Writing Analytically, 6th Edition - Rosenwasser, David & Stephen, Jill [123]
As Kent felt the need to prove himself to me, I felt the need to prove to Kent that the teaching in that room was going both ways. Anne Ferguson describes in her ethnography, Bad Boys, the need for teachers to classify students as “good” or “bad.” Ferguson goes on to explain that, “Even though we treat it this way, the category ‘child’ does not describe and contain a homogeneous and naturally occurring group of individuals at a certain stage of human development … What it means to be a child varies dramatically by virtue of location in cross-cutting categories of class, gender, and race” (Ferguson, 81). The same can be said for adults. We cannot classify all adults in one way. Yes, it may be easy to say that all of the adult learners attending the GED class dropped out of school because they were lazy kids, but it is never that simple. Each individual is a complex being filled with multiple dimensions living in a world where people are constantly trying to simplify things. As an educator, it is crucial to understand the many aspects that make up a child or person. Coming to terms with the truth of the complexity of people’s lives is the first step towards helping them grow both as an individual and a student. [Writer uses secondary source to contextualize the study and foreground her assumptions about complexity]
Throughout my time volunteering at the GED class, I have learned how motivation varies greatly from individual to individual. I always knew that people were motivated by different factors, internal or external, sometimes both. It became clear to me that Vissilios and Kent were internally motivated. Although Kent was affected by the need to provide for his family, he was also getting his GED to prove to himself that he was capable. In my interview with Vissilios the same idea of “proving oneself” became evident. Vissilios told me that he was not pushed by his mother to stay in school when he was younger, and was not pushed to go back to school. He explained that he wanted his GED to prove to people that it wasn’t lack of ability that kept him from getting a high school diploma; rather it was his own laziness as a kid. After talking with Mrs. Cooper about the issue of motivation for adult learners, I gained a new insight into the field. Mrs. Cooper explained to me from the beginning that this is a GED class, and that her students are adults. They are not required to show up to class; they come by choice. She explained that there is an attendance policy and if the students are falling below the amount of hours they are required to attend, it is the teacher’s choice whether or not to drop the student from the class. Mrs. Cooper said that in her 15 years of teaching at the Literacy Center she has never officially dropped a student. She explained that in order to keep her students motivated she feels that focusing on their personal needs is the most effective. She makes a point to make herself available for extra help as often as possible. Mrs. Cooper also tries to make the class interesting by discussing current events when relevant. [Writer presents the point of view of one of her students and then quotes an authority to help her assess his motives]
The second example is a case study in which psychology students were asked to analyze data suggestive of particular kinds of mental illnesses as they are represented in contemporary films. The difference between the following case study and the preceding one is that the psychology case study has prescribed categories (subheads) under which the information is recorded. The assignment here is to give examples of some of the behaviors exhibited by the character Roy in Matchstick Men that might lead to a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Matchstick Men
Patient Evaluation: Roy
Presenting Problem: