Part 1
In our education system here in Cymru, do we stand at a crossroads or at a precipice? Given the reality of the Cardiff Bay Bubble induced glossy shine on everything Curriculum for Wales and the trumpet fanfare of innovation and revival usually reserved for spiritual awakenings in the Land of our Fathers, it seems a very relevant and apt time to test and prove such matters in an arena void of spin, shine and self-promotion and focus on truth, knowledge and wisdom. We need to mine the deep seams of our history, culture, intentions, experience, passions and purpose if we are to choose the right path and not head blindly over the cliff-edge and perpetuate yet another generational cycle of simply being victims of the data driven pac-man who likes nothing more than consuming everything and running when the going gets tough. I'm sure we can all relate to the data whip used to enable micro-management much of our current system, and if not, you're one of the lucky ones.
The framework is set and regardless of how we arrived at it, what we do next is the most critical and challenging part of the whole endeavour. In considering the 4 Purposes of Curriculum for Wales, it's difficult not to find deep reason and truth within them and we obviously want all our young people and citizens to be
- ambitious, capable learners
- ethical, informed citizens
- healthy, confident individuals
- enterprising, creative contributors
However, it's important so see these as four aspects of one whole individual and not see them as four separate aspects in isolation. They're interlinked, interlocked, co-dependant and symbiotic.
I was recently reminded of the term The GAIA Principle in a recent Twitter discussion, which reminded me of being a young eco-warrior back in the day and boring everyone with my rantings about an overarching design that holds the earth in check and balance. In this model no one thing is more or less important than another because all things play their part in achieving the optimum conditions for life to thrive and any imbalance usually causes problems in another part of the system because everything is interlinked, co-dependant and symbiotic. The GAIA Principle is the actions of the earth to monitor and establish a balance of all things; a living and responsive system which seeks to sustain the optimum conditions for life and growth.
It was from these heady days that I recalled the term ‘permaculture’ which is surely rooted deep within The GAIA Principle. Here is the Wiki definition,:
Permaculture is a set of design principles centred on whole systems thinking, simulating, or directly utilizing the patterns and resilient features observed in natural ecosystems. It uses these principles in a growing number of fields from regenerative agriculture, rewilding, and community resilience.
What is striking is the obvious link between the 4 Purposes and Permaculture and why I feel it is time for a ‘PermaLearner Cymru’ movement as we move into the next stage of the grand reform.
'Regenerative agriculture' > 'Regenerative politics'
If we are going to realise the ambitious aims of the new curriculum, we cannot ignore needing a set of design principles centred on whole system thinking where we as educators simulate patterns and the resilient features observed in the natural learning process. We need to use these principles to regenerate aspirations, create thinkers and grow a community that is able to respond effectively to the challenges it faces and sustain the optimum balance for our young people and society to thrive without succumbing to fads and myths that have polluted the system because the data monster has forced leaders to clutch at anything to show impact.
Take a humble flower seed! This seed contains all the potential of becoming ripe and fulfilling its purpose within the system. However, there are many factors that contribute to its success or failure. Of course, in the wild, we would observe the position the seed fell and then take into account things like timing, light, moisture, wind and the nutrition/composition of the soil in order to witness how this seed firstly germinates, puts out its roots and the subsequent first venture into the air. Unseen are a huge range of chemical changes and unravelling of DNA that is already coded within the seed, past from one generation to the next. Thus the small and seemingly unimportant flora and fauna create a vital function within the wider ecosystem and contribute to both the local climate and broader climate en mass.
Trying to replicate this natural system in a new habitat is not a simple matter of planting the seed and hoping/expecting success and then when failing forcing it to grow by constantly telling it it’s not doing its job properly or its not good enough to succeed. For this new growth to take hold in a new environment/habitat, it takes knowledge and patience. This knowledge would usually be gathered through observation, trial and error and provide experience and develop skills through the success and failure during the process. On the other hand, this knowledge might be gathered through observing others at work through sharing of their experience, imparting the information and analysing outcomes together. The latter is surely more efficient than the first, although the former would continue with the developing experience of putting the shared knowledge into practice. In the end, success will come through purposeful observation, gaining additional knowledge and using that knowledge to keep improving on the outcomes with calculated adaptations trialled to realise the desired improvements.
Success is measured through things such as the quality of the flower - height, blossom, colour vibrancy to attract bees, its fruit and seed or whatever its purpose is within the system. Every individual petal is a vital part of the smaller cog working within the greater cog to make life productive and allow the ecosystem to thrive. One is dependant on the other so all must be valued within the system and seen as equals with different roles.
How many lessons are there in nature to be learned? How many times do we discard age old truths and wisdoms in the pursuit of the new and better? I challenge this short-sighted, false, foolish and immature view! The wise man understands the value in both the 'old knowledge' and the 'new knowledge' - they share the same space 'knowledge'. We all stand on the shoulders of giants and our education system and society are no different; so let's be careful and not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Knowledge is accumulated over time and across generations and has been established very often through hard work, trial and error, blood, sweat and tears on the backs of many a passionate and amateur unsung heroes. Some knowledge is fixed and no matter what we do to disprove it, it will not revoke its right to be the unequivocal truth. However, some knowledge is more flexible and malleable being context dependant, or even not fully understood, so it's not yet become a dominant and unapologetic truth.
The truth of the matter is knowledge without wisdom is wasted and falls short of its purpose. What should we do with the knowledge we have, both scientific and anecdotal, based on our experiences and learning? Having knowledge is good but practising wisdom is better. Nature teaches us many lessons, but are we observing and paying attention? When we look at how we value people and the role they play in society, do we simply judge them by their commercial value or by their value and contribution to the ecosystem - their family, community, society and environment? When we value knowledge and its practical application for improving the ecosystem, then we have have begun our journey into wisdom.
Every single seed is valuable and important! Every human is valuable and important! Every seed is packed with all it needs to fulfil its purpose within the design. Every learner is packed with all it needs to exert wisdom on the ecosystem during his/her journey through life. So if we as educators are not playing our part in cultivating natural growth with all the knowledge we have accumulated over the years, then what is going wrong that we have so many issues that we need a complete new framework packaged as a brave new world? There are many aspects that contribute to the success of the ecosystem that fall outside the remit of the education system and 'school' and these will form the second part of this series of posts announcing @15MFCymru.
Yes! We need a PermaLearning revolution here in Cymru! We need to understand the whole system and not just aspect of it! School is just one aspect of that whole ecosystem, but we also need to understand the vital part it plays within the design as it contributes to the overall operation of the ecosystem. We need to ensure that teachers are able to collaborate and learn from each other at local, cluster and national level. We need to base our efforts and work on established principles that are fixed knowledge or truths and not be washed away by the latest fads and approaches that are rife and all presenting themselves as 'super fertilizer' when they are clearly not! Permaculture assumes a community of inter-connected workers walking, talking, sharing and learning their craft but all fulfilling their individual roles effectively. This cannot be realised without love, passion, dedication, care, determination, resilience and patience. Viva la PermaLearner Revolution! A place where we can learn to love learning again, where being passionate is understood as a strength! A place where dedication to professional learning is acknowledged and valued and well-being is achieved throughout the whole system. Let's design a balanced system that creates the conditions for the ecosystem to thrive!
No comments:
Post a Comment