Academic Attitude Essay Research Paper Academic Attitude

Academic Attitude Essay, Research Paper Academic Attitude During the course of a student’s progression through academia, he must learn that the teacher cannot think for him. It is essential for a student to free his mind, allowing thought to flow. Instead of waiting for the answers to be handed to him on a silver platter, he will rise to his full potential, above to the meta level, and for himself, determine what the answer is. The student must also become active in his learning. Therefore taking his academic potential to the higher level. As well as achieving the higher level of thinking, the student must actively pursue his learning. The way a student approaches his education, weather he be in junior high or seeking his doctorate, is his academic attitude. The student

should no longer be baby sat. She must think for herself rather than be force fed information. To achieve this higher level of thinking, as Roger Sale explains, takes discipline. Through discipline the students’ mind becomes liberated, allowing her knowledge to become “active” (Sale 14). Therefore, by making her knowledge active, the student is able travel past the surface and explore the information in a deeper sense. In doing this, learning does not become a habit. Rather, instead of memorizing material to perform well on a test, or regurgitate it into a paper, the pupil synthesizes the information presented, relating it to other things, hence, learning about the subject. Information, then, is no longer strictly exchanged from teacher to student. It allows the learner to

open her mind, liberalizing it, allowing deeper thought into the subject. Approaching learning with a free mind demonstrates quality academic attitude. It is commonly believed that education is based on the fact that a student is to handed information by the teacher (Freire 23). It is as if the teacher is saying, I am an expert, and if I assume that the important fact about my knowledge is that I am indeed an expert, my way of speaking to you, who are not an expert but a beginning student, is always going to be along the lines of: “I have what you want. Here is what I know and you should learn” (Sale 13). When the student is hand fed the information, what he has really done, as stated by Paulo Freire, is just memorize the content that was presented to him. Then the student

“repeats these phrases without perceiving what (for example) four times four really is” (Freire 23). This idea is known as the “Banking Concept” (23) Someone, usually the teacher, makes a deposit of facts, then, when the student needs these facts, withdrawals them (23). Through this, the mind is in no way liberalized. In order to liberalize, one must step away from deposit-making. In its place, act upon his own education. Go the extra mile by asking questions and posing problems as they relate to their own experiences. The student, as part of his academic attitude, needs to become involved in his education. There are many ways a student can become involved. Most importantly, a student must become part of a “conversation” with the author while reading. When the student

reads as if having a conversation or discussion, she will be able to raise questions or to challenge the authors claims. In the process of questioning the author, the student will determine for herself the meaning of the passage. Only when the student becomes involved and asks questions does this informative dialogue evolve. It is equally important to pursue some sort of conversation during class as well. Through this type of exchange, both the teacher and student benefit. Not only does the student learn from the teacher, but she teaches the teacher in return (Freire 27). Therefore, the student’s level of thinking is elevated, her mind liberated, allowing her to synthesize ideas and facts and arrive at a conclusion. It is up to the student to make this happen by becoming active