McBride 1

Teaira McBride

English 111

Marisa Enos

26 April 2017

Habits in Todays Society

Habits play a crucial role in todays society. Many habits negatively affect students while

in a college setting. These bad habits can eventually lead to a not so favorable habit once they get

into the real world. A lot of the time when someone thinks about habits it is usually associated

with something bad. On the other side of the spectrum however some of these habits may be

useful and helpful in certain aspects of life. Ultimately one can see how habits affect each and

every person on a daily basis. Some habits that can hinder a students progress is the constant

reliance to their cell phones and the internet. In reality once many people are set in their ways it

can sometime be difficult to change the way they act and behave. This is because they have lived

their whole life living a certain way and acting a certain. Today it can be seen that habits relate to

and affect many aspects in ones life. Some of the ways that habits influence life include how the

education has turned into what it is today, it has also affected language and how one is able to

communicate with another. The society is always changing so it is crucial to dig deeper into

habits and how it affects ones everyday life.

First of all, it is important to understand what habits are and initially how they are

formed. James VanderMey, Author of Remarks on Habit explains exactly that. Habits have so

much more control over ones life then they might realize. He goes on to state that, a habit is a

tendency to act, say, or think a certain way (VanderMey 13). When someone begins to think

about habits in their own life they tend to only look at the bad habits that have a negative impact
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on their day-to-day activities. The author goes on further stating that, Living in the world today,

one can easily come up with some bad habits. Some of these may include procrastinating,

forgetfulness and excessive worrying (VanderMey, 13). Now when you heard the word habit

did any positive ones come to mind? For most of you, the answer to that was NO. But in reality,

everyone has good habits, even if one doesnt recognize them as such. Some good habits may

include --- Being organized, thinking positive, planning things out and many more if you just

take the time to sit down and think about it. Students learn many habits while in high school that

arent always necessarily good habits when starting college. Iliana Miller, the author of A

Troublesome Threshold: Entering Academic Conversations addresses some viewpoint and

issues that relate to these habits and education. Millers ideas seems to relate to what VanderMey

is saying very well. She goes on to mention that, In Eng. 111, we critically discuss students

experiences in school, including their previous habits of mind and how those might be a barrier

to self-directed learning in college (Miller 5). Robert Leamnson, author of The biological

Basis of Learning also mentions how many college freshman have already had at least nineteen

years to establish their habits. Leamnson goes on to say that, Some of what they have learned,

however, is counterproductive (75). Yes, these habits can have less than desired outcomes. So

now a student is in college and they think those habits are doing some good or that those bad

habits will just go away and not affect them, well, that is not the case. When students look at

their teachers they think they have it all figured out. What some may not realize is that are

teachers struggle at times as well. A somewhat good habit can ultimately turn into a bad habit

like it did for one professor while he was a freshman in college. He goes on to say that, When I

write a paper or speech, I read and read, explore and research, on and on, until Ive run out of

time to actually write the thing (VanderMey,13). That seems like a good thing, doing all this
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studying and research, but if you dont manage your time correctly it can backfire. While one can

see that the idea of what habits are is apparent, so is the fact of habits on a deeper level, a more

biological level.

There are also other points in these articles that speak about different factors that are

associated with habits. To truly understand habits, one must look in the brain and see what is

really going on. Leamnson and Miller both discuss the biological aspects when it comes to

learning and establishing good and bad habits. Many students have a hard time getting started

and applying themselves in college, this can lead to the being worried and frustrated. Miller

thinks that, this is due in part, to the biological changes that occur in the brain when authentic

learning takes place --- New synaptical paths are formed and stabilized when they get used

repeatedly, (3). Leamnson makes a statement that connects everything together and relates back

to what Miller is saying. He further explains that, these axons make connections with other

neurons, but the connections, or synapses, are, initially, quite labile, meaning here that they

easily regress if not used (Leamnson, 67). This is very important when one looks at how

humans learn and form new habits. It also shows why practice is so essential in everything that

one does. The brain is a fascinating organ that is responsible for many actions and abilities that

humans todays possess. While the fact of how habits are looked at on a biological level is very

important, so is the relation to habits and language.

