Calling Forward

We spend years in classrooms regurgitating either something we heard in a lecture or something we read. If the teacher approves of what we present, then we receive grades and points allegedly suggesting some measure of success
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Although most of us spend anywhere from 12 to 20 years engaged in formal education, only too infrequently will we question what it means for us to receive an education. We typically are not encouraged to question the nature of learning. We spend years in classrooms regurgitating either something we heard in a lecture or something we read. If the teacher approves of what we present, then we receive grades and points allegedly suggesting some measure of success.

If we look at the ancient definition of the word education, which is to call forward, then three valuable focuses become clear:

1) Contemporary education seems to be about pouring in and not calling forward.
2) We can begin to clarify what it is that needs to be called forward.
3) We can describe how the call forward actually can take place.

What To Call Forward?

Let's examine what it is that may be called forward in the name of genuine education.

Curiosity and Wonder -- These constitute the essential ingredients of learning. They suggest that something has been ignited in students that allows them to initiate and maintain an inquiry. Investigations are personalized as they reflect the student's desire to more fully understand.

Courage -- This is paramount for any level of authentic learning to take place. With courage, students are willing to step away from the alleged safety of the familiar. Students are willing to question the hallowed beliefs held by authority figures, as well as to create their own positions.

Suppleness -- This allows students to be positioned without excessive rigidity, allowing for further investigation. It also enhances a readiness to be more welcoming of the views of others.

Compassion -- This affords students a resiliency when inquiries appear to go nowhere. Without compassion, students run a higher risk of becoming small minded, avoiding traversing unmarked trails where there is a greater risk of stumbling.

Daemon or Genius -- Likely the most important element to be called forward is what the Greeks called the Daemon or the Romans called the Genius. They refer to the natural gifts we are all born with and the personal style we all have to live those gifts. The gifts vary greatly, from mechanical dexterity, to an ease with abstract concepts, to being able to listen with empathy. The gifts of students are not simply for their enjoyment and fulfillment, but also an offering to their community.

How To Call Forward

Besides understanding what to call forward, teachers and mentors need to clarify how best to make such a call.

Responsibility -- Teachers are responsible to steer students in the direction of what appears to be the student's authentic Genius. This often means supporting the student's need to let go of familial and social influences that point toward endeavors deemed more acceptable and appropriate.

Name the Genius -- Teachers can initially name the Genius in broad terms: an interest in science, a fascination with varied forms of creativity, a kinship with Nature, etc. These general identifications offer students a place to anchor explorations that can increasingly be refined. It can begin with a knack for fixing bicycles and evolve into Civil Engineering.

Remaining a Muse -- One of the greatest seductions for teachers and mentors is to allow their own Genius to be where the student is called. The key is to remain a muse or source of inspiration, guiding students' ability to both identify their own Genius and learn to claim it fervently.

Be a Model -- Likely, the most impactful way to call the student's Genius forward is modeling. As mentors and teachers live their own Genius, students receive several offerings. They get to witness what it means to be neither excessively dependent upon what's acceptable nor so counter-dependent that they are driven to do the opposite of what's deemed acceptable, missing the true nature of the Genius.

Another valuable offering of modeling is its confirmation of life as both meaningful and purposeful. Ancient Greeks believed that a devotion to one's Daemon was the path to a meaningful life. Lastly, the teacher becomes an example of what it means to serve. To live one's gift is to add to what sustains life, contributing to the greater good.

The ethereal nature of educating and learning cannot be reduced to pouring in. Certainly, providing accessibility to the classics and the seminal thinking of the ages is a very valuable offering. However, an emphasis upon pouring in typically has two unfortunate consequences. The first is that it easily leads to an obsession with striving to acquire enough information and knowledge. The inherent illusion is that that the notion of enough can actually be attained. Often, an insidious implication is that we are not enough until the data gathered is enough. The second consequence is that our investigations and inquiries are not connected to our purpose. We have purpose because of the results of living our Genius. We get glimpses of our purpose as we witness the service offered, the generativity and creativity of the Genius.

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