Yesterday, I published a short passage from my second novel. It was fun, but I meant it to be an illustration, an it-could-be-like-that example of how learning and education could be. However, if I brought up such ideas in a group of educational professionals, it would be met with either scoffing or with a barrage of but’s, at best, or butts, at worst. I’m a romantic in terms of philosophical tenets, which in part means that I don’t give a shit what “authority” has to say. I will always question authority, and I will always think that nature provides ideas, innovations, creations when we need answers. And young people, youths, are the closest we come as human beings to being unaffected by ego and its powerful interpretation of us in reference to society. Add those together to get an idealist who finds a way to make things work. However, in case you do not teach, the life of a classroom teacher is relatively isolated, professionally speaking. The following framework of learning is what I developed to try and maximize the learning experience of my students. So, here’s the deal. I define learning as a process of asking questions, making connections, creating communications; a recursive process of curiosity, discovery, and creativity in which learners Collect, Connect, and Create. Learners must develop a curiosity which fuels intrinsic motivation: they have to care about learning for themselves. This comes naturally when their own curiosity has initiated their search. Short of that, I sought to set up conditions in which students could engage intrinsically; it was always their choice. Then, I could share with them tools and techniques to collect — collect information, because information is needed to construct knowledge. Albert Einstein said, “Information is not knowledge.” Indeed. I stressed the questioning process: ask questions, answer questions, ask more questions, refine the controlling question. Einstein was big on curiosity, wasn’t he? “Never lose a holy curiosity.” “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” I wanted to eliminate equating information gathering with knowledge, eliminate as much formal education as I could. I did not care if students remembered in what period of literature Shakespeare wrote. If they had a question about it, they would find it. Another quote attributed to Einstein: “Never memorize anything you can look up.” We covered sources of knowledge, which boils down to research techniques involving recording answers to the questions: note-taking methods, observation of patterns in the information, ways to record it. Then, we look at ways to analyze and discuss. There are tweaks to every content area for these elements, but they work. Our brains have to do something with all of this flow of new information, so we looked to organize that collection via making connections, which is where knowledge construction begins. We start sorting our new information into the little file folders in our brains. Slipping that new info into existing files helps us to draw conclusions, form opinions, and propose new questions. Ultimately, we synthesize new ideas — knowledge. Oh, that leads to more action. How will we communicate these new ideas? How will we develop them into useful, meaningful responses and actions. This leads us to create. Who needs our new ideas? What value do they offer? In what format will we offer our new ideas? When we answer these questions and offer the communication, we have created something new, something significant, something unique to us. That’s pretty cool. This might not mean much to you, but it formed the backbone, the skeletal structure that I used to spiral skills and concepts and engage not only students but also myself. Unbeknownst to most of my students, our class activities, whatever they were or had to be, I structured to engage them in this framework. How do I know this is more natural and effective? When they had a full voice in curriculum development, they naturally engaged in this process. I could share my practical framework for learning with students, teachers, or parents in one workshop, the implication being that courses aren’t required to understand or implement it. No systematization with multiple workshops and trained representatives nor volumes of books over the topics. Simple — That’s what I developed and did and what worked for me for a long time and still does as I learn. I wanted to remove as much of education as I could for students and have them learn how to learn (and to love to learn). “The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.” Albert Einstein (This did not get published on May 11 because of severe storms and power outages!)
