I enjoyed Seed and Spark, so I'm quite excited for the new book! As an educator, some of the questions and ideas you shared in the newsletter already resonate with me... and I really like that that others challenged me to rethink things and go deeper.
You posed questions for your readers as well, so I'll respond with some things jogged/inspired by what you shared.
More Questions:
How do we develop an education system that prepares students for a future that we, as the current adult generation, can’t fully imagine or predict? How can we create educational systems that are resilient and adaptable enough to thrive amidst rapid technological and societal change? Beyond preparing students for the future and their future lives, how can education foster a deep sense of purpose and personal fulfillment?
Other Wisdom Whisperer Ideas:
Ants and EO Wilson: An ant colony's division of labor mirrors human system roles, and their capacity to adapt and learn from environmental changes reflects our societal adaptations. Like our systems, they rely on communication and feedback mechanisms for effective function. Ants, despite their tiny size, are capable of performing complex tasks, from intricate nest construction to efficient food gathering, not through individual prowess, but through collective effort. Each ant doesn't possess an overview of the entire task at hand, yet the colony thrives. EO Wilson transformed our understanding of how human and animal societies evolve. His work includes sociobiology applied to human ethics and the evolutionary origins of human thought… and so much more.
Tavares Strachan, a wise explorer-scientist-artist-visionary: “Talking to him, one begins to believe that anyone who doesn’t attempt the impossible suffers from a lack of imagination.” (NYT article, 2020) He’s been referred to as an artist who doesn’t behave as an artist should. One of my favorite pieces of his happens to be one of his first installations, “The Distance Between What We Have and What We Want”. A lot of his work ties into aspects of education.
Reginald Dwayne Betts: His story is inspirational– from prisoner to avid reader to activist to poet and performer to teacher and Yale Law School student. Wow. His current work, Freedom Reads, is an organization that brings a Freedom Library to prisons-- demonstrates the transformative power of books. The bookshelf that houses each library creates a thoughtful educational space by its design. I’ll use a quote from his website to posit that books are a critical part of the solutions to the essential questions your group is tackling: “Books become essential when you want to imagine a new life for yourself.”
More on The Steps:
Like another commenter, I too like the step called "Seed your own Demise." When it comes to learning and strategizing about AI in education, it definitely feels like I’m seeding my own demise at times, pursuing a technology that may render my ways of teaching obsolete. The potential for generative AI to address Benjamin Bloom’s Two Sigma Problem by offering 24/7 tutoring capabilities is promising enough that I have stepped outside of my comfort zone as a listener/thinker to being a leader and vocal risk taker on this topic at my school. Sometimes my pursuit has complicated my relationships with colleagues. For example, I started an opt-in teacher learning/listening/sharing community this past spring. We met every few weeks and generated (mostly by humans) more questions than answers in these sessions, and that’s not a bad thing as questions deepen thinking, connect us more, and can inspire people to act. My efforts in that area have been met with a range of negative responses based in fear and insecurity to positivity based on inclusion and collaboration. It has been quite uncomfortable at times to put myself out there like this, but I’m committed to staying the course. And possibly seeding my own demise.
Your writing and projects make me more optimistic about the future of education. Thank you.
"What small changes could have the biggest impact and help spark the larger revolution we seek?" I've been wrestling with this one Sam -- I know you posted this long ago. I love this question -- for its emphasis on the tangible and concrete steps we can take (you know I have a suggestion...#naturebasedlearning practice & design). And, I have some follow up questions for you: Who is/are "we" in this question? What is "the revolution" to which you refer? Would love to know your thoughts when you have a moment.
I love the idea of 'seeding our own demise' -- the adage about "putting ourselves out of business" often touted in the non-profit sector, but so rarely followed in-real-life.
As we look for radical shifts and dismantling oppressive systems that aren't working for anyone (even for those who might think it is) -- and even as our education system 'heads toward obsolescence,' I wonder how we can support the tens of millions of real people who are in the system now.
I enjoyed Seed and Spark, so I'm quite excited for the new book! As an educator, some of the questions and ideas you shared in the newsletter already resonate with me... and I really like that that others challenged me to rethink things and go deeper.
