Response to College, Inc.

A number of things have come up for me watching College, Inc., because I see it through different lenses. As a returning adult, I remember starting my search for a college. I had two small children, husband and a full time job. I recognized the convenience of programs that started at any time during the year. I loved the idea of not having to leave my home to educate myself as well. But I knew myself as a learner. I knew I needed to be in the company of other adults. I knew the value of learning and listening to my peers but my time would not afford me that opportunity. Having reached out to DeVry and University of Phoenix early in my search, I quickly dismissed both these institutions. The hard sell became too much for me. It made me uncomfortable and soon I stopped answering their calls, almost hiding like they were bill collectors.
As an educator I’m appalled to see the profession of teaching reduced to just another line on a budget sheet. It’s almost as if teaching in for profits are secondary and not the main focus of the institution. The next step is removing the teacher all together and have a computer based self-directed learning course. What is missing in this education model is the caring and empathy that goes into teaching. For them it is a business instead of an embodied experience where we all learn together. We know adults go back to school for a purpose, they want to change the trajectory of their lives. If lives are not changing there is a problem. I agree with Dr. Nicholas Burbules in his thinking that this is a “fast foodization of education” because today Americans want everything quickly. We barely slow down for anything anymore and I believe that the for profit schools are taking advantage of this fact.
Some colleges track their alumni to see if their programs have led to gainful employment for reporting purposes. This serves to help bolster attendance in programs when institutions can report where their graduates have found work. I believe if the number of academic successes in for profit schools were compared to the actual number of students who have not found gainful employment for more than two years, we would have a clearer picture of the success of these institutions. And if students are not getting jobs with their degrees because of the lack of on hands learning, I think congress should re-think their letter to Mr. Duncan, the education secretary, about softening the gainful employment clause. How will adults change their lives if they do not receive the jobs they believe are at the end of their degrees?

A Summary of “Chapter 8: Embodied, Spiritual and Narrative Learning”

Merriam, Sharan B., Rosemary S. Caffarella, Lisa M. Baumgartner. “Chapter 8: Embodied, Spiritual and Narrative Learning.” Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide., 3rd ed., Merriam, Caffarella, Baumgartner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007. 189-216. Print.


Westerners have always equated learning as a process that takes place in the mind. It was thought that knowledge could only be obtained by reason alone. Only in the recent twentieth century did Westerners begin to look at other ways of knowing and learning. Adult learning theory takes into consideration the role of the body and spirit in adult development. The authors discuss the various ways in which we learn through body and spirit.

Embodied learning means we learn in an experience and somatic knowing is how we make meaning of it. The authors offer several examples of embodied learning and present Amann’s four part model of the dimensions of somatic knowing. Kinesthetic learning is learning that occurs because of the physical movement of the body. Sensory learning uses our fives sense to make meaning. Affective learning involves paying attention to and acting on feelings and emotions. The last is spiritual. This aspect allows people to make meaning of their lives through music, art, imagery, symbols and/or rituals. The authors provide evidence that solidify the relationship between identity, learning and the body by providing examples to challenge the old Western ways of thinking.

Spirituality is seen as the inward turn of the self to contemplate the meaning of life and the spiritual aspects of oneself. Studies are investigating how spiritual practices such as yoga, meditation and prayer can affect physical health. Spirituality has been defined in various ways. The authors offer Tisdell’s seven assumptions about the nature of spirituality. These assumptions were derived from a study of thirty-one higher adult educators who were specifically engaged in anti-oppression pedagogy.

Narrative learning has only recently received attention in adult education although it has been common practice in other fields such as psychology, literature, medicine and law. Narratives take a number of forms that can be useful for learning. Rossiter and Clark identify three. The first, is labeled as “storying” the curriculum. It means that the students treat the course as a story and interact with the texts in order to come to an understanding on the subject matter. The second is storytelling. Using fiction or providing cases as stories can foster the understanding of the content because they draw one into seeing another’s perspective. The final narrative, autobiography, is about the self and can include dream logs, journaling and blogs.

Narrative learning has strong ties to adult development and transformation learning. Life is seen as an unfolding story that assists with adult development. Narrative learning is also transformational in that both methods are primarily cognitive. However, adult development and transformational learning involve both embodied and spiritual learning. Adult educators have many ways to foster learning that all adults can engage in and help them to make sense of their experience.