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I played with the idea this morning in my Morning Pages post (pictured to the left) of doing something creative. What I am going to share below is reallyafter the fact because I’ve already written it in my second novel, even though my first novel is not yet published. The second novel will deal with education in a much deeper way than the first, but as you may have surmised from many of my posts, I feel strongly about the topic. I recount one episode below of a boy named Joseph Lafarnge. I share the passage because it presents the sort of educational experience that could be the norm, but without a vision of what could be, no possibilities exist. Here is my vision. (By the way, in terms of practicality, a group of schools around America right now are providing an education very much aligned with my views: the Big Picture Schools.) Eric and Anne Lafarnge (rhymes with orange) are Joseph’s parents, and they live in Cornwall, England. They have developed an educational consulting business with friends, the main one being Alaun (pronounced Allen). Without further explanation, here is the scene from The Fellowship of the Heart and the Rock Dais. Young Joseph was beaming, enthusiastically recounting his morning of education. “Mom, Dad, it was so awesome. We watched butterflies emerging from the cocoons. Do you know that their wings are perfectly — symmetrical — yes, that’s the word, right? Yes, that’s it. And Mr. Arthur told me to watch for other things that are symmetrical and write them down. I see some leaves on these plants look symmetrical, but they are not mirror images like the butterfly wings.” “Wow! That’s great, Joseph!” Alaun’s enthusiasm could not be contained. He loved the joy and simplicity of discovery that children showed. This pure passion of life that children display when learning had inspired his curriculum, especially when he saw that such fervor could be had by people of any age, if they were seeking to walk in their own truth. “Yes, Grandpa Alaun! But there’s even more. That mirror image idea is called isomers when it’s in chemistry. The little things we can’t really see, those things called molecules, some of them have mirror images, and those are isomers.” Eric looked genuinely shocked. “Joey, what did you say? You know about isomers?” “Yeah, Dad, it was hard for me to understand until Mr. Arthur helped me with these.” He started pulling some colorful cardboard pieces out of his backpack, which he always seemed to have with him. “Yes, look at these triangles. We measured and made them exactly the same size, but when you turn one over, it won’t go through the hole that we cut in the cardboard. These triangles are called scalene because that’s the kind where no sides are equal. But see, this one won’t go through the hole when you turn it over. I had to be very careful with the art knife when we measured and cut all of this.” When he turned the triangle over, it was intricately colored. Joey then pulled a black cardboard tube from his backpack and inserted the triangles in slits in the side. “See! It’s my butterfly. I am supposed to study some real ones and try to make mine have all the right parts. They are insects, so I have to make sure that mine has six legs.” Edward was holding Joey’s partly constructed butterfly, examining the art work on the wings. Kathryn laughed at Joey’s enthusiasm. “Hey, Joey, can you tell me more about isomers in chemistry?” “Well, Aunt Kathryn, the whole reason Mr. Arthur told me about them is I asked what butterflies ate. He told me leaves, and I asked why we can’t eat leaves because we eat other green stuff. And lettuce is like a leaf. He told me that some molecules, those little things we can’t see that everything is made of, only fit into our bodies in a certain way. Some leaves have molecules that are isomers that are like mirror images just like the butterfly wings. So some leaves fit through the molecule holes that we have and some don’t. Butterflies have the right kind of hole for regular old leaf molecules to fit through.” They all shook their heads as they laughed softly. They had grown accustomed to Joey’s unbridled joy in learning. “Mom, is it okay if I go and meet Cynthia and Robby? We want to go find butterflies to study, but we won’t hurt them. We will take close up pictures of them.” “Yes, Joey, have fun.” I ended with that line on purpose. Yes, learning, true learning, true education, is FUN! What You Believe, Who You Are, and How You Express It: the Significance of Conscious Philosophy5/9/2016 After publishing about the significance of education and how important a conscious, acknowledged philosophy is to that, I pulled up my philosophy that I wrote some years ago. Sometimes, I amaze myself when I see the consistency of what I have been developing and practicing for years — probably wouldn’t excite anyone except me. However, I will share with you that which I have shared with others: let me observe you for awhile, and I will be able to a large extent to tell you your philosophy, whether you are consciously aware of it or not, whether you are a learner or a teacher. Being conscious of your foundational beliefs, especially when it comes to your daily work, can eliminate so many internal conflicts for you. Either you find out why you’re unhappy and change your belief, your cognitive model, or you start molding your activities and labors in accordance with what you believe, or you get the hell out and do something that allows you to live yourself. Oh, yeah, I should have mentioned that your philosophy should be a direct reflection of who that core Self is and provide a way for you to express that Self in the world — while you earn a living! Here’s what I lived by for 17 years. I will share with you — humble boast — that on some Open House nights, I would read this to parents along with a letter that I will probably share tomorrow. People intuitively know that the current system is not very effective, because I always received applause, and several times parents, some of whom taught elsewhere in the district, and school board members actually gave me a standing ovation. What Is Your Educational Philosophy, Michael DePung? Wow? Really?! Someone wants to know my philosophy of education, the beliefs that drive how I act, interact, and react with students? That’s great! Some of my most basic foundational beliefs have been not only backed by brain-based research but also borne out in my experiences. When I realize that no one, especially pre-pubescent and adolescent children, can learn from me unless they like me, I am amazed. If they