On the Notion That “It’s Easy” As I recall the behaviour of my own teachers and peers and when I reflect on my own, I am struck by the number of times we encourage students with the statement that the learning in question is “EASY.” Our intentions are good; after all, we are addressing the student's anxiety about the learning episode. What we are also doing, unfortunately, is setting them up for a disappointment. If a student has diffi- culty comprehending a concept, or manipulating a particular tool after hearing that the task is “EASY,” he or she can only feel more stupid or incapable of further learning. On the other hand, the student who masters the idea or task feels no sense of accomplishment. After all, it was “EASY.” Our good intention of moti- valing students has either robbed them of the sense of victory in learning or made them feel dumb in finding it difficult. It is important to encourage students, particularly adults who may have had problems in school and hold senous doubts about their ability to leam. So how do we address these feelings? An answer is to agree with their perceptions about the difficulty of the material and to disagree with their perceptions of their ability. This two-pronged ap- proach to the issue identifies with their feelings and concerns, while at the same time offering the best possible option for their learning. We tell them: “This stuff is hard (tricky, etc.), but you can handle it with my help and the help of your classmates.” If they quickly grasp the material, they think: “Wow, I am student material.” If they take a long time, they think: “Well, it was difficult anyway.” The combination of their persistence and the support of others not only helps them with the learning at hand but provides a model for learning episodes ahead. This alternative provides realistic expectations that prepare the student for success and a sense of accomplishment. A colleague once said: “Teachers should be careful of what they say because students believe them.” Our attempts to encourage students should not set them up for disappointment. Pat Pattison, Instructor, Electrical Department For further information, contact the author at Red Deer College, Box 5005, Red Deer, Alberta T4N 5H5, CANADA. Suanne D. Rouveche, Editor EES ED January 20, 1989, Vol. XI, No. 2 ©The University of Texas at Austin, 1989 Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER institutions for their own personnel oe. Do Unions (Bleep)? Teaching INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS is tough, given the combination of topical diversity and wide range of student experiences. Yet it was in this course that I made a startling discovery. The topic was unions. As usual, | had prepared transparencies, assembled relevant articles from the newspaper, and checked the Instructor’s Manual for teaching tips. I have belonged to a union for years and know it well. But, admittedly, my treatment of this topic always had been lackluster. I enthusiastically previewed the topic for the class: “Next time, Iet’s talk about unions. What are unions? What do they fight for?” Students responded coolly. “How do you f-e-e-] about unions?” | gasped. “Unions (bleep)!” a student shouted. “Unions (bleep)?” I asked. “Want to debate it? Next time, Jerome will argue against unions. Who will argue for them?” Immediately, Vicki volunteered, starting a verbal battle among the two students and their respective supporters about the debate’s outcome. At the beginning of the next class, | printed “Do unions (bleep)?” on the board, with students’ names arguing for and against unions. During the next 75 minutes, I participated in the most detailed, compre- hensive and emotional discussion of any topic in the business text and, perhaps, in my eight years of teach- ing this course, My role was to facilitate the discussion: analyzing, clarifying and summarizing students’ positions while relating their language to relevant concepts in the text. Some students seemed surprised that answers to their questions were actually in the book. Others appeared amazed that their classmates knew so much and had such strong feelings about something they were assigned to read for homework. Students who had not spoken in class before joined the discussion, supporting or denying a debater’s position based on personal experience, hearsay, or—occasionally—even something they had read in their business text. At the end of the class, the debate continued; the question—"Do unions (bleep)?”—remained unan- swered. And this teacher had learned something about unions and about teaching. James Paradiso, Instructor, Management For further information, contact the author at College of Lake County, 19351 West Washington Street, Grayslake, IL 60030. INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizabonal Development (NISOD), EDB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, (51 a 471-7545, Subscnptions are available to nonconsor- tium members for $40 per year. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Fo Issued weekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms and once during the summer ISSN 0199-106X. undation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation.