I’ve always said that I’m a sucker for a good metaphor. I love both the elegance and efficiency of analogous thinking; for me, it’s one of the most sublime things about our language. But whether we realize it or not, we’re all suckers for a good metaphor! In fact, there isn’t a whole lot of the language that we use that isn’t, in some way, metaphorical.
Metaphors are more than just cool ways to make connections between the world of the known and the less known. When we stop to think about the metaphors that we use, we come to realize that they can also colour the way we see things. The metaphorical choices we make—especially the ones that quickly roll off our tongues—reveal a great deal about the boxes in which we find ourselves. (Even the metaphor of stepping out of the box speaks volumes, doesn’t it?)
Lately a great deal of discussion has taken place here and elsewhere around the role of basic skills in the education of our children. The metaphorical language that almost automatically emerges in many conversations relates to building. Many folks will claim that students need a “firm foundation” before proceeding to “higher levels” of thinking. The construction image is powerful and seems to resonate with our perception of the way that learning takes place. In many cases, it is the mind of the learner (whatever that means) that is being built and, for many, teaching basic skills is like pouring a solid foundation on which other knowledge and skills are added. Without that foundation, the project falls to pieces.
Other thinkers (you may be one of them) use phrases like co-construction, presenting images of students and teachers working together to create, not so much the mind of the learner, but the knowledge being learned. Here basic skills are often seen as the “tools” used in the process as opposed to something “poured into” the learner.
Some may argue that focusing on the metaphors that we use just draw us into semantics and is not really that important. I would argue that trying to understand the metaphors that we live (and die) by is essential precisely because it does draw us into semantics—the study of the meaning of language. Quite literally, metaphors allow us to package meaning, carry it around, and communicate it.
So, what if we were to begin thinking about teaching and learning using different metaphors. Would our perceptions of the role and the design of schools be different? Could a “metaphorical turn” change the way we think about things like basic skills? Creativity?Critical thinking? Collaboration?
What if we put our “construction” metaphors aside and started framing (!) our conversations in terms of agriculture, ecosystems, networks (as Nancy does here), exploration or relationships. What elements of these concepts could help to shift our thinking or open up new ways of looking? Would the thinking that we grasp so tightly be loosened a little, or would the same attitudes, priorities and beliefs still prevail? What place would our current ideas about schooling have in our newly adopted metaphor?
I’m’ going to try it; today I’m going to try to carry a new metaphor of teaching and learning around with me. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Give it a shot, and let us know what you come up with!
This comment comes from Daniel Reidy, through Facebook.
Interesting on two fronts – a)teacher voice – in trying to figure out why so many educators have chosen not to cultivate a deep knowledge of much of the curriculum, is there something in the consciousness, the sensus fidelium, of the tea…cherhood that knows without knowing it, that something is out of kilter with a curriculum which hangs on the framework of success criteria and leaning goals and SMART goals and differentiation rather then growth, nurturance and pleasure? A collective unconscious that intuits rather then infers beyond the horizons of policy makers?
b) Student voice- a student, like any organic being, seems to thrive in a rich and varied environment that offers diverse points of attention and distraction for all of the senses, across the flow of a day that is seamless in the sense that conversation flows and ebbs as new ideas and tools/toys are introduced, engaged and dropped or pursued as they are found to be meaningful or pleasurable or not germaine to the mindset of the moment. Teacher gets to build and mold this landscape or ecosystem to channel particular narrative flows bc there are many stories worth knowing – essential to some but good for all.
And so the essential question -the metaphor? Sofia Cavalletti’s from the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd – the atrium – the rich and varied microcosm in which the child is formed to walk the world beyond the school walls with grace and dignity and self-awareness borne of curiosities imagined, cultivated and satisfied…
“What if we put our “construction” metaphors aside and started framing (!) our conversations in terms of agriculture, ecosystems, networks (as Nancy does here), exploration or relationships. What elements of these concepts could help to shift our thinking or open up new ways of looking? Would the thinking that we grasp so tightly be loosened a little, or would the same attitudes, priorities and beliefs still prevail? What place would our current ideas about schooling have in our newly adopted metaphor?
I’m’ going to try it; today I’m going to try to carry a new metaphor of teaching and learning around with me. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
It is hard work, Stephen. Attitudes, priorities and beliefs are what makes us tick as human beings, especially the social creatures in us. Changing the attitudes, priorities and beliefs requires persistence to root out the attitudes, priorities and beliefs that no longer apply in your life.
Just like today, I am beginning to understand what teachers mean, when they say to someone else who is not a teacher , you don’t understand. Diving into metaphors and the connection to the pedagogy, was an exercise trying to understand what lies behind what you said about metaphors. The stuff that I read, I found it incredibly boring, and brownie points for any would be teacher who have persevered pedagogy courses, and passed with flying colours.
“What if we put our “construction” metaphors aside and started framing (!) our conversations in terms of agriculture, ecosystems, networks (as Nancy does here), exploration or relationships. What elements of these concepts could help to shift our thinking or open up new ways of looking? Would the thinking that we grasp so tightly be loosened a little, or would the same attitudes, priorities and beliefs still prevail? What place would our current ideas about schooling have in our newly adopted metaphor?
One needs to frame it, and using metaphors is perfect to keep the focus on the objectives. I had a metaphor, and used often – “Practice and more practice until automatic recall. I replace perfection with automatic recall. After all, my dyslexic kid did not get into the advance math, without having strong automacity skills in place.