Boundaries of the Educational Imagination

184 pages

English

Boundaries of the Educational Imagination , livre ebook

African Minds - Wayne Hugo

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184 pages

English

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Publié par	African Minds
Date de parution	16 octobre 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781928331018
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Extrait

Boundarîes o the Educatîona ïmagînatîon

WAY N E H U G O

AFRïCAN MïNDS

Pubîshed în 2016 by Arîcan Mînds 4 Ecceston Pace, Somerset West, 7130, Cape Town, South Arîca îno@arîcanmînds.org.za www.arîcanmînds.org.za

CC2016 Wayne Hugo A contents o thîs document, uness specîIed otherwîse, are îcensed under a Creatîve Commons Attrîbutîon 4.0 ïnternatîona Lîcense

ïSBN 978-1-928331-01-8 Prînt 978-1-928331-02-5 Ebook 978-1-928331-03-2 ePub

ORDERS: Arîcan Mînds îno@arîcanmînds.org.za www.arîcanmînds.org.za For orders rom outsîde Arîca: Arîcan Books Coectîve PO Box 721, Oxord OX1 9EN, UK orders@arîcanbookscoectîve.com

Contents

ïntroductîon 1

Chapter 112A the schoos o the word

Chapter 2Unpackîng cassrooms 46

Chapter 3How the ‘braîn’ earns 66

Chapter 4101Chartîng the space between demons and anges

Chapter 5121Hîstory o the word în a chîd

Chapter 6140From one-word cassroom to one earnîng sequence

Chapter 7Concusîon: exercîsîng the educatîona îmagînatîon 156

Reerences 168

Endnotes 172

ADEA BRïCS HDï ïQ LEDC MEDC MîRTLE MïT MïT SACMEQ

TED UNE UNESCO

Abbreviations

Assocîatîon or the Deveopment o Educatîon în Arîca Brazî, Russîa, ïndîa, Chîna and South Arîca human deveopment îndex înteîgence quotîent ess economîcay deveoped countrîes more economîcay deveoped countrîes mîxed reaîty teachîng and earnîng envîronment Massachusetts ïnstîtute o Technoogy mutîpe înteîgence theory SouthernandEasternArîcanConsortîumorMonîtorîngEducatîon Quaîty Technoogy, Entertaînment, Desîgn Unîversîty o New Engand Unîted Natîons Economîc, Socîa and Cutura Organîsatîon

Introduction

The educatîona îmagînatîon îs not ree to wander and drît wîthout dîscîpîne. ït has to work wîth what îs specîIcay educatîona, earn to push îts boundarîes, twîst and eap wîthîn and beyond îts rues în ways that îumînate. There îs a dîscîpîne to the educatîona îmagînatîon and thîs book sets out to make expîcît îts buîdîng bocks and processes, as we as demonstrate ît în actîon. To stretch the educatîona îmagînatîon means Irst beîng abe to recognîse îts boundarîes. We can start întuîtîvey wîth a natura eve o ocus: a teacher wîth earners în a cassroom workîng through a esson. The probem îs that we quîcky Ind ourseves în a kînd o Russîan do sîtuatîon: dos wîthîn dos wîthîn dos. ït îs hard to work out what the bîggest and smaest dos shoud be and how they a reate în educatîona terms. The cassroom îs part o a schoo wîthîn a dîstrîct. Learners are în a grade: et’s take grade 6 as a mîdde poînt. A more compex grade awaîts them and a sîmper grade îs aready competed. They are în stages o deveopment wîth înteectua, înguîstîc, emotîona, mora, aesthetîc and physîca dîmensîons that are not necessarîy harmonîsed; and they îve wîthîn dîferent communîtîes revovîng around amîy and rîends. The teacher îs eîther stî înexperîenced în her specîaîsatîon, experîenced, or an expert carryîng a the traces o her own educatîona experîences. The esson has îts eementary components and îs a part o a arger subject currîcuum that îs sequenced or încreasîng compexîty. ït îs aso ocated în a day that has moved rom a prevîous esson towards another esson or break. At îts sîmpestthe Educatîona ïmagînatîonBoundarîes o asks you to contînuousy move between arger and smaer sets whîst ookîng or connectîons and înks. We can catch these eementary operatîons dîagrammatîcay. Dos wîthîn dos wîthîn dos (Igure î.1): the argest încudes the smaest. The educatîona îmagînatîon has to earn how to cîmb through these eves rom smaest to argest, rom concrete to abstract, rom partîcuar to genera, rom part to whoe.

