Love it...or leave it?

As a 'teacher', it frequently surprises me that I have to literally 'sell' learning to a student.  I don't mean in a monetary way, although I will reiterate that so many students today are expertly transactional in their dealings, but rather that it always seems to be harder than it should be!  I mean, why teach something if I or someone else doesn't think it's significant and important?  The notion that I just want to waste some=one's time and effort, including my own, if just plain, well, bonkers.

I don't know of an educator who hasn't wondered just why the Hell they're doing what they're doing.  Teaching, so often thankless, so often pointless, but we all still do it because the vast majority of us give a darn and believe we can help others.  Martyrs, every one of us! Then there's this concept of leadership...like it or not, you lead a class, you set an example, you aid others by setting an example that you want others to follow.  And then, there's the contents of this paper...do you really want to lead or develop skills as a leader if it isn't your thing, or something you're even vaguely interested in? Boom...mike drop!  Just because you have talent, just because you can do it, should you do it and go for the golden ring of teaching others when there's a clear relationship between what you're doing, saying and your role in other's lives?  And to think, I always think of myself as putting on a 'performance' for the crowd...it's theatre, right?  But leadership?...that's deep, real deep.

Kindness and courtesy

I've always thought of my relationship with my students as being rather more a partnering scenario than a teacher-student one.  There are frequently learning moments that come my way, in other words, it isn't always from me to them.  I'd like to think that my relationship with them is also more akin to sharing.  They just had to complete doables and I just have to mark them.

It is disconcerting when students complain about the work we need to generate to get through a course.  I don't idly set these tasks...making work sucks for everyone, me included.  I fundamentally believe that each test, assignment and report is intended to build their knowledge and their confidence.  Wishing something doesn't always make it possible of course, a line of thought that I'm still to this day having trouble accepting.

 What comes out of some of these differences in perception is a lack of courtesy.  I can't think of the last time I was rude or ignorant to another person...I just don't do 'mean' very well.  But having to put up with students who lack basic courtesy or skills in dealing with others seems to be more frequent.  There's little understanding, and there's precious little assuming that I might have made a mistake.  I give them breaks and I expect them back...I make amends when necessary, but what I simply cannot accept is a gratuitous sort of rudeness in their tone with me.  You may pay your money, but that doesn't give you the right to treat me poorly is the way I see it.  That said, it does seem like a simple firm rebuke and explanation seems to go a long way.  I've had more time to realize how my past behaviour might not have resonated particularly well with these charges.  But more importantly, what I have learned is that you can't let it go...poor behaviour needs to be called out, as uncomfortable and uncomfortably direct as it may be.

There's also a lesson for them, I have recognized. If I am firm, reasonable and draw their attention to their behaviour, most get it.  Most...the rest, well, that's another blog post.

You Don't Like Me? But...but...but...

Carrying on with last week's theme of innovation in my workplace, a college in a small mid-Western town, I want to focus on items 3 and 4 in this article. I suppose I also want to emphasize that I don't believe pedagogy is all that it takes to get ideas out into the open for discussion and thoughtful consideration.  Pedagogy can't exist in a vacuum...it, like everything needs context which something I haven't really appreciated until as of late.

Back to the real story...why don't folks share a best practice?  Especially when our collective good is predicated upon that very notion! Item three in the article talks about failing to recognize inter-dependence.  While this seems implausible, it isn't...the saying, 'Biting off one's nose to spite one's own face,' really applies here.  What is it about humans and their propensity for spite, negativity and I dare say sabotage?  We're all guilty of these behaviours in one context or another, indeed at one time or another...but it really is quite shocking to realize that you, or a colleague, might not recognize that your or their diminished performance due to a lack of sharing or information, somehow doesn't depress overall performance and worse, likely take them down an emotional peg or two. So much for the common good. Teaching in the classroom can't be one-sided...most teachers I know put in a decent amount of effort, but it's shocking how often buy-in from those listening really falls short.  Is it just about communicating the simple fact, that we all need everyone to actively participate...and share?

