Educating the Dragon

I may have quit my course but my brain is still working overtime. Over the next weeks you may have to read through my ramblings about the things I have learnt. 

I want to talk about Explorers, I feel we are all explorers in new ICTs. We’re the ones experimenting in the classroom. The edublogosphere is filled with cases of people explaining and reflecting on their ever changing practises with ICT in their classrooms. We’re dealing with real experiences, real students, real observations. But what makes our observations valid? Are we engaging in critical thinking and and reflecting in the right way? Jane Nicholl’s work on Oral Language and podcasting is perhaps a good example. Many of Vicki Davies reflections are critical in nature. But much of our, mine most of all, observations and reflections are low level and classed by academia as ‘anecdotal’. My concern lies in the fact that we are all at the cutting edge, where today’s technologies meet today’s students. But the quality of our reflections, perhaps, needs to go up a notch as Falloon comments “ there has been little conclusive empirical research to prove” (Falloon, 2003, p. 23) that ICT enhances outcomes for students. If academia is dismissing our contribution as ‘anecdotal’ then that filters through to policy makers and curriculum designers. We have an opportunity to drag the educational perspective out of the industrial age and into the 21^st century, as noted by David Warlick , and others.

So do we need to be thinking about our practise in terms of Jonassen’s Mindtools, or Atkin’s papers? How relevant are these theoretical perspectives? Do we need to consider such things to draw our experiences out of the micro level and up to a macro level? Is that our job or is someone else going to pull all this anecdotal material together for us to present the 21^st century classroom perspective?  

If not us, me, then who?

Falloon, G. (1999). Developing exemplary practice: Why are some teachers better at IT than others? Computers in New Zealand Schools, 15 (1), 19-23.

“To be a good man you must act like a good man.” Aristotle

“Together, the church, business, and political dissolution is in far greater crisis than many realize. We are suffering from serious moral decay.” Frinser

What does it say about ‘western’ society that our best moral leaders are fictitious?

I have spent this first week of holidays thinking about ethics. We in the
United States satellite nations also have our morality served up in witty comebacks and clever dialogue. And it is a crying shame that Ethical Leadership is modelled to us through ‘the Tube’ rather than the leadership qualities and values personified in our national and business leaders.

What Dr Finser talks about in his book ‘In search of Ethical Leadership’ is not to give Bush, Kenneth Lay of  Enron or United Way a grilling, though he does that a bit; its more looking ahead and answering the question: How are we going to grow ethical leaders for the future?

But these individuals are not solely to blame; for society, its media, advertisements, peer pressure etc strongly influences the quality of the leaders that emerge.

So what are the qualities of an Ethical Leader?

I came across this:

Twelve Terms – Guiding Principals* Responsibility
* Contemplation
* Initiative
* Perseverance
* Optimum
* Courage
* Respect
* Compassion
* Adaptability
* Honesty
* Trustworthiness
* Loyalty

from Dr. Willard Daggett Cliotech notes

Not that it’s a definitive list but a great place to start.

Finser shies away from a ‘definitive’ list, opting to highlight some specific characteristics;

“Humility is the beginning of solving the leadership challenge.” Finser

Humility in the sense of directing team members, letting others take initiative, being available for consultation, feedback and refocus. Much of this is covered in “The One Minute Manager” but will forever hold true.

Accountability is a key word for leaders, for without accountability there is no anchor for the visionary and no rocket for the slacker.

So how do we instil some of these worthy qualities in our children and youth?  

Finser identifies a key issue with the educational system when ‘kids’ go off to college. He talks about the ‘good life’ that at this impressionable stage all boundaries are removed as the 18 year old goes off to college. The college campus with its lax timetable, constant parties, late mornings, later nights do our young people no good in developing their sense of priority and establishing positive work habit as well as other qualities identified in Dr Willard Daggett’s list.

 Many colleges are more interested in the bottom line than developing strong ethical leaders, encouraging as many youngsters to their campus, increase tuition fees so much as to make thinking of your kids college years, and saving for them a life long goal…. I know my wife and I are beginning to think of such things and my boy is not even 2!

Finser highlights the importance of reading, writing, walking, sketching, making music and generally being given a chance to pause and reflect. “Spoiling our youth with Club Med college experiences leads to disappointment when real jobs do not support such a wonderful lifestyle. For some, such disappointment can develop into an overwhelming desire for ‘the good things’, no matter what the cost.” Finser sights Community service, work-study, and a balanced life in college as preventatives to Enronitis. 

So what about our kids, what needs to be happening in the primary/elementary school to foster these qualities which will develop sound moral judgement? 

Art, that’s the answer to it all, Art. Through art grows the ability for creative thinking. And creative thinking is the basis of a free democratic society.

Children deserve aesthetically pleasing environments; Clean, respected grounds, colourful, enlivened, spacious walls, lightened, airy classrooms.

With our concrete floors, concrete walls and flat ceilings schools are hardly the places for encouraging, free, creative thought. When you visit a Greek temple as the author, Finser did or stand in the esplanades of Oxford, Cambridge or presumably Harvard and Yale (though I’ve never seem them) and look up, you have space above your head, almost making a connection with a higher being for a higher purpose. Next time you step into your school or classroom, look up, do you make that connection, can your students?