LIFE LONG LEARNING
I don't know exactly when I realized that by teaching I am always learning. When I look back on my life so far, I can see that my greatest successes have been in this role of teacher/learner. My role models are, for the most part, teachers. These teachers have a love of learning in common, a passion, a joy and an open-hearted spirit of invitation to feast and revel in the world of education. I want to continue this torch-bearing tradition, helping to light the way to future educators and to all of the learners along the way. I hope that by clearly communicating the process that I am experiencing, that others may be inspired to life long learning.
TRANSFORMATION
Of the three meta-orientations, transmission, transaction and transformation, I am most drawn to transformation. In my studies at OISE/UT, I find like-minded colleagues in holistic studies which reflect the transformation position. I have drawn from my own experiences in my work as an educator. In realizing my own inner potential and moving towards higher levels of functioning, I have been able to lead others along the same path.
COMMUNICATION
In theatre history, we learn the idea of early drama likely developed around the campfire with the hunter recreating his adventures. The stories we tell one another have been dressed up in many guises through the centuries. We have moved from the cave to the classroom, from the amphitheatre to the movie and television screens and the television monitor. Time after time, we are reminded that beyond the spectacle the participants respond best when the stories respond to our needs as human beings.
TRANSFORMATION IN PRACTICE
Miller and Seller describe humanistic programs as being based on assumptions "which, in part, reflect the influence of humanistic psychology."(Miller and Seller 1990) They go on to list these assumptions - realization of positive inner potential, self-directed learning abilities, need for a value system, importance of developing a positive self-concept, interrelated cognitive, affective and psychomotor development levels, teachers as facilitators, validity of student concerns and the importance of self-evaluation. These are the ideas that I seek to implement in my classroom with my students. I embrace the transpersonal orientation using my intuition, viewing learners holistically, encouraging self-inquiry, insight for myself and my students.
DEALING WITH CHANGE
Presumably, every generation believes that they are undergoing
the most monumental changes and challenges. Certainly, we who approach the
changing of the millinium claim this distinction. The transformation
position focuses on social change. Strategies like the nuclear
problem-solving process can prepare us to deal with constantly demanding
life situations. Story telling, creative drama, multimedia, presentation
skills, facility with the world wide web are all forms of creative
problem-solving. All depend on clear communication for effectiveness in
learning and interacting with the world around us.
CONCLUSION
Travelling the road of discovery - the internet highway, armed with the
ideas that have been developed as part of the holistic and
transformation-meta orientation to curriculum. I find that I am in
concert with the ideas that flow from these concepts. Miller and Sellers
list assumptions of humanistic programs. They include:
I am engaged in a deliberative process in creating my own curriculum. My
co-deliberators in a sense are my learners. As I study the criteria for
holistic education, I feel I do not sidestep the need for competency but
enlarge that tiny kingdom for a much larger realm in which my students and
I can flourish. And it is important that I also flourish. "The teacher's
wholeness also cannot be ignored. The personal growth of the teacher is
central to the holistic curriculum". (Miller 93).
I am finding evidence of my students' growth both in the classroom and
in their feedback. This in turn sparks my growth as a teacher. "In a
sense the teacher is an on-the-spot researcher who must be ready with new
methods based on an intuitive sense of what is appropriate for the
student that he or she is dealing with." I have long been an intuitive
teacher and now, thrive to find that there is a fund of knowledge with
integrity that supports this approach. I would encourage any educator to
investigate and explore the transformation meta-orientation as it may
apply to their curriculum.