Week+1+-+Understanding+Education

__Week 1 - Understanding Education__
by Clare Zagorksi

Both the lecture and associated readings of week one raised some fairly fundamental and ideological considerations for all of us; the next wave of teachers. I will attempt to structure my reflections on each of these by sub-heading.

**__Creativity__**

The lecture looked at creativity's place in education. Similarly, the readings also considered creativity by discussing the concepts of 'timeless' and 'transformative' learning approaches. Both of these seek to employ a more holistic, all-encompassing (and spiritual) approach to learning. This is converse to conventional teaching & learning where more traditional subject areas form measured curriculum standards. Whilst at a primary school level Art, Craft & Music are part of these subject areas, their weighted importance in reporting standards seems to be significantly less. This tendency towards more academic and scholastic achievement seems to widen in later school years.

The lack of attention to creative pursuits in schools (and largely, our culture) is interesting to consider. That is, there is a substantial body of research to suggest that individuals possess very differing learning styles, such as visual, tactile, kinesthetic, audio, aural (others???). Part of a teacher's ongoing challenge is to engage individual students by tailoring to their unique learning styles. Despite having this well-established area of research, which outlines the innate presence of creative learning styles in some of us (eg. kinesthetic, visual etc), it could be argued that creativity is still not sufficiently incorporated into conventional teaching approaches, and therefore runs the risk of receiving less attention and marginalising students whose preferences are more creative. This could have larger-scale repercussions for restricted career choice, as well as society's openness to change and acceptance of alternative career paths.

The difficultly in incorporating more creative, or 'transformative' teaching/learning approaches in schools is that, akin to the nature of 'Art', a creative outcome can only be measured in subjective terms, appealing to one's very personal and individual sense of taste and preference. It therefore becomes near impossible to measure 'creative success' in a given curriculum, opening the door to an array of perceived biases (from Education Boards, parents, teachers and other stakeholders etc). For example, a lack of applied //consistency// in the assessment of a creative outcome would be one perceived bias.

Fundamentally, the lack of recognition of creativity in schools is a product of our culture's view of what it means to 'educate'. As Heywood (2005a) proposes, the purpose of education is the source of unresolved debate, to either "....socialise future employees and train them to serve the culture's needs....to enable the individual to become who they are.....to develop their potential...[or to] preserve?". With such fundamental contention, the one common area on which to focus, as a teacher, could be the development of individuals' thoughts, beliefs and value systems.

**__Values and Beliefs__**

With a drastically changing, (and somewhat unpredictable) global landscape, as told through the eyes of fictional Angelica (Beare, 2001), the one area teachers //__can__// develop future generations is belief formation. That is, the ability to develop healthy and discerning frames of reference by which we interpret the world. To be able to make judgments, to use discretion and to sift for accuracy in what we are told to be universal truths, but which often are not. In other words, a teacher can instill the ability to challenge the status quo, and to always question 'why'. (Beare, 2001) suggests that, through future conditioning towards consumerism and commercialisation (due to an ever-increasing exposure to American culture and values, along with the overriding world population of China and India, among other major social trends and changes), we all run the risk of adopting the default thoughts, values and beliefs of such dominant **//monocultures//**. Belief formation is therefore a vital skill to teach in an age where practical, muscular ability (in a mechanically dominant workplace) gives way to non-material, problem-solving, 'people' & knowledge-intensive ability. As Heywood (2005a) states, "educators who understand the concept of transformation.....recognise the need to assist their students to develop patterns of thought, to make clear the connections between experience and ideas, to develop links between themselves and others and to see themselves as part of the universe."

**__Implications for us?__**

On reflection, the biggest challenge for all of us, as budding new teachers in a volatile and dynamic world:
 * to become increasingly **//adaptable//** and **//applied//** to our external environment, as and when it changes;
 * to be **//responsive//** to wider social trends & the repercussions they carry;
 * to use the **//one tool//** we will consistently possess - instilling **//belief formation//** in students so that they too consider the wider changing global landscape;
 * to instill a strong sense of **//social responsibility//** towards the environment, the world, and it's ever-changing demographic of inhabitants;
 * to instill a deep appreciation for **//diversity//**, so that we can capitalise upon and celebrate people's differences rather than apply a mere attitude of 'tolerance'.