acceptance, self-love, and the ubiquitous self-esteem.

Not content with self-adulation, many psyche-strokers have escalated their message. They now urge self-worship! Swami Muktanands chants, “God dwells within you as you; worship your Self,” confirming the message of Ramtha, the reportedly 35,000 year-old warrior who speaks through the actress Shirley MacLaine. Ray Bradbury, science fiction writer turned theologian, preaches, “We are God giving himself a reason for being,” Psychologist Will Schutz exults, “I am everywhere, I am omniscient, I am God.” And new age author Jack Underhill inspires his readers by proclaiming, “You are the only thing that is real. Everything else is your imagination . . .”

The hyperbole may have increased, but the essential message of selfism has been the same for almost four decades [note, that meant from the late 1950s]. Such prolonged exposure to any theme is bound to influence not just young people but adults as well. As a result, many adults outspokenly champion that message and strongly resent any criticism of it. Others have not formally embraced the message but tend to regard it favorably and are skeptical of arguments against it. Still others are not so much favorably disposed to the message as they are familiar and comfortable with it and therefore disinclined to question it. Taken together, the number of people in these classifications is larger than the number who have become suspicious of selfism and are willing to subject its claims to critical examination. Fortunately, the latter group includes many teachers, undoubtedly because they, more than any other group, have had to deal with the consequences of selfism.

To be continued . . .

Copyright © 2025 by Vincent Ryan Ruggiero. All rights reserved.