don’t like me, their perceptual register is closed and no information can even hit short-term memory. What great relief, then, that establishing an honest, mutually-caring relationship comprises my first goal in dealing with learners rather than establishing that I am the authority who contains all the knowledge that must be dumped into their poor, empty little heads. Beginning with that mindset, I can jump into the meat of educating: drawing forth — (< L., educere, to lead or bring forth) — all the energy, knowledge, and potential bound up in them via providing skills and exposing them to materials that induce wonder. Then, we become co-discoverers of greater knowledge, knowledge that we construct together. Of course this implies that the students, the major stakeholders in all this, must have genuine, meaningful, and significant input into the curriculum development process. In my ideal world an emergent curriculum would be the norm, but until then I know that learners respond positively to any overtures offered in this direction. They love to be led in developing areas of interest that can be experienced without content boundaries — a true integrated curriculum. I have successfully employed this philosophy with students from elementary grades through high school, observing the more concrete experiential mindset of younger students being expressed in their various learning products and the more abstract, society-targeted projects of the older learners. I will say something about the importance and emphasis of grades and standardized tests: grades aren’t really that important and standardized tests shouldn’t be emphasized. Oh, they can be useful, but I believe they don’t indicate much about true learning, an overall education, which can be framed in the context of asking questions, making connections, framing problems, and presenting solutions. Many concepts are implied in this, but the primary point I make is that grades, test scores, and achievement as defined by these criteria have driven education for too long and in a wrong, destructive direction. Ultimately all parties should have their input in constructing the learning community, which may vary considerably from place to place. Teachers and educational professionals provide the relationship foundations that allow them to effectively communicate and nurture skills that students need, which meet legal requirements. Students eagerly direct the development of curriculum in the context of their interests and honest quests. Parents and community lend their emotional, financial, and real-life experiences to support the learning process. To me we all lose if we don’t engage all, or we all win, as young people are prepared to think, innovate, create, contribute, and share in governing and engendering our unique form of democracy and humanity at large. Peace, Baby, Peace! After writing and posting my Morning Pages, I saw an article about the emphasis ISIS is putting on schools and education in areas they control. Now, it’s in a bad way, but I mention it because they understand that education significantly influences the structure, characteristic, spirit, and products of and for society. Other dictatorial regimes have done the same. We should note that. Why? Many would ask how I could even say that when the United States alone spends over $600 billion per year on kindergarten through 12th grade education. Doesn’t that prove how seriously we take education? It proves that there are expectations, and politicians will make damn sure that their constituents are satisfied, not to mention the two million plus teachers in this nation. Americans, for the most part, tend to equate the importance of anything based on the money associated with it. And that’s where educational reform comes in. At least many know that total dollars spent doesn’t say a lot. We do know that reallocation of that total could make a crucial difference for some parts of the population. What about other factors, other ways to measure? So much emphasis has been put on data-driven everything that human factors, in arenas where human factors count, are often not taken into account. Many so-called educational leaders put little value on qualitative analysis, when that should drive research in education — with quantitative analysis being a helpful little screwdriver or wrench or something. But I digress, because educational reform considers these kinds of matters and the results of data-driven research. I want to deal with the whole redefinition matter. Therefore, when I think about education, I do it using human dynamics as the primary foundation. Part of this means that the organization of education begins with the needs of the whole child, which in a substantial way means that the way we learn must be first consideration. The primary motivation to learn, then, must be because we want to, not because we are forced to. Some things we may plough through in order to get to what we truly want, but — and this is a huge but — that should NOT be the bulk of educational experience. I want to state this again because it is a crucial distinction: Education should be focused on drawing out the hearts, talents, abilities, curiosities, questions, etc of any learner. It should not be built on dumping pre-prepared curriculum into students’ presumably empty heads. I worked within the system for seventeen years. My own education, research, practice, observations, and interactions informed me that personally significant learning — and that translates into significance for society — only occurs from intrinsic motivation. Learning must begin with students themselves, not with my concept of what students should know. My frustration within the system mounted, though, considering that the guiding philosophy was antithetical to the concept of a student-generated curriculum (not student-centered). The current system is based on extrinsic motivation. If you say it’s not, then eliminate grades. Yeah, that’s what I thought. This brings me to the real point: How did I function in a system that I knew was wrong? Well, I cared for students. I believed that I could influence and change practice in my department, school, and district. I wanted something that would make school engaging and fun for students, because I discovered why I did not enjoy school. I spoke and wrote to students, parents, colleagues, and administrators. In an evolutionary way, I worked out a personal compromise based on my philosophy of education, which is really a philosophy of learning. Learning emanates from within and so should the course of study; however, that wasn’t going to happen. I