Boundarîes o the Educatîona ïmagînatîon

Hierarchical

Fîgure î.1 ïncusîve hîerarchîca eves

Dos wîthîn dos wîthîn dos are înked together în compex patterns (Igure î.2). The educatîona îmagînatîon has to earn how to negotîate the dîferences and înter-reatîonshîps between dîferent systems.

Heterarchical Fîgure î.2 Dîferent sets o hîerarchîca eves connected together

The patterns sketched out above contînue to expand outwards, upwards, înwards and downwards. The schoo dîstrîct expands outwards to provînce, country, subcontînent and contînent; deveopîng or deveoped regîon; east or west, north or south; and on a goba scae. The schoo aso exîsts în a space that expands outwards to the suburb, communîty and ocaîty wîth a the compexîtîes o cass, race, gender and cuture attached. The teacher brîngs more than her growîng expertîse: she has networks that operate across the grades she teaches, the subjects she specîaîses în, the admînîstratîve and eadershîp roes she occupîes, and the proessîona bodîes to whîch she beongs. Her pedagogy îs a mîxture o deep habîts deveoped over her own engthy perîod în schoo as a earner, the practîces encouraged as she specîaîsed în the proessîon and the embedded tradîtîons o

Boundarîes o the Educatîona ïmagînatîon

the schoo where she teaches. Lessons are part o the currîcuum that îs a part o a subject dîscîpîne wîth experts workîng at the cuttîng edge producîng new knowedge that sowy makes îts way back to the esson în the uture. Goîng înwards we Ind that thought and anguage processes, and emotîona, mora and bodîy responses, break down înto eementary unîts that suddeny jump to physîca reactîons and down to the ways proteîns, ces, genes, moecues and atoms combîne în a renzîed hum that we cannot hear or see across and însîde teachers, earners, desks and chaîrs. The esson breaks down înto eementary meanîng unîts, actîon unîts, concept unîts and communîcatîon unîts. These are buît up rom smaer bîts that aso dîssove înto basîc etters, synapse and sound. The esson depends on more basîc skîs that go down and down înto ABCs and 123s and the essentîa habîts o the body. The sîmpe esson wîth îts teacher and earners îs a pusîng ocus o hîgher and ower orces, bîgger and smaer powers, onger and shorter rhythms that work sowy or quîcky în întense or muted ways across andscapes rîven wîth înequaîty stretchîng înto abstract heîghts and emotîona depth. How to îmagîne and descrîbe the smaest and argest dîmensîons o educatîon, as we as îts heîghts and depths, îs the centra task o thîs book. ït îs a about the deveopment o an educatîona îmagînatîon. To enabe thîs stretchîng, each chapter expands and contracts educatîon through sîx questîons:

1. What happens as we expand outwards rom the materîaîty o one schoo to the coectîve materîaîty o a the schoos o the word? 2. What happens when we sharpen our ocus towards the încreasîngy smaer materîa parts o a schoo, shîtîng rom schoo to cassroom to desks, chaîrs and teachîng and earnîng equîpment? 3. What happens when we ocus on the smaest unctîona earnîng components însîde the body o an îndîvîdua student? 4. What happens when we ocus on the înterna heîghts o deveopment an îndîvîdua student can reach on a earnîng path? 5. What happens when we ocus on the coectîve heîghts our human specîes can reach on an educatîon deveopment path? 6. What happens î we ocus on the smaest components o earnîng and ask how these combîne to produce încreasîngy arger sets o knowedge?

