"Practice what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know"
Rembrandt Van Rijn
When we began today, I brought up the video we saw in our last class on Gabriel Orozco. I wondered aloud whether any of the students noticed anything peculiar about him as he worked on his various artistic endeavors? What I noticed was that he was extremely focused and heavily concentrated on his actions while he was creating. He wasn't just standing on a corner, talking with friends with his camera pointed out into the street snapping pictures. Of course, the analogy of this sarcastic bit of dialogue was to emphasize this need to focus and concentrate on our work here in the room and not think that our work will turn out just as well if we play at it while sitting and talking to our friends. The title of this blog, "then MASTERY", refers to that second factor in the concept of intrinsic motivation. The FIRST is AUTONOMY. I have provided that factor in spades. The students have had all the autonomy one could possibly have, save being able to stay home and not come to school at all.
The idea of mastery is simply that it is a PURSUIT, not an end in itself.Those that are serious about learning know that they will never achieve this idea of mastery, but as they spend their lives pursuing it, they become the artist they hope to be. This concept is universal and can be applied to every area of learning. I think that using the term PRACTICE as it applies to the medical and law professions is probably the most appropriate. I think that we need to apply this idea to the profession of teaching as well. We use the term "practice teaching" when we are first leaning about the profession while still in college. I guess after that we NOW are masters and know it all. Maybe that's why some teachers who have been in the classroom for 25 years have really only taught one year 25X in a row. Maybe it isn't surprising to see teachers who have been "spoon fed" their education spoon feeding their students in the same way. I believe that for our educational system to ever get on the right track, some of us need to break away from this mode of operation and re-invent our methods, re-think our goals, and modify the process.
So, what do YOU think?
2 comments:
I love this picture. It reminds me of one that was in our familyroom growing up, with blues and yellows.
you are right...when I was working on my masters I did some water color paintings of water droplets and bubbles with highly reflective areas...i had forgotten about them...good for you...
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