The fourth point talks about trust...and appreciation.  And 'liking' someone. The latter point should be immaterial when it comes to sharing information...like I can really do that much to change someone's opinion of me, or that I should be expending a pile of time getting someone to like me...it's absurd.  If we're all 'in this together', a person's feelings of friendship or hatred just shouldn't enter into the equation.  We're frequently 'too' emotional about and in the workplace.  We're told that passion is a necessity, but this can lead us down a path where some balance gets in the way and makes life more difficult that it needs to be.  Engaging with students in a familial way is a good thing, but where are the boundaries?  It's easy to say that you can't be friends with students, but that's easier said than done...and does this relationship development actually get in the way?  I believe it does...sometimes.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, friendships come with additional requests...for more time, for an adjustments of a mark, what actually gets taught in class...sometimes.  And then there's the feeling of hypocrisy...a power imbalance and so on and so forth.  That's a boundaries issue I suppose, but it's worth a few minutes of thought.  They don't teach about relationship building in pedagogy training and this is a shame...I think.

Self Help...By Going To Others?

I came across an interesting read as of late...in a discussion on innovation,...clearly, pedagogy counts in this respect, the article discusses why best practices often aren't shared with colleagues.  It seems so...counter-productive, this business of not sharing, but it happens...a lot!  This article is a good read...and I'll be the first to admit that I'm somewhat culpable of some of the flaws/issues being described herein.  It makes for some problematic reading too.  I suspect that should a large amount of these flaws be present in my or your workplace, then this brings up some pretty gigantic issues.  Is there a solution?  Is management capable of changing the employees' mindset to create a more functional, performance oriented and innovative culture?  Is it, plainly speaking, fucking worth changing or should an employee just leave?  Some folks just aren't ready, and frankly, never will be ready to adopt a new performance prerogative.  And so on...

A few details...it's all about 'Command and Control.'  Why bother empowering when maintaining the status quo is just plain easier?  I suspect that this is so common in so many workplaces, that it begs the question...will it ever REALLY improve, short of firing the whole problematic lot? It's also cultural too..if a culture has tolerated, maybe even perpetuated, a toxic workplace culture, can there be any hope?  I don't think so.  It's the same in the classroom...disrespect for student learning needs, poorly prepared instructors, staff just doing the minimum to get by...students who just don't give a crap?  Combine this with endless and pompous pronouncements as to what constitutes a 'proper' pedagogy based on perfunctory 'trends-o-the-day'   And then, you've got experts who aren't...it's all part of the problem.  Humility, humbleness, courteousness, acceptance of different ideas...all of it goes against this business of command and control.  Do as you're told because we KNOW that this the right way to do it, whatever 'it' is.  Experience be damned, fall in line with the doctrine...and what works for a kid will work for an adult.  It's just not true.

Secondly, there is 'No Clear, Compelling Vision of Success.' Folks spouting the same vague, neutral aspirations...we've all heard it a thousand times before, but each new 'pro' figures we need to hear it again.  It shouldn't be hard, in fact, I'd warrant that most decisions, pedagogical and otherwise, are based on gut rather than sound science and prior results,  And therein lies at least part of the problem.  It's just easier to wing it than it is to be authentic, vibrant, example setting and ...innovative.  Truly so.

It is said that no man, or woman, is an island.  While I suspect that this is true, I also suspect that one's personal performance and commitment to doing better each day is indeed a singular, very personal thing.  Doctrine, written by others, rarely works.

It's Simple...I Think?

It occurred to me earlier this week that just simply leaving this blog to deal with issues of pedagogy, or rather my experiences with it wasn't capable of satisfactorily expressing my journey in teaching...so I thought it also useful to include some additional criteria or context in which I find all of this teaching and learning stuff taking place.  You see, I teach facets of brewing, distilling and Cannabis production at a small college in Alberta, Canada.  And more and more frequently, simply learning more about the trade I teach within reveals some nuggets of wisdom that directly apply to my pedagogical development.  Here goes....variation on a theme I guess...