simply exhibited genuine care for them and enthusiasm for the content and gave students the opportunity to see how the study of British lit or any other course I happened to be assigned could be relevant and useful. My grade book was always open because I did not care about grades, and that alone allowed many to buy into our classes and jump on learning opportunities when I could allow them to design their own experiences. I try to analyze, simplify, and synthesize; sometimes I oversimplify, but I believe it’s better to start there because then the foundation is clear. My clear foundation, the one that allowed me to function within the confines of an extrinsic, ego-driven system, consisted of a three-part approach to learning, assuming that a personal goal has been identified, that the learner has given a reason to herself or himself, and that the proposition has value, i.e., it comes from the heart. (Maybe that’s a three-part prerequisite!) Once a goal is identified, then knowledge must be (1). Collected, (2). Connected to self and other knowledge and (3). Created — new knowledge constructed by the learner needs to do something new and useful in some way. That’s it. I shared a number of learning tools in each of those categories, and we repeated those throughout the year. It worked, and it was mine in the format that I synthesized and presented it. Collect, connect, create — works throughout life. (More to come!) Two days ago, I talked about education being redefined. I practiced it in my classroom. My redefinition is based on drawing out the hearts of students, building on who they are as core Self, and equipping them to fulfill life purpose. This can be accomplished through an integrated curriculum in a democratic classroom — at least that is one philosophical base that may take a myriad of shapes. It’s not like I’m the only one who wants this shift. The democratic aspect of this, though, makes it a bit “messy,” as democracies always will be — and I use “messy” because a democracy focuses on individuals and not a set national curriculum (or state or district)neatly administered to everyone. Students can design their own curriculum, and when they do, they excel in learning because the motivation is intrinsic. I also want to say that I am not writing untried, theoretical gibberish: I practiced it for parts of seven years, and although I couldn’t fully implement it, the philosophy shaped what students and I did together for the rest of my career. My 85 or so page master’s thesis is based directly on the organization, development, and observations of using an integrated curriculum in a democratic classroom. I used the same principles to develop teacher study groups, too. The philosophy, the foundation, is solid. I would like to give you a sense of how I did this. I’m not sharing how we developed curriculum, but I am going to share the sort of activity that I did; however, we never did this specific one, simply because there would never have been enough time. Here it is: Today, you will be required to view a photograph (at top of page). Then, you will need to answer a series of questions about that photo. You will determine the questions. You will find ways to answer the questions. You will, then, outline a project or work idea based on your thoughts from the picture. Your grade/evaluation will be what you think of your completed project idea based on this question: How does this project show who I am and allow others to see that I have worked for the highest good that I can currently express towards them and myself? I know some of the questions that can result from this. Why are the flowers that color? How does the soil affect growth? What mathematical concepts are involved in plant structure? How do these plants fit into an ecosystem? What do the flowers make me want to write about? And so it goes. However, it takes questioning the questioners to help them discover what is in their souls — and much exists there. Why am I even sharing this? I care deeply about the state of this nation and this world. From its inception, America had a shot at developing this type of learning. All created equal, Unalienable rights, We the People — it wasn’t easy, it was messy, it began a democracy. The narrow-minded thinking and engineering of education today is to my thinking an informal conspiracy of a relatively limited few, an oligarchy, really, who want workers to be produced for their profit and insure societal control. It sounds good to many and makes sense to many because the controllers believe their own egoic lies, so they share their ideas with passion and power. I will deal with this more; if not in my posts, I know I have already dealt with it in my novels. In contrast, I desire self-actualized students to be entering adulthood knowing themselves, their life purpose, and their relationship to this amazing Universe we live in. This stands in diametric opposition to what goes on in most schools today, because even if schools appropriate the words, they remain ignorant of how to accomplish the reality of them. I get so sick of seeing district mission statements about creating lifelong learners and they, knowing that the best research clearly shows that constant testing kills intrinsic motivation, do it anyway in defeat of their own missions. Really?!! Our hope, my hope, for a mutually respectful world of peace and advancement of the human race rests on multitudes awakening to self, knowing their hearts, and enthusiastically forging ahead in life purpose. Education plays a crucial role in this: it will either crush the human spirit by deadening it, or it will use the principles of enlightenment and self awakening in learning. It will either focus on dumping knowledge into those poor, empty little heads, or it will labor to draw the infinity that exists in each one of us out of those young souls in purposeful, practical ways. I choose education, the drawing out. Current mainstream practice is not education at all. Like I said, redefinition. |
Questions to consider:How many times have you asked yourself or simply thought about the following questions?
Who am I, really? What is my truth? How do my actions reveal what I really feel and believe? What would I do with my life if I could do anything? What is my passion? Why am I here? How can I discover answers to any of these questions? If you have considered any of these questions, I hope that my experiences and writing will give you some guidance. Please read my blog and comment and share your thoughts. I would love to hear from you! Archives
December 2019
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