Just a small-town girl
I grew up somewhat poor in a small town with a strong sense of community and family. When I entered school, I was quickly labeled gifted. It was the mid-eighties, and well-intended self-esteem culture ruled the day. I was constantly told how smart I was and how well I followed directions. I lived for those moments. However, when I was corrected for inappropriate behavior or when I received a sub-par grade, I felt an intense sense of shame. In one particular instance, a teacher shamed me to the point that I spent my entire recess by myself on the tire swing crying. That memory is so vivid that I remember what I was wearing – a purple Alaska t-shirt with walruses on it and a pair of acid-washed jeans with a post-manufacture hole in the knee.
Welcome to the real world
While I did go through some rebellious phases, my behavior was overall lauded. I learned how to fit into the mold. My grades in middle and high school were such that I easily got into Michigan State University. Moving from such a small town to a large university was a culture shock. I was no longer “one of the smart kids,” rather I was one of 45,000 students. Also, I had no clue how to learn, study, or manage my time.
Take my introduction chemistry class for example. I skipped the lecture-style class half of the time. There were 600 kids in the class and I knew that the professor wasn’t taking attendance. I barely cracked the book and cheated my way through the homework. Meanwhile, I was surprised when I failed my first test. I remember holding the test and crying in the elevator back up to my dorm room.
Just another brick in the wall
Because I was “smart” – or rather, good at playing the game – I figured out how to fit into the mold at Michigan State, too. In my education classes, I learned about how to learn and quickly applied those concepts to other coursework. And just like a good little cog, I graduated and entered the workforce.
What is the purpose of school?
The current purpose of school really can’t be separated from the original purpose of school. According to Seth Godin (2012), schools, as they exist now, are products of the Industrial Age. You see, there weren’t enough workers for the age of mass production. “Not enough people were willing to move off of the farms and do what they were told” (Godin, 2012). If industries could get more workers, they could pay them less and make more profit. We can also apply this concept to consumption. Industry wanted to train us to buy stuff, to fit in, and become consumers so that we would buy all of the stuff they made (Godin, 2012). Enter “high school for everyone.” Students go into the school as young, moldable minds. Then, the system uses routine, grades, and standardization in an attempt to create minions molded to fit into careers. These careers support the system as it is, capitalism, consumption, and the cycle of “stuff.”
The problem is, people aren’t mass-manufactured products.
Humans are complex. They have unique genetics, experiences, and complex minds. And, “although the teacher may help his student in many ways, it is the student himself who must do the learning. Knowledge must grow in his mind if learning is to take place” (Adler & Van Doren, 1972, p. 11). While the attempt to mass-produce humans to fit a societal mold has worked for a select few, in the long-term it is not sustainable for either humankind or for the planet.
Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash
Enter technology: “Now we don’t need a human in front of us to teach us to do something” (Godin, 2012). Once COVID hit, I could see technology as the springboard for meaningful educational change. I started using videos to engage with students. That video creation pushed my career forward – now I’m part of the Digital Learning team in GCISD. When I discovered the ADL program I thought, “This sounds perfect!” I was excited to ride the wave of technology into the future. What I expected was school as I have experienced it before. What I’m learning is how to change the world.
Connecting the dots
What is Applied Digital Learning at Lamar University? With constructivist theory at its base, the ADL program seeks to “create a significant learning environment by giving learners choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning experiences” (Harapnuik, 2021) According to constructivist theory, “effective learning is an active process in which the learner takes responsibility for making meaningful connections. The teacher guides the learner in making those connections through the creation of a significant learning environment” (Harapnuik, 2021). How have our professors applied these concepts to revolutionalize learning?
Walk the Talk
My learning has been revolutionalized through extensive metacognition. As I learn concepts on educational change, I directly apply them to my work. I chose the focus – Paperless Office, Paperless District. I also get to choose how I demonstrate my learning – read more about my journey with WordPress! Finally, collaboration is a necessity. I rarely go a day without chatting with teammates or reviewing the discussion boards. Technology is but the vehicle for my learning. This is probably the most difficult, fulfilling work I have ever done in my life. It is uncomfortable because it is so different from what I expected and know about schooling.
It is rewarding because the concepts we are connecting aren’t just “facts.” Rather we are completing meaningful projects that could make real, significant changes in the world.
How do you eat an elephant?
The COVA model could work toward fixing the issues identified with traditional models of teaching and learning. How can move forward with this change? I can see it. I can taste it. But do I have the patience and strength to make this change? These ideas aren’t new, but they are big and would require significant systemic change. Michael Fullan (2014) suggests “moving toward the danger” on your own terms. He refers to the delicate push-pull balance between the psychology of the system Industrialism created and the promise of technology. Giovanni Corazza (2014) suggests spurts of thinking outside of the box. He states that, “a quick jump out of the box is more insightful than a lifetime of standard thinking” (Corazza, 2014). In other words, you eat an elephant one bite at a time.
Day Two
Thinking about it overwhelms me to a degree that I can’t express here. I just want to change it all now! Quickly! I recognize that it’s because we are in the messy middle. Dr. Brené Brown (2020) calls this “Day Two” or “The Messy Middle.” She likens the messy middle to Act Two in any hero’s journey. During Act Two, the protagonist tries to find, “every comfortable way to solve the problem, every easy way to solve the problem, and every way to solve the problem that does not require hero’s vulnerability” (Brown, 2020). Only when the hero reaches the “lowest of the low do they realize that they can’t solve the problem without vulnerability” (Brown, 2020).
Image from https://conorneill.com/.
Right now, we are on Day Two with so many world issues; education is just one of them. In other words, to change the problem that is school, we must work through the messy middle. We must get vulnerable. We must apply the concepts of constructivist learning through COVA + CSLE if we truly want to prepare our students for a future that doesn’t yet exist. And we must move forward with authenticity and humanity.
Only then will we be able to eat that elephant.
One bite at a time.
References
Adler, M. J., & Van Doren, C. (1972). How to read a book (C. Van Doren, Ed.). Touchstone.
Brown, B. (2020, September 2). Brené on Day 2 – Brené Brown. Brene Brown. Retrieved February 20, 2022, from https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-on-day-2/
Corazza, G. (2014, March 11). Creative thinking – how to get out of the box and generate ideas: Giovanni Corazza at TEDxRoma. YouTube. Retrieved February 20, 2022, from https://youtu.be/bEusrD8g-dM
Fullan, M. (2014, January 20). Michael Fullan: Technology, the new pedagogy and flipped teaching. YouTube. Retrieved February 20, 2022, from https://youtu.be/GCvwtiOH0co
Godin, S. (2012, October 16). STOP STEALING DREAMS: Seth Godin at TEDxYouth@BFS. YouTube. Retrieved February 20, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXpbONjV1Jc
Harapnuik, D. (2021, January 8). Applied Digital Learning. It’s About Learning. Retrieved February 20, 2022, from https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=8517
Harapnuik, D. (2021, August 16). What to Expect from the ADL. It’s About Learning. Retrieved February 20, 2022, from https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=8524