Boundarîes o the Educatîona ïmagînatîonstarts of by takîng one schoo and then addîng more and more to the story untî we reach a the schoos o the word. Thîs works by takîng an aready exîstîng whoe (a schoo) and then addîng to ît more and more whoes îke ît untî a compete set o a the schoos o the word îs reached. The basîc ogîc can be vîsuaîsed as expandîng sets growîng ever arger, rom one schoo, to schoos în a ward, wards în a dîstrîcts, dîstrîcts în a provînce, provînces în a country, countrîes în a regîon, regîons în the word. Fîgure î.3 catches the Irst our eves.

One school

Boundarîes o the Educatîona ïmagînatîon

Ward

Province District

Fîgure î.3 From one schoo outwards to a schoos

Second, we ocus on one schoo and take a ook însîde ît at îts parts (Igure î.4).

School

Class

Chair Desk

Fîgure î.4 From schoo to cass to desks and chaîrs The Irst two chapters expore the coectîve materîaîty o schooîng în tîme and space. One way to understand what they are about îs to îmagîne a hîghy înteîgent aîen studyîng our educatîona system rom above. We can ca the aîen ‘Tau’. Tau, From hîr (hîs and her) spaceshîp, Tau can îdentîy and track a the schoos o the word as we as the human beîngs enterîng and eavîng schoos, but cannot come down and întervîew or probe us (athough occasîonay Tau does înduge.) What woud Tau be abe to say about schooîng on Earth watchîng rom above, day ater day, year ater year, century ater century? What woud Tau make o the mîîons o schoos that suddeny mushroomed a over our panet, o the dîferent kînds o schoos în more deveoped and ess deveoped countrîes; how we treat so many chîdren who are not whîte, how we separate out those wîth

Boundarîes o the Educatîona ïmagînatîon

ong haîr and those wîth short haîr? The Irst two chapters dea wîth the vîsîbe mass appearance o schooîng on our panet; the materîa coectîve efort o the way we educate ourseves (Igure î.5).

Schools of the world

M A T E R I A L

C O L L E C T I V E

Fîgure î.5 The coectîve/materîa dîmensîon o educatîona processes

The thîrd chapter shîts ocus rom the materîa coectîve o schooîng to the materîaîty o the îndîvîdua student paced însîde thîs massîve efort. We shît rom the smaest unctîona eements o a schoo (îts chaîrs, desks and earnîng equîpment îke paper) to a earner sîttîng on one o the chaîrs and ask: what îs the smaest materîa workîng unît o earnîng însîde the earner’s body? Thîs takes us înto the braîn and the way ît întersects wîth student earnîng. There îs a dîference between the îbres o paper în a schoobook and îbres în the braîn. Thîs sîgnas a radîca shît rom desks and chaîrs însîde the coectîve materîaîty o schoos to the îndîvîdua materîaîty o a student însîde schoo (Igure î.6). ït’s a massîve jump înto a competey dîferent word, athough each touches the other wîth the earner sîttîng însîde a cassroom, at a desk, wrîtîng an answer to a questîon wîth a pen. ït îs hard to track the smaest materîa earnîng unît însîde human beîngs. We have an înterîor însîde us that îs very dîferent rom the înterîor spaces o a schoo buîdîng. We have both a physîca înterîor that îs about our braîns, neurons and synapses; and a menta înterîor that îs about our mînds wîth theîr thoughts, emotîons and wî. When we ocus on the îndîvîdua materîaîty o a student, ît îs hard to separate the meat o the braîn rom the aîveness o îts unctîonîng and that îs why we use the word embodîed. Workîng memory îs our educatîona startîng poînt here and the thîrd chapter tracks how îts îmîted capacîty, deaîng wîth around our eements at any gîven tîme, stî aows or a massîve expansîon o earnîng însîde us. Educatîon does not exîst ony to make us ratîona and productîve cîtîzens, but ît has means, at îts hîghest eves, to teach us how to reach the peaks o înterîor human experîence. Our educatîona îmagînatîon cannot stop at the end o unîversîty, but has to pursue what we are at our very best and what educatîon can do to enabe thîs transcendence deep wîthîn our îndîvîdua beîngs.