To encourage dialogue and reflection about the ways that we can learn by rethinking and challenging our beliefs and assumptions, our question for the week is: What is something (an idea, understanding, or practice) that you are currently rethinking and trying to better understand? Checking Our Beliefs, Assumptions, and Understandings (Week of 11/14/21) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
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The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning. - John Dewey
You cannot teach today the same way you did yesterday to prepare students for tomorrow. - John Dewey
After the rainy and dark weather this past Friday, coupled with adjusting to the earlier onset of evening with Daylight Savings this week, the sunlight and November color in the sky on Saturday morning was a welcome gift. Having ‘crashed’ pretty early the night before, it was great to wake up and embrace the light with a morning run and some yoga. Sunday afternoon we gathered with some of our British friends outside for their annual Guy Fawkes party - it’s always fun to get together, especially after taking last year off!
It has been such a pleasure to get to know some of these veterans over the years (I first met Tony Centore in the spring of 2011 when we began the planning for the installation/remembrance of the Vietnam Veterans plaque at the center of the flag circle at Blake - his smile, care, and warm sense of humor are always present when he arrives), and I have so enjoyed the relationships that have been formed and maintained. It was heartening to hear that one of our teachers exchanges holiday cards with their guest veteran and they look forward to this day each year. So many connections made, so many lessons learned, and so many areas of growth of learning...I called Katie that afternoon and shared that I had just had one of the best days at school in the last couple of years that I could remember.
Whether it is during casual conversations in the library, listening to our guests catch up with each other, or during their conversations and question/answer sessions in the classroom, I always learn something new - and, in this learning, I gain a new (or renewed) perspective. In one of the classrooms, one of our guests shared that one of their deepest (or long lasting) takeaways was the learning they gained about other cultures during the time they served in the military. Having never experienced or met people outside of his own culture when growing up, the time he spent overseas challenged his own beliefs and assumptions that he made or gathered in his head. He shared that it was not until he spent time with others that he grew and ‘rethought’ his understanding/knowledge that he previously had within. In a similar, yet different way, another guest shared with students that he felt it was important to dispel myths that many people had about the military. He shared some wise advice to our students - ‘Make sure you take time to listen to others and ask questions’.
As I have been processing this visit and also catching up on some assigned reading material for the upcoming DEI Task Force meeting on Monday, I continue to think about the importance of putting systems in place for our beliefs, practices, and biases (explicit and implicit) to be checked. My own experiences inform my decisions, and this is why a culture and environment of diverse thought/experience is so important (this systemic approach and structure will inherently and naturally broaden our discussions and decision-making). And, as Adam Grant (@AdamMGrant), shares - it will point us towards an evidence-based approach to supporting our thinking, beliefs, and convictions...
“How do you know? It’s a question we need to ask more often, both of ourselves and of others.”
In a podcast (link is below) that I have referenced with our staff (and with what feels like anyone that will listen and indulge me!), Grant shares a strategy via a question to help bridge the gap that may exist with differences of opinion.
A Slight Change of Plans - Adam Grant Thinks Again
(38 min)
Psychologist and author Adam Grant talks with Maya about the science of changing peoples’ minds, including our own. Adam also takes some of his own advice and rethinks some of his ideas.
He shares (and I am paraphrasing)......
In order to recruit someone else's agency in a discussion, debate, disagreement, or challenge, ask this of others:
'What evidence would you need to hear/read/know in order to change your mind?'
This question allows one to name the evidence that is needed and takes what can feel like a ‘defensive posture’ out of a dynamic. It also pushes and begins to engage each of us in the practice of self-reflection.
So...how does this connect to our work at Blake and in schools? Well, there are many ways I believe it connects, but the overarching and underlying foundation of ‘traditions in school’ is what continues to jump out at me. We must be continually challenging our beliefs and practices to see if the ‘evidence we have’ matches our beliefs and assumptions. And, we must embrace our mission and mantra of ‘a willingness to adapt’. The two posts below are relevant and pertinent, as they challenge the notions many of us have (including myself, if I’m being honest) of ‘kids these days’. They are worthy of reflection and provide evidence - and, as a result, my own thoughts have evolved.
Both posts are ones I am sure I will circle back to in the future. I’ve noted a few take-aways and themes below from the second post (excerpts from an interview with Nancy Hill and Alexis Redding of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, authors of The End of Adolescence: The Lost Art of Delaying Adulthood).
- Every generation thinks poorly of the youth of their day
- Misperceptions about youth
- Similar insecurities and concerns about each generation
- Coming of age is similar
- Young people are in the midst of a story where they don’t know their ending
- More agency in defining what adulthood looks like today - notable difference
- There is an inherent equity issue - we need to address this by providing all of our youth the ‘benefit of time to grow’
- False narrative about generational differences creates a boundary
- If we could tell every youth that it’s going to turn out OK, how much freedom would that give them to be their authentic selves?
The Bunk of Generational Talk - WSJ
by Bobby Duffy in The Wall Street Journal
Our wrongheaded thinking about generations leads us to focus on the wrong problems...Across a range of issues, manufacturing fake generational battles denies us the benefits of intergenerational connection and solidarity.
