“Shall I tell you the secret of the true scholar? It is this: every man I meet is my master in some point, and in that I learn of him.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
This is one of my favourite quotes, and it’s one I try to live by in all aspects of my life. I couldn’t agree more that wisdom is built through seeing every interaction as a learning opportunity.
Today, though, I’d like to advocate for us expanding upon this concept a bit. To become ‘wise’ — or a ‘true scholar’, as Emerson puts it — it’s my view that we don’t only need to learn from every man (person) we meet.
In a world rife with groupthink and bubbles of confirmation bias, we actually need to actively search out our ‘adversaries’ (those from different camps, or those who we may know or expect to disagree with), and learn from them. We need to open ourselves up to conflicting views in order to enhance our own.
Some time ago, I published an EdThread on The book that changed how I think about the world, and education. Within it, I sketched out Kieran Egan’s ‘Kinds of Knowledge’. These kinds of knowledge represent a possible evolution of wisdom throughout the human lifespan. Here’s a recap of the top four levels, which are the more cognitive ones. After each, I’ll give a brief (and simplified/exaggerated) descriptor of how someone approaching education through that viewpoint may consider the field:
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Mythic understanding: An understanding of the world through binaries. E.g., good vs. bad, tall vs. short, big vs. small, etc.
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Mythic educator: ‘Explicit instruction is the only way to go; inquiry is a waste of time’
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Romantic understanding: An understanding of the world through, amongst other things, heroic personalities and ‘great people’ of history.
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Romantic educator: ‘John Sweller, the founder of Cognitive Load Theory, is the infallible oracle of education. He tells us that explicit vs. inquiry is actually an instructional spectrum that applies to novice vs. expert learners. John has figured it all out.’
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Philosophic understanding: People at this stage begin to see the world through ‘-isms’: capitalism, consumerism, communism, nationalism, colonialism. Think passionate uni students here. Or, from the educational context: Traditionalism vs. Progressivism
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Philosophic understanding: ‘Cognitive Load Theory answers any question we may have in education, as it sits at the very heart of how learning happens, and can be used to explain all learning processes. If we understand CLT, we have all the answers we need to solve the problems of education.
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Ironic understanding: Ironic understanding is characterised by a mental flexibility that enables an individual to recognise the benefit of different philosophical approaches and identify their varying applicability in different contexts.
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Ironic educator: ‘CLT is one of a set of tools (mental models) that helps us more fully understand the learning process, and education. It can be applied in a number of contexts and transferred from the teaching of students to the teaching of adults. It has notable exceptions and caveats. For example, usually higher prior knowledge makes task easier, but there are some cases in which higher prior knowledge actually increases task complexity! Usually it’s redundant to read out text aloud whilst your audience reads that same text, but sometimes it isn’t. Further, CLT doesn’t capture all important aspects of education including relational factors, self-regulation, self-determination, and much more.’
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As can be seen, the first three levels* can be attained through engagement within bubbles or with a very limited number of individuals or sources. However, to expand into the ironic realm, we need to purposefully go wider, searching out exceptions to the rule and caveats.
The best people to point out these exceptions to us are our adversaries.
When did you last read a book that you commenced expecting you’d disagree with? When did you last enter a conversation with someone you knew you disagreed with on something you hold dear? More importantly, when did you last do it with a truly open heart? Entering the fray is, after all, only the first step.
And if you have recently had your mind changed through such an interaction, I’d love to hear about it!
*see the original blog post to avoid viewing these levels on an overly simplistic scale of ‘worse, better, bettera, best’.
Announcements and Opportunities
Craig Barton’s ‘Becoming a Better Maths Teacher’ Aussie Tour!
I’m super pumped about Craig’s upcoming trip to Aus for the four sessions we’re running together in late June. This is going to be a fantastic day for any upper primary or secondary maths teachers keen to network with other like minded and passionate maths educators. Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity – who knows when Craig will be in Aus again. Find out more and book here.
Instructional Coaching: Brisbane on March 3rd, Melbourne on March 24th!
That’s right, it’s time for some more Instructional Coaching Intensives in Aus!
On March 3rd Rory McCaughey and yours truly are coming up to The Gap High School in Brisbane for a one day intensive. Then on March 24th, Steplab founder Josh Goodrich is flying over from the UK to collaborate with Rory and me on a Melbourne intensive at Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School.
If you’ve been thinking about upping your coaching game for a while, this is a phenomenal opportunity – whether you’re a Steplab school or not. This training is relevant even if you don’t, and never plan to, use the Steplab platform.
If you are interested in Steplab, you can also book directly into a personal Steplab demo with me via this booking link. I run them every Wed and Friday arvo.