Language is very important in todays society, it helps define and show the progress

mankind. The way many use the skill of communication can in turn become a habit that becomes

a part of who you are. Language and communication will forever be important. Paulo Freire,

Author of The Banking Concept of Education Makes powerful statements on language and

what it means to him. The Author states that only through communication can human life hold
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meaning (Freire 9). This has never been more true, Language is essential in everyday life. One

can only express their self as well as their beliefs through communication. In comparison, Miller

addresses different viewpoints of language that are very important in her eyes. These ideas really

do lead back to what Freire was saying. This idea is shown when the author states that Engaging

in critical dialogue increases our cautiousness and awareness of the forces that rule our lives. For

our students, engagement in academic conservations is a step towards acting on their own beliefs

and an opportunity to relate their experiences and narratives to what we are trying to teach

(Miller 5). Its especially important to learn how to communicate with one another. This is

crucial in personal, business, and educational aspects of daily life. When one works on these

skills it will become second nature. The idea of language here is apparent and very important,

however, so is how todays education system has suffered from habits passed down through

previous generation.

Jack Mezirow, Author of Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice and Paulo

Freire, Author of The Banking Concept of Education both mention many different types of

learning and education styles. Freire mentions a controversial learning style that we may not

even realize exists. Many dont see any problem with the education system today, but when one

looks closer you can see the flaws associated with it. The banking method of education is a scary

situation and Im afraid to see where it will lead to if nothing is done about it. The author goes

into more detail saying that, education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students

are depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communicating, the teacher issues

communiques and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize and repeat

(Freire 1). This statement is a big realization of what the world faces today, especially within the

public-school system. Things need to be more like the Problem-Posing Method of education. It is
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hard for people to change when that is how things have always been. This relates back to habits

and how its not always to easiest to change. The Problem-Posing puts a lot of emphasize on

creativity, which is very important.

Creativity is a part of our personal identity and people should respect it. All of these

authors discuss creativity and individuality as well as its importance. Mezirow talks about

transformative education in his writing. This can relate to Freires problem-posing method. In

both of these they view creativity as being extremely important. In relation he says that,

learning contracts, group projects, role play, case studies, and simulations are classroom

methods associated with transformative education (Mezirow 91). These activities can promote

creativity within ones self. It is sad though that there are people in the world that want to control

everyones life and take those things away from the future generations to come. Freire goes on to

say that, The capability of banking education to minimize or annul the students creative power

and to stimulate their credulity serves the interests of the oppressor, who care either to have the

world revealed nor to see it transformed (2). It is crazy how things change when one becomes

educated. This is now a habit that is having negative effects on our life. Sir Ken Robinson,

Author of Changing Education Paradigms talks about that of divergent thinking. He then goes

on to say that, divergent thinking isnt the same thing as creativity. I define creativity as the

process of having an original idea that has value. Divergent thinking isnt a synonym but its an

essential capacity for creativity (Robinson 7:46). This is something that we are all born with.

Its a great thing but it mostly deteriorates as we get older. Most of the people in todays society

need to re think their priorities. It is important that people today form and strengthen new habits

surrounding the education system. The truth is that the current education system was designed

and conceived and structures for a different age (Robinson 1:48). Things arent the same as they
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used to be. People try to do things in a way that it used to be done but realistically that just

doesnt work. Today our world is more stimulating than ever, so that must be taken into

consideration when we look at different styles of teaching.

From the reading above one can see how important habits really are in todays society. A

lot of the time habits can have a negative effect on a students growth. Everything from ones

personal, business, and educational life can be related back to and influenced by habits. Once

habits are made it can be hard to change or alter them. This is especially true in education, for

example all of the habits that are learned in high school. Previous habits really can hamper the

growth of a student once they get into college and possibly their future professional career. Many

other things surrounding habits were addressed as well. In reality the most important way to get a

better understanding on habits is to look at it on a biological level. Its important to know what is

going on, on a deeper level. As VanderMey said a habit is a tendency to act, say, or think a

certain way. One must strengthen their positive habits and eliminate the bad habits before it is

too late.
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Works Cited

Freire, Paulo. The 'banking' Concept of Education. N.p.: n.p., 1970. Print.

Leamnson, Robert. Biological Basis of Learning Todays First-Year Students. Exploring

Connection: Learning in the 21st Century. Pearson education Inc., 2016. pp. 65-73

pp. 73-85.

Mezirow, Jack. Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice. Exploring Connection: Learning

in the 21st Century, Pearson, 2016, pp. 86-93.

Miller, Iliana. A Troublesome Threshold: Entering Academic Conversations Exploring

Connection: Learning in the 21st Century. Pearson education Inc., 2016. pp. 3-6.

Robinson, Sir Ken. Changing Education Paradigms RSAnimate, www.theRSA.org

Oct 14, 2010

VanderMey, James. Remarks on Habit. Exploring Connection: Learning in the 21st Century,

Pearson, 2016, pp. 12-17.