For the 19th-century French sociologist Auguste Comte, the generation was a key factor in “the basic speed of human development.” “We should not hide the fact that our social progress rests essentially upon death; which is to say that the successive steps of humanity necessarily require a continuous renovation…from one generation to the next,” Comte wrote. Generations differ from one another, and that’s a good thing, since it prevents society turning into a “stagnant pond.”
Mixing up lifecycle and generation effects creates lazy headlines based on fake differences. Our generational stereotypes are also riven with contradictions.
It is true that young people are at the leading edge of change in cultural norms around race, immigration, sexuality and gender identity. For example, eight in 10 members of Gen Z say there is nothing wrong with sexual relations between people of the same sex, compared with around three in 10 of those born before World War II. But older people have always fretted about the different cultural norms of young people. In 400 B.C., Socrates moaned about the youth of his day and their “bad manners, contempt for authority, disrespect for elders.” Young people are less set in their ways and more comfortable with change than older people; as Comte understood, that’s how societies avoid going stale.
The gaps between young and old on emergent cultural issues today are no larger than gaps in the past.
The problem with such statements isn’t the idea of generational difference itself but rather how generational labels are applied. A more accurate understanding of those differences would help to reduce conflict at home, at work and in politics. It would remind us that generations don’t have utterly distinct and unchanging characteristics. People and societies change over the long term in ways that no stereotype about age cohorts can begin to capture.
What’s the Matter With Kids Today?
by Liz Mineo in The Harvard Gazette
** Education scholars debunk myth that young people today are lazier, more immature than prior generations
It seems that every generation thinks poorly of the youth of their day. Misperceptions today include that youth are lazy and self-indulgent, that they only want to work in jobs that are prestigious and pay well, that they live with their parents, and that they are resistant to growing up. We debunked these myths when we discovered a forgotten archive of interviews with college students from the 1940s to the 1970s. Based on these interviews, our research showed that college students from prior generations sound shockingly similar to today’s youth...In debunking the myth that today’s youth are somehow more reticent to grow up than prior generations, we were able to demonstrate that coming of age is very similar from one generation to the next and that we understand them better than we imagined.
There’s always been a dismissive narrative about “kids these days,” and so much of it stems from our own forgetting about what it’s like to be in this profound period of transition and to be making decisions at a moment when we’re still uncertain about how things are going to work out. When we look back across our lives, we can connect the dots in a way that makes sense because we know the end of the story. But we forget that young people are in the midst of a story where they don’t yet know that ending.
...we see young people today crafting for themselves what it looks like to build a family of their own. As we’re looking at these markers, not everyone is going to choose to get married or raise children, and that doesn’t make them less of an adult. It’s important for current generations to be aware that there is more agency in defining what adulthood looks like today. That’s a notable difference.
There are theories out there that say that “emerging adulthood” is a new developmental stage we need to account for in our theories. It’s not a new developmental stage for two reasons: First, delaying adulthood is something that people have been doing for decades. Second, not everyone gets to experience more time by delaying adulthood. It’s an equity issue, and if we can name it and understand the costs of pressing some people into adulthood and others getting the privilege of time, then we can really deal with it and give everyone the benefits of time and then help them understand what to do with it.
We see this false narrative about generational difference that is creating such a boundary between parents and their children, and teachers and the students whom they teach. Our goal in building this connection is not only to break down that divide, but also to build a bridge that helps us to understand that our shared developmental experience means that we can offer meaningful guidance across generations. We can also have more empathy for young people today by tapping into the fact that we experienced these moments as well. I think we get so stuck in talking about generational divides that we forget not only that we understand kids today, but that we can give them advice that resonates with what they’re going through.
If we could tell every youth that it’s going to turn out OK, how much freedom would that give them to be their authentic selves?
** Although the connections with this week’s reflection are not as direct as in other weeks, these responses shared below provide more insight into the minds and thoughts within our community. I feel as though we can never do that enough.
Sampling of Responses from Last Week’s ‘Question of the Week’: What are you looking forward to in the near future? Why?
- I am looking forward to our next unit on A Christmas Carol! This will be a great opportunity for kids to read aloud, analyze, and collaborate in a fun way!
- Going to the olympics for gymnastics
- Having Thanksgiving with my parents, sister's family and brother's family. We haven't been all together on a holiday since 2019.
- My career because I want to be successful
- I am looking forward to Thanksgiving to spend time with my family.
- I am looking forward to Thanksgiving. It is always a good time spent with family and a reset after the fall season.
- I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving so I can give my dog turkey bits and he'll be happy.
- Thanksgiving with family and friends. Also winter, I love the cold crisp blue sky winter days!
- Time (Veteran's Day) - to reflect on many things and connect with a friend or two
There are many hopes that I (and I know we) have for our students, and many of these hopes are connected to the experiences that we create and establish for them in school. From my own experience and ‘speaking from the I’, for myself and listening to our three children, these tangible opportunities that we foster are authentic moments for growth and reflection. They offer and provide the windows and paths to challenge and further their own understandings of themselves and others, both concrete and abstract, and they will be better ‘served’ as a result. Asking questions, gathering evidence, listening, and being open to change - keys that I hope I am continuing to improve upon for myself, our students, and our community.
As always, let me know of any questions/concerns.
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Take care.
Nat