What is a lesson after all? - Part 2

Inspired by the trilogy fever, I will let you guys know that the "What is a lesson after all?" series will be divided in, guess what, 3 parts, hehehehe...

If you missed part 1 and are interested, click here to catch up. Quick recap (this old teacher's habit of reinforcement in the beginning of a class was stronger than the blogger in me ;-) ) - We discussed that a lesson involves a topic (something that will be taught), a learner and a teacher. In part 1, we talked about the topic of a lesson. In part 2 we will focus on the learner, and in part 3 we will talk about the teacher.

Without further ado, let's get to it. The learner. What qualifies someone as a learner?

Well, basically anyone can be a learner, all you gotta have is ignorance LOL. Since the word ignorance can be a word loaded with different meanings, especially in Brazil (sometimes used to describe extreme or violent actions), I decided to bring the definition from this source. Ignorance is defined as "the state or fact of being ignorant: lack of knowledge, education, or awareness". In a nutshell, you don't know something. No, you are not dumb, LOL, you just don't know it... yet (basic teacher's reply to discouraged but hard working students hehehe). It may take a long time to learn it, or it may just be a piece of cake, but in most cases the learner learns. At their own pace and in their own timing.

Now note that I wrote that anyone CAN be a learner. Just because you are ignorant about something it does not automatically mean that you are a learner. In the last post, we discussed that the topic of a lesson is defined by the need to advance, to move forward in an area of expertise. But the fact that you have that need and that you lack "knowledge, education or awareness" in order to do so does not imply that you are a learner.

So, what makes someone who has a need and a lack of something be a learner? The defining attribute of a learner is their willlingness to learn. In my classes in Brazil, I had tons and tons of students (a rotation of about 120 new students every six months) for about 14 years - you do the math, I teach English :-) - but not all of them were learners. They all came to class, endured me and my classes at times, but some of them got in and out unchanged, untouched, "unlearned" if you will (yeah, I made that word up hehehe). Why? Not because they didn't have the need to advance or abundance of knowledge (their level of English was accessed and someone was paying for those classes so whoever that was believed those people needed to move forward so much that they were willing to pay for that to happen), but because they didn't want to learn. Period. For whatever reason, they'd rather be somewhere else, with someone else, doing something else. And so they shut off during class and let their minds wander to wherever they really wanted to be.

So there you have it. The need to learn something is stablished and also the lack of knowledge, now the question at hand is: Are you willing to learn? It will most likely hurt and steal your free time, so are you willing to pay the price to reach the proverbial next level? Are you willing to be a learner?

I am. And so help me God :-) .

The Brazilican Learner