Empowerment and Whimsy:
Why is it he said that he has never heard of a teacher at any level say that they want to "empower" their students? I have to be honest here, there are teachers screaming out that they want to empower their students. But are under a stranglehold of expectations and deadlines, standards, and evaluations, administrative and legal barriers that have their screams drowned out. I know that he is using hyperbole to make his point, but it leaves a bad taste as I stay late, come in early, work summers, talk to parents, lift up, preach and teach to my peers, endure difficult meetings and accusations, all the while educating myself in an attempt to realize the empowerment of my kids.
I was that kid that was not empowered, and I knew I had interests and I knew that I was so far away from investigating those interests because of the classrooms I was in that I gave up. It wasn't until I enrolled in a community college that I realized that I was only as limited as I allowed myself to be. The rest is history.
Expanding sense of purpose:
Kirk's goals in life are more about how he can contribute rather than learn- the evolution of an innovator. It must be the historian in me but I feel like I am reading a life and times of a modern Ben Franklin. Ben Franklin was the model of American innovation, integrity, and learning, for more than 200 years of American history. Learning was not a means to an end for Franklin either, but a way to innovate and ensure the development of the most risky of innovations, democracy. He left his families work, to be an apprentice to a printer, and information driven business, much like Apple. Where he learned not only to run a printer but the power of the words printed. Like Kirk's journey each phase of life, each choice was based on what he would learn and gain, so that he might attain a higher understanding. And like Kirk later in life he began to look to how he could contribute, employing his knowledge to causes that bettered life for all. What we have here is a return to the original ideals of our forefathers.
Hi Jozi,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that teachers DO want their students to be empowered. Many times I believe they aren't sure which paths and practices will help foster, rather than stifle students' growth toward independence. What I am learning is that when our beliefs match our practices we are effective. I don't know of a single educator that doesn't want their students to be effective. I do know many though whose practices of "sit and git" instruction where they encourage compliance and going through the motions of school of listening and then repeating what they've been told is the actual expectation instead of independent, critical thinking. I agree with you that the realities of our profession - the paperwork, parent communication, standardized testing, and scheduling make it difficult to push students towards problem solving and project based learning, much less growing towards self-actualization. However, like you I believe it is worth it. My own experiences have shown me that it is when I've taken a risk and acted on it independently or collaboratively, is when I have grown the most. You shared in your post about your own experiences with school and how it was when you went to community college on your own you felt the most empowered.
You also brought up how both Kirk's and Benjamin Franklin's goals were not the end product but the process of being an innovator and how that purpose of bettering society and investing in democracy was their driving force. I couldn't agree more! I want to challenge us to think about how we can both value the process of learning and of risk taking which define innovation in our pbl units and in our every day teaching practices and how we can help students find purpose in their work, beyond a grade and a diploma.
Thanks,
Dawn