You posed questions for your readers as well, so I'll respond with some things jogged/inspired by what you shared.
More Questions:
How do we develop an education system that prepares students for a future that we, as the current adult generation, can’t fully imagine or predict? How can we create educational systems that are resilient and adaptable enough to thrive amidst rapid technological and societal change? Beyond preparing students for the future and their future lives, how can education foster a deep sense of purpose and personal fulfillment?
Other Wisdom Whisperer Ideas:
Ants and EO Wilson: An ant colony's division of labor mirrors human system roles, and their capacity to adapt and learn from environmental changes reflects our societal adaptations. Like our systems, they rely on communication and feedback mechanisms for effective function. Ants, despite their tiny size, are capable of performing complex tasks, from intricate nest construction to efficient food gathering, not through individual prowess, but through collective effort. Each ant doesn't possess an overview of the entire task at hand, yet the colony thrives. EO Wilson transformed our understanding of how human and animal societies evolve. His work includes sociobiology applied to human ethics and the evolutionary origins of human thought… and so much more.
Tavares Strachan, a wise explorer-scientist-artist-visionary: “Talking to him, one begins to believe that anyone who doesn’t attempt the impossible suffers from a lack of imagination.” (NYT article, 2020) He’s been referred to as an artist who doesn’t behave as an artist should. One of my favorite pieces of his happens to be one of his first installations, “The Distance Between What We Have and What We Want”. A lot of his work ties into aspects of education.
Reginald Dwayne Betts: His story is inspirational– from prisoner to avid reader to activist to poet and performer to teacher and Yale Law School student. Wow. His current work, Freedom Reads, is an organization that brings a Freedom Library to prisons-- demonstrates the transformative power of books. The bookshelf that houses each library creates a thoughtful educational space by its design. I’ll use a quote from his website to posit that books are a critical part of the solutions to the essential questions your group is tackling: “Books become essential when you want to imagine a new life for yourself.”
More on The Steps:
Like another commenter, I too like the step called "Seed your own Demise." When it comes to learning and strategizing about AI in education, it definitely feels like I’m seeding my own demise at times, pursuing a technology that may render my ways of teaching obsolete. The potential for generative AI to address Benjamin Bloom’s Two Sigma Problem by offering 24/7 tutoring capabilities is promising enough that I have stepped outside of my comfort zone as a listener/thinker to being a leader and vocal risk taker on this topic at my school. Sometimes my pursuit has complicated my relationships with colleagues. For example, I started an opt-in teacher learning/listening/sharing community this past spring. We met every few weeks and generated (mostly by humans) more questions than answers in these sessions, and that’s not a bad thing as questions deepen thinking, connect us more, and can inspire people to act. My efforts in that area have been met with a range of negative responses based in fear and insecurity to positivity based on inclusion and collaboration. It has been quite uncomfortable at times to put myself out there like this, but I’m committed to staying the course. And possibly seeding my own demise.
Your writing and projects make me more optimistic about the future of education. Thank you.
Thank you for this encouragement, I feel like it's so important to find the kindred spirits in this crucial work! I am tilling the same field in my Substack blog, "The Spirit of Education." Latest post here: https://open.substack.com/pub/jenniferbrowdyphd/p/calling-on-human-imagination?r=77vfa&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
"What small changes could have the biggest impact and help spark the larger revolution we seek?" I've been wrestling with this one Sam -- I know you posted this long ago. I love this question -- for its emphasis on the tangible and concrete steps we can take (you know I have a suggestion...#naturebasedlearning practice & design). And, I have some follow up questions for you: Who is/are "we" in this question? What is "the revolution" to which you refer? Would love to know your thoughts when you have a moment.
I love the idea of 'seeding our own demise' -- the adage about "putting ourselves out of business" often touted in the non-profit sector, but so rarely followed in-real-life.
As we look for radical shifts and dismantling oppressive systems that aren't working for anyone (even for those who might think it is) -- and even as our education system 'heads toward obsolescence,' I wonder how we can support the tens of millions of real people who are in the system now.