Learning

I don’t know when I began being fascinated by language.  I can’t remember not being curious about it.  Etymologies can even be funny.  Diminishing tense forms are intriguing.  And why does American English insist that simple verbs need prepositions to make them real?  “Please finish up your work before you leave?”  Like that.  Certain urbanisms thrive despite the curious images they provoke; “He was over her house.”  Like a helicopter?

In any case, this leads me to the proposition that what language we choose to label something predisposes us to regard it in ways that might not be terribly reasonable and practicable.  It can prejudice our thinking so much that our efforts at positive and constructive efforts actually work the opposite effect.  We definitely have made this mistake with the word “education.”

“Education” represents the interests of the provider or producer, as in “We want to provide education for every child.” (No Child Left Behind)  One high school I know of puts a techno-spin on their slogan: “We work each day to make our students college ready.” (as in “cable ready” TVs)  All of these catch-phrase concepts originate in the providing sphere, education departments and educational leadership programs.  They are articulating theories as proposed remedies.  They are all about education and educators. They are not about learners and learning.  They are about telling and not about listening and observing.

Classrooms, lecture halls and labs are tough places.  In the traditional procedure (educational), the leader (teacher/professor) provides stuff, which someone has determined is what a follower (student) needs.  Right there is what makes it tough.  Traditionally, because time is not on our side, we jam all this stuff (curricula) into this funnel and consider its value in terms of who gets it best, better and not at all.  When the educational “system” works poorly, we question the system but not whether an educational system, or any system, is the reasonable and practicable approach.

We need to concentrate on LEARNING.   Are people engaged in learning?  They need to learn survival skills, yes, but beyond that will they learn things that will inspire them to continue learning, will they discover something about curiosity that becomes their personal way of learning that will lead them in a satisfying direction to respect the idea of becoming a lifetime learner and making them feel better about their lives in their community and country?  Is being an auto technician any less fulfilling than being an actuarial manager? (The high school cited above has quit all of its shop classes.)  The two examples I cited above illustrate how education creates boxes, the prescriptive NCLB box and the college degree box. We all know people who have BAs, MSs and PhDs, boxes called “degrees” that have rendered those people incurious, because they have that job that they hoped for while they were grueling through their education.  A box by any other name…  And we all know how top down prescriptions make everyone feel lousy.  So let’s replace the Department of Education with the Department of Learning.  Let’s think of each other less as educated and more as learners.