The Shape of the Landscape
A
classroom: four walls, a door, seats and tables. Enclosed, yet infinite.
Protected from the elements, but open to the barrage of information and data
available, to the world at large. Sifting through this assortment, of facts and
inferences, opinions and viewpoints, can be a challenge. But, with a solid
foundation, of the learning environment, the framework, to tackle this
bombardment, will be in place. In place, to organize and dismantle the mound. There is no
new knowledge, unavailable to students on Google, it is the interpretation and
analysis that is important. This skill, students acquire, through collaboration
and community, within a well-designed, student-driven classroom. The clarity of
vision, sharpness of contrast and translucence, imagery and discovery, bring
a sharpness, to this acquisition. The curve and cleanliness of the glass, through which students
gaze, makes all the difference.
Curved Surface
A
curved aperture creates a breach, an opening in which new processes and ways of
thinking can be acquired. When we as teachers, provide strategies such as, summarizing
and annotation, this helps students narrow their focus. We have to give our
students methods of soothsaying- getting to the truth, recognizing falsities
and tricks in the information, they are reading every day. What is real? What
is ‘fake news’? What is fact? What is opinion? Most importantly, how can they,
as learners, decipher and distinguish, for themselves, what they see and
believe, from what others are trying, to get them to think. The best thing we
can do as educators, is to let our students, think for themselves. To give them
opportunities, to analyze primary sources, listen to debates and debate
themselves. Once they get comfortable, with the skill of argument, they will be
able to tackle any confusing content, they may come across. They will be able
to look through the myriad of interpretation and depiction and design their own
schema, their own map of awareness and wisdom. So how do we do this?
Flat surface
Wash
and shine, a smooth, clear, porthole, from which they can visualize and
understand the world. Open up our classrooms with skylights and fenestra’s. By
peeling back the layers of doubt and distraction and opening that porthole, up
into a huge orifice, from which they can see angles and trajectory, circuits
and parallels. As educators, we can’t fear alternative points of view, as much
as we may disagree with them. Students need to hear and analyze, even the most
unpleasant of counter-arguments. It is our strength as teachers, that we recognize
these alternatives and discuss them, allowing our students to see every side,
of the discourse. True understanding comes not from words or action, but
purposeful, focused, open dialogue. When we as humans, can see eye to eye, look
beyond the glass, see the landscape from a different perspective, is when
change of thought and perspective occurs. Our knowledge may come directly, from
seeing through the windshield, the forward panorama, but our objectivity,
relativity and context comes from those side windows that shape our peripheral vision.
Together, with our rear-view angle, we get a more complex and precise image of
the world. Without a driver’s license, one may miss this speculum. As
passengers, we tend to look, in only one direction, forward. While our
passengers tend to look at the scenic view, from the side. Our job as driver, is
to help our passengers, students, to see the world from every angle, to welcome
each impression, as another piece of the puzzle.
Range of View
Our
range of view is limited by our experience. We interpret the situations around
us, in the only way we know how. The more we expand this dimension, the deeper
we feel for it. When we create a bird’s eye view, a wide lens from which we
interpret our surroundings, rather than a scenic one, we step outside of our
comfort zone. The comfort zone, we construct to allow us, to stay warm and
safe. The prospect of journeying outside of it, can be daunting for some. But
we as teachers, have to guide them out. Lead them away from the enclosure. We
need to clean the glass, so through the shininess and clarion, they find truth
and meaning for themselves. In my next post, I will share some strategies I
use, to do just that. Get my students, out of the car, and into nature,
exploring and discovering more, about what makes the world tick.
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