Education. Strangely, not a sauce.

Unless one is writing a thorough and detailed curriculum in which every person must know everything in the shortest possible time frame.  And then, yes, the process is the same as making a sauce:  toss all the essentials in, add some extras in for flavor, and let it reduce to it's essence.  Cool and pour into students heads.  Open (their heads) and check frequently.  


Repeat.


In all seriousness, what I am really trying to say is that one of my fundamental points of contention with systematic schooling is the reductionist nature in which teaching/information-transmission takes place. Which is to say that what is really fantastic and amazing about life and the world around us, what is practical and useful information, gets reduced to "subjects" which is further reduced to "units" which are even further reduced to "chapters" or "topics". 


The sheer awe of learning about solar systems, blue whales, 5,000 year old trees, physics, atoms, photons, the stuff of LIFE... are reduced to "facts to study and regurgitate".   Even practical knowledge loses it's value when it is taught as abstract concepts which are tethered only to themselves.   (For example:  I now know that Pythagorous' Theorem is supposed to be - or have been? - very useful for ... doing other things.  When I was in High School I'm not sure I realized who Pythagorus was or what he was trying to say or do with this confounded "Theorem" I was supposed to memorize.)


It is quite unfortunate that it is only now, in the approximate middle section of my life, that I am understanding how everywhere and relevant math really is.  I am referring, of course, to everything (one would learn) after addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division (but I never did) - even the teachers* couldn't keep the real use of those fundamental skills from me.   


I digress.  


As I was saying - 
Life becomes lifeless, the 
Awesome! becomes awful, and 
that which is Truly Amazing is 
lost in tedium and meaninglessness. 
There it is.  


Meaninglessness.  


Rather, Meaning.  Meaning is the true vehicle of learning.  Meaning is the path that both leads us toward greater understanding and then past static understanding.  Meaning is reason, motivation, reward.  Meaning is questions and answers.  Meaning is departure and arrival.  Meaning is "Why?" and "Because."  Meaning is a bit - if not exactly - like the hokey pokey: it's what it's all about.


Even if the only meaning is to satisfy curiosity - it is still meaningful to the learner.  
Everything else is static.  As in inert.  As in, interference.  
Who cares about an A in science if the learner is not genuinely amazed or excited by all she has come to understand?  Both the grade assessment and the information has no relevance; no meaning.  

It's gravy.

* This is not meant as a blanket statement about all teachers.  I am, instead, referring to the self-perpetuating cycle I found myself in once I no longer "got" math, and then became the disdain of all the math teachers whose classes I struggled through feeling stupid and alone.  Woe was me.  

Regaining My Stride

I've recently proclaimed that I find Education Reform is like a dip in the floor that I can't help towards; that this is the thing I cannot NOT do.  Even if I have good reason to be on the other side of said floor, the dip invariably changes my course and I at least veer toward it.  Lately, though, I find that I'm just walking right into it, stopping right there in the middle and settin' a spell.

Perhaps - from the outside in - it appears that I am taking the most circuitous path to my destination - which at this time, feels like the actual path itself.  I'm OK with that though.  The oft-quoted ... er... quote that the journey is the destination is very clearly defined by my path "of" (rather than "to") Progressive Education.

That said, I'm breaking out at least one of my bells and ringing it because I really feel Back!

It Only Took A Spark

It's been seven months since I last wrote words about education.  Seven long months of silence.

Despite appearances (or lack thereof) the fire had not died completely.  Under the ashes, there were embers that refused to die.  Couldn't die.  That fire was made of my essence - which itself, is greater than my personality or this life and it does not die.  So, it glowed.  And waited.  And kept me warm.

Then came a spark.  And some air.  Then more sparks.  And I felt the fire beginning to burn again.  An early starter fire, to be sure, but a fire nonetheless.  Complete with heat, light and sound effects.  I am ready to be ready to change the world again!

Amazingly, sometimes I am moved by my Spirit and my deep connection to the world around me - a generally positive motivation that comes from aspiration toward great things for humanity.  And sometimes.  Some times I am moved by my strong, immediate and forceful reaction to injustice.  The feeling that is a monolithic "This Cannot Be."

I see children being forgotten and left behind by the system and I think, This Cannot Be.
I see people hanging their child's every last hope and dreams on winning a lottery for a charter school and I think, This Cannot Be.
I see children being squashed, pressed - crushed by a system that does not care at all about them and I think, This Cannot Be.
I see parents struggling to put their children in a good school (in this case a "good school" is qualified by it's having basic amenities, moderate learner:teacher ratios and a variation-on-the-theme curriculum) and I know that This. Cannot. Be.

The spark meets fuel and the energy expands and becomes fire and I want to change how we do education ... again.

And soon all those around will warm up in it's glowing... I want to pass it on.

Slowing Down

It is official:  I have run out of steam.

This whole starting a school by myself business is taking it out of me and I am not sure how I can go on.

The Village School is certainly real: I can see it happening for our Bahamian children and families.  I just need some help, preferably in the form of another person who is willing to dedicate her life to this in the same way I have.

I simply cannot do this alone.

And so, I continue to sow the seeds one at a time whenever and wherever I can.  I must also take a moment to breathe.  As we say in The Bahamas - to catch myself.

Am I stopping?  No.  Just moving a little more slowly.

In the meantime, I hold the vision in my heart praying for help to come.

"Teacher said..."

I was having a conversation with my spirit sister and #1 supporter/fan the other day and she told me that she has been conducting an informal survey with the young people she meets (at her place of work) about what shapes their school experience.  She asks them what the key factor is in making their schooling a positive experience.

The Extra. Ordinary.

Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is a way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life. Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand. And make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care of itself.   

~ William Martin

And I'm not saying "There Is Only One Way"

You may be shocked to learn that I am an idealist.  (Take a moment to collect yourself.)

I wish I could pin it down and say THIS is the only way to do education.  But that's the problem we are having right now.

I am currently auditing a course offered by AERO called School Starting 101.  In the course I get to interact with people from around the U.S. and the world who are passionate about education reform and who are - you guessed it - starting schools.   Thanks to Jerry Mintz, founder of AERO, for facilitating such a tremendous opportunity!

Change I believe in.

Never doubt that a small group of citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.    ~Margaret Mead

I believe this.  I believe this with all my heart.  I also believe that a single person can change the world.
I have to believe it's possible because that's what keeps me going.  It's what keeps me talking to parents, putting myself out there, writing emails to the minister even after he has attempted to ignore me via dispensation of the pat answer; it's what keeps me writing this blog, un-schooling my children, continuously searching for a home for our school - it is the very fuel in my dream machine.