Blog Three. Teaching and Learning.
Notions:
Learning is a blend of Science and Art.
Socrates, a Greek philosopher from 300 BC, believed that knowledge was best built through conversation, thus is considered to be the founder of “rational inquiry.” Currently, in education, we participate in what is known as the “Socratic seminar.” This engagement strategy that supports learners by allowing them to process together new pieces of information, and build on each others ideas, questions, and statements. If we were to zoom out and apply this “to the real world,” this could look like people sitting at the dinner table, having a conversation about something they experienced through the day, and having each other to get ideas from, soundboard hypothetical resolutions, and gain encouragement from others to go and resolve the problem when the time comes. The tone is kind, the vibe is non-judgmental, and ultimately, everyone learns something from kitchen table talk. This is the dream; however, most likely not the reality.
Systems we’ve found ourselves in similar to the kitchen table example might be “we don't talk about politics, who we vote for, or our money.” Most likely because they cause conflict, allowing people to feel personally attacked, therefor raising the “temperature,” causing outbursts, and personal attacks on people, rather than their actions. These interactions create fear, isolation, and ultimately sexist felons to become the president. Political statements aside, I think this describes a scene in which we either avoid talking about root problems we are experiencing, altering our ability to connect with our family.
I bring up the dinner time conversations because we can generally “sense,” a families connection by the way in which we eat dinner, and what we talk about through it. By this point in our lives, we’ve lived away from our parents, and have had opportunities to dine with others. As we’ve grown, we’ve come back with our parents and siblings for a meal or two with life experiences to share what we’ve learned along the way. As a reader, I believe in your power to have the courage to have the conversations with your family and friends about your experiences, to share what you know, and to kindly correct misinformation. These kitchen table conversations are where real world learning happens, and where we have major influence. This is the ground work advocacy, and its in these conversations that we can tell our skeptical family members about the dangers of stigmas and bias, we can tell them how politicians are taking away rights and services that support underprivileged people in our communities, we can tell them that counseling doesn't have to just happen “if something is wrong,” we can tell them that it’s okay to feel our feelings.
Learning is a blend of science and art because there are systems on how to teach and learn, but the art comes when we do it intuitively with care, and of personal interest to those who are called to learn the lessons. As a teacher I was often reminded “connection over content.” Even though I knew teaching “the effects of alcohol on the brain” is an important lesson in understanding why alcohol is so detrimental to our personal growth, I knew the students wouldn’t be attentive enough during the planned lesson if they didn't have a reason to be connected at the beginning. In turn, we can’t just bring up the fallacies of the worlds in which our family member might be living, we have to make connection with them, validate who they are and what they’re feeling, and then show them the truth and allow them to process the new truth in a safe place. We are their safe place.
Nature:
Our job as a “human beings,” is to be with one another. Through the changes, through the turmoil, and the success. We come from many paths, but generally we have similar problems, ones that we can help each other through, and it becomes easier through common language and understanding. When truthful information can flow from one another's experiences, deep conversations become the norm, and “small talk,” is almost eliminated because talking deeply to others becomes addictive. We want those meaningful comments, perspectives and helpful tips from those near us. Our brains become enriched with with answers, support, and connection. We feel seen, and cared for. We can do this for ourselves, and we can do this for others.
How do we know what’s true, and positive, something that’s worth our time and energy?
Our intuition knows. “But Jess, how do we know?!” If we place a new title of our sense of “Self,” onto our intuition, it has a place within our body to recognize a sensation of feeling safe and supported. Think back to times where you had a “sense,” that something was going to happen (or not happen), we can clock that to our inner Self telling us to choose to act, or not act based on this “feeling.” When we slow down enough to get in tune with our senses, we can recognize truth and choose actions that support a positive future. With education and knowledge, our minds expand and there becomes more to our world. Each day becomes unique, topics to talk about become more in depth, and in turn our lives become more meaningful. We live in a culture where we are self-medicating to escape feeling uncomfortable, we grab our phone and scroll, we drink alcohol, or hit a vape pen to distract us from confronting adversity, failure, fear or frustration.
My call to action is for us to gain control of the disconnection, feel our feelings, understand where they come from, and choose regenerative actions that support the health of our future. I believe in our ability to handle big changes for the better, for our future, and next generations beyond. This work his hard. This work is worth it. You are worth it.
How we do this is to connect our mind to our body and “upload,” a system for thinking. This system is “N.R.G.” It’s to Notice, Realign, and to Go. It’s starting with an open mind, it’s being willing to accept new truths, or see truths deeper than before, it’s updating values and recognizing that we are supposed to change and grow. If our bodies get new cells every 7 years, our thinking patterns should be updated as well.
Forever in Gratitude,
Jess.
