TLDR: What if students viewed themselves as citizens rather than consumers of education?
The Age of the Consumer
Jeff Bezos built Amazon on an almost obsessive focus: give customers exactly what they want, when they want it.
This isn't just a business – it's a logistical empire built on precision. Every click, every purchase, every moment you spend on Amazon feeds into algorithms designed to predict and fulfill your desires with increasing accuracy. It's a testament to capitalism's relentless drive to optimize the customer experience.
But let's flip this "customer is always right" mindset to another modality.
Military training.
Picture a drill sergeant saying, "Private, I can see you are tired, so we'll skip the obstacle course today."
Training would be pointless. Some domains require challenge, discomfort, and growth that have nothing to do with customer satisfaction.
Education sits at this crossroads. Clearly we aren't army bootcamps, however, we have an obligation to outcomes none-the-less. Obligations, which increasingly might be at odds, with treating students as consumers.
My concern is that real learning often demands something very different from customer service.
The Science of Learning
There is a tax on knowledge. Learning must be earned.
Students who understand that learning is supposed to be a struggle actually develop greater resilience and take on bigger challenges. In the educational STEM world, this is termed "productive struggle." According to Angela Duckworth's book, this is called "Grit" – it's not about how many times you win, but how many times you fail and get back up. According to “Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning," when we simply reread material or passively consume information, we don't truly internalize it. It's in the struggle, in the testing, in the retrieval of information, that real learning happens. It's like trying to build muscle by lifting feather-weight dumbbells – the absence of challenge means absence of growth.
But this creates a paradox: How do you sell struggle?
When students can jump on RateMyProfessor to complain about challenging coursework, we risk creating an educational system that prioritizes comfort over effectiveness. Is our culture of instant gratification actually diminishing our ability to handle intellectual challenges – or worse, our emotional capacity to endure testing and failure?
The Citizenship Model
What if we frame education as a fundamental human right, but those rights come with responsibilities?
The things you put into your mind are like food for your brain. If you constantly opt for the mental equivalent of fast food – passively scrolling through TikTok, letting algorithms feed you "bite-sized content" – your intellectual life will head in one direction. But if you take the time to "prepare proper meals" – engaging with challenging material, wrestling with difficult concepts, contributing to your learning community – your mind develops in a fundamentally different way.
Creativity is painful.
It's overcoming the pain of failure that builds the ability to solve harder problems.
If any one person dealt with this pain alone, it would break them. That’s why when you are learning to be creative, your community becomes your support network. The more you put into that community, the more strength and support you get back. It’s not just about finding your voice, it’s about finding the community of people that your voice matters to.
True learning isn't just about engagement – it's about citizenship. It's about actively shaping your educational environment and showing solidarity with your learning community. When students view themselves as a proud citizen rather than consumer of education, something remarkable happens. The focus shifts from "What am I getting for my money?" to "I can’t wait to be a part of it."
A consumer complains when service isn't perfect
A citizen works to improve that service for everyone
A consumer expects instant gratification
A citizen invests in sustainable long-term development
A consumer complains
A citizen solves problems in their community
Education isn't about getting what you want – it's about becoming who you need to be.
And that transformation, like any worthwhile change, requires more than passive consumption. It requires active citizenship in your learning community, embracing the struggles that lead to growth, and contributing to something larger than yourself.
Nye Warburton is an educator and creative technologist from Savannah, Georgia. This essay was written with human labor and edited with Claude Sonnet 3.7. For more information visit https://nyewarburton.com.
Books
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel
Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning
Make It Stick explains why many of our existing learning strategies are ineffective and presents a better approach to longer-lasting learning.
Articles
From Struggle to Success, New Research Provides Tips From Study on High-Achieving High School Students, Xiaodong Lin-Siegler and Ben Lovett
From Struggle to Success, New Research Provides Tips From Study On High-Achieving High School Students
TC's Xiaodong Lin-Siegler, Ben Lovett and their doctoral students explore the science of getting knocked down and getting back up
How Students Benefit from Productive Struggle in STEAM Education
How Students Benefit from Productive Struggle in STEAM Education - TinkRworks
Productive struggle is a critical skill for future academic and career success-and STEAM lessons are particularly suited to teach it.
How to Explain Growth Mindset to Kids: Neuroplasticity Activities
How to Explain Growth Mindset to Kids: Neuroplasticity Activities
Neuroplasticity is the science behind growth mindset. When kids understand neuroplasticity, their perception of their own abilities changes. It becomes much easier for them to understand growth mindset and embrace mistakes, obstacles, and challenges. In this article, we'll provide helpful resources and activities to teach your children or students about their brains ability to grow and change.
