God Particle & Education

Welcome back dear readers one or many.  It has been too long since I've put energy into this wild and crazy blog about my recipe for education.  Gotta love a blah blah blog for this!


Remember my proposal: "Variables Thinking" across K-12 and across disciplines.  Students routinely reflect, analyze, play and act on their understanding of the various moving parts in a situation.  They learn that all problems have aspects and elements that interact and that figuring the right balance is key.  They learn this skill is transferable between disciplines and types of challenges.

Great... but what else might be missing from schools?



I think it is the "GOD PARTICLE"  (or GOD DAMN PARTICLE if you prefer.)  The finding of the particle that attracts matter and is the beginning of everything seems an apt metaphor for what our schools are trying to find.  More than ever educators are redefining what matters in teaching and learning and doing their best to find meaning, define and build curriculum that "gets the job done."


At this stage, having a GOD PARTICLE to organize curricular vision is needed. 
And what should this GOD PARTICLE look like or be?

I think every school should take the time to define that vision in 3 words, and then make a promise to their community that they will make these three words real and realized.

Creativity, Communication, Curiosity
Reflective, Resourceful, Responsible
Innovative, Interconnected, Interesting
Leadership, Life Affirming, Persistant
Technological, Inclusive, Global


What I think is most interesting about this is the process teachers and administration (and possibly students too) would go through to reach consensus.  Herein perhaps lies the real "goods" of this proposal.

Thanks for reading!
-Lisa B

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/story/2012-07-05/Higgs-boson-explanation-particle-physics/56045722/1

Q: What does it do?

A: Simply put, the Higgs particle interacts with other subatomic particles that are building blocks of atoms in a way that slows them down. It's the reason that matter in the universe has mass. Mass gives the particles inertia, or resistance to being moved faster.

Q: What is a simple analogy that describes this effect?

A: Compare Higgs bosons to groupies mobbing a celebrity. The other particles are the celebrities, desperately trying to move but slowed by autograph-seekers. Higgs bosons don't have pens, but the attention they give to the other particles slows them, creating inertia.

John Dewey said it all!

Welcome!

Yes, it is true, I’m old news:  John Dewey addressed the tenets behind the classroom practice I am advocating for here.  Emotional security, the idea of teaching and learning as communication, the idea of exchange between teacher and learner rather than the “sage” to “sponge” pattern.  In Dewey’s mind this associative reflecting and communicating were the underpinnings of Democracy.   It is uncanny as I discover (or rediscover?) this great thinker how many of his ideas are 100% aligned with my own.  He seems to be pro discussion and debate, pro rigorous thought and allowing all thought to be valued, he seems to be a true problem solver and considered problem solving itself a life purpose.  Later he dismisses much philosophical thought as being built on a false premise that separated “mind” from “reality”...they are inseparable to his thinking.  Reminds me of the time a physics teacher told me “color exists in the brain”… I thought to myself…. And what doesn’t exist in the brain?  Dewey discusses relevance - “the problems of men” versus “the problems of philosophers.”  In the end, social progress and Democracy seem to be the true concerns of John Dewey.  His educational philosophy, particularly his positing the importance of deep reflection, was an essential part of that larger view.

But hardly anyone I’ve asked of late can say with any certainty that they know of or understand his work.  Is my job to become a Dewey scholar and lecture?  Or is my job to do my own rigorous thinking and allow my students to do theirs… and to work at communicating - what is relevant and important in a two-way or ten-way or however many minds are in the room-way fashion?

 

Would John Dewey be proud of the classroom tone found in “Race to Nowhere” or would he be horrified, probably seeing the collapse of our Democracy unfold before his eyes.

The trick of the teacher is to keep the agile young minds developing their own points of view, curiosities and inquiries, while keeping roughly on task.  (Whole post on TASK later.)

There is a term I heard recently in education circles- “working knowledge.”  It is a tricky one because it requires the ability to apply knowledge to new and unique situations.  Rigorous reflection is an undeniable part of this process.  Rigorous reflection is also essential to developing communication skills.  “Say it in your own words.”  This could be a John Dewey mantra.  Is there time in the classroom for each student?  This depends on whether “saying it in your own words” is valued.  It depends on the comfort level of the teacher to be a “guide on the side.”

Rigorous thought, which requires freedom, emotional safety (respect) and tolerance, is the underpinning of meaning making. Without it we may as well be in a different kind of society all together.

Bless you John Dewey!  And bless the teachers who create opportunities in their classrooms that would make you proud.

Thanks for reading. -L 

More soon on carving out a more succinct definition of “Variables Thinking.”  And more soon on how reflective thought can actually look in a classroom....& why it is not only practical but also pragmatic.  ( I'm simmering too some posts on the radical subjectivity created by the info age and the www  which also speak to a need for more sharing especially amongst adolescents.)

Variables Thinking- an intro!

Welcome!
Have you ever said ... "there are so many variables"  or "the problem has so many variables it is difficult to understand"... or "I'm not sure we are looking at all the moving parts here" or even "I can't begin to tease out the factors to decide what needs to change.."

If any of these thoughts has crossed your mind in any context perhaps you will be interested in my project-  VARIABLES THINKING- a skill for life.

The project came to me as an artist and educator, or I should say the project bubbled up in me through years of painting and teaching (and learning about teaching and learning.)  It was difficult not to notice a major critique of our education system- regarding the lack of critical thinking skills and teamwork skills of America's high school and college graduates.  

It has been difficult not to notice that we are a culture that hasn't taken the time to teach "how to think, and how to consider all the variables- in any given situation."

This blog will be about thinking and it will parlay/follow my journey toward creating a K-12 (Kindergarten through 12th grade) curriculum throughline.  I will explain throughlines in my next post and I will pace myself as a blogger so as not to bore, overwhelm or simply go on too long.  

But for now just think of this blog as a work in progress.  By the end it may chronicle the making of a right brained piece of curriculum that empowers teachers and students to step back and take time to think conceptually, see connections between disciplines and subjects and problems.... or it may meander through an ineffable desire to make teaching and learning richer, broader and more universal without accomplishing this goal.  We will see and I do plan to enjoy the ride!

-thanks for reading (more soon) L