Life Long Learning

Over the past three years I continue to hear the phrase "lifelong learner". I understand lifelong learning to be the ability and desire to learn after conclusion of formal education. It is a passion to know more and go beyond what is required in a classroom.

An article from Educational Leadership (Dec03/Jan04), titled A Forecast for Schools by Marvin Cetron and Kimberley Cetron stated that, "Tomorrow's citizens will need and expect to engage in lifelong learning. A career used to last for life. Once a carpenter, always a carpenter. Today, new technology could redefine or replace almost anyone's job-even the industry in which they work. Today's students will pursue an average of five entirely different occupations during their working lives. Both management and employees must get used to the idea of lifelong learning, which is becoming a significant part of working life at all levels."

I believe that the majority of teachers are life long learners. We value the process of learning and are excited by it. Of course, we must take classes to keep our teaching license but the majority of educators take classes to increase their content knowledge and enhance the lessons they teach.

I have kept this phrase in my mind during the school year. I want to encourage my students to be lifelong learners. I want them to understand that when they graduate from a university or trade school they are not finished learning. So my question is, what learning formats are more likely to encourage life long learning? How can these ideas be incorporated into a classroom? How do you encourage students to be lifelong learners?

Suspensions...who do they punish?

After hearing my deskmate talk about another student who will be absent due to suspension, I began thinking about the concept of suspension as a punishment in high school.
In my experience, the vast majority of students who have been suspended in my classes have been "D" or "F" students who miss class quite often as it is. I find myself wondering why we (and by we I mean ALL schools) choose to further remove these students from school as a form of punishment. I emphasize the fact that I am not sure what the answer to this question is, but for most of these students it seems that a more appropriate punishment in their eyes would be to make them spend more time in school! After my rambling, I suppose my question is threefold: 1. What are the origins of this punishment? Why has it proved succesful in the past? 2. Have you had the same experience in terms of the demongraphic of students who are typically suspended? and 3. What alternative punishments could we provide these students where we could still "punish" them without further hindering their academic experiences?