Listening to a recent podcast on brewing education in Germany, one of the interviewees remarked that if you wanted to be a good brewer, or even a great one, you had to be well-educated first.  Shouldn't have surprised me, but it did.  I'm not even sure if it was because it came from another educator or whether it was just reaffirming what we all know...I guess I just hadn't heard anyone say it for a while give the lethargy, laziness, arrogance....whatever you want to call it that I find frequents where I find myself.  Hearing this single, simple statement was levitating, truly inspiring...and I'm still a bit-a-buzz as I reflect upon its simplicity and forthrightness.

Being well-educated takes work.  It takes effort, discipline and guidance....there' so much that gets
tied in with being well-educated that it's hard to see why more people don't buy in, at least in and around my present programming.  That said, there are some, the few, that work their behinds off and I salute them as I write this.  Now if only we could decant some of what 'they' have and feed it to the remainder.  I visualize how my job might be easier if I had a solid coterie of folks who gave a damn about their education...who knows, maybe it would be harder...harder to please, harder to fulfil their objectives, but I'd appreciate the chance should it ever arise.

At the end, I would presuppose that I'm becoming all a bit reactionary like so many of my colleagues.  I can strive, I have striven but in many cases for a large number of people who just couldn't care less.  It isn't JUST about the way a product is taught...you need that open receptacle too.

A New Year, Same Issues...But There Is Opportunity!

Having taken a bit of a recent jaunt around parts of Alberta, visiting with both current and former students, it occurred to me that this simply is something I should be doing on a more often basis.  Getting a curated tour, especially of a facility I've never visited before, literally gives one new eyes... to virtually everything.  First and foremost, there's a maturity in the student that comes across immediately...no daft (or worse) conversations, no faces glowing with the reflected wash of technology doing something that couldn't be further away from the topic being discussed in class, and focus.  It's quite remarkable really.  And there is more, or at least some respect there too.

Another reason I need to get out a bit is to see new, or maybe nearly new 'stuff'.  Surprisingly, I observed and learned about quite a few new bits and bobs being employed right here, right under our noses.  Being chained to the college due to workload or other minutiae associated with work, allows one to develop a myopia and unreliable confidence that emanates outwardly from the situation you deal with daily.  You think you know, but in reality, you don't.  I mean, it's not like I don't ever get out...I field trip, a lot!  But I'm stuck with students and the opportunity to delve deeper into a facility and the mind of the person giving the tour is lost.  I suppose it's really about student development and all, but it doesn't give me the opportunities I need to remain aware and 'developed', as it were.  I gotta get out more for myself.

After a pretty sweet break from work, I am left...unimpressed by what we have to work with.  Barren (in many cases) classrooms, dodgy technical equipment, degrading infrastructure...and that's just the beginning.  I realize that we all just make do most of the time, accepting our fates and circumstances.  And it's not acceptable.  That said, you can only control so much and I guess a remarkable realization is that even small things can add up and make a huge difference.  Small purchases of equipment...getting equipment gifted is even better, but it's clearly evident that change is possible if you just give it some thought.  And don't be encumbered by preconceived notions either...demand better of yourself and then feel comfortable asking it of others. If they can't 'do', then it's no biggie...their loss.

It's a New Year, a New Decade...Same Old Problems

It must be 7 years now, mucking about with the same courses, trying to make them more relevant, more intuitive, more...useful?  It is never-ending.  And not just because I'm not at least somewhat talented, it's just that what wasn't so obvious before in terms of the failings in each course, but now, it is...and only a year later!

I've witnessed trends, even utilized a few when I thought that they had legs...most don't funnily enough.  Seems to vary with the generation of students I guess, plus I'm not sure sure that we're not being played sometimes.  These new ideas that simply don't play out because they're somehow not as relevant as we were all led to believe (students are great multitaskers...ever heard that one?) or they simply don't resonate with the people we're all trying to teach.  Soup du jour if you get my drift...

I've decided...actually, it all started last year, to take back my teaching.  I suspect that I'm just frustrated by having to jump through so many hoops just to give 'knowledge' and 'learning' to those who pay for it, yet whom don't especially want it.  I think that educators are frequently castigated for failing to be good enough at their jobs when not enough attention is focused on the student and what they should be bringing to the table.  Quoting policy and student obligations also doesn't seem to cut it either.  We fail, at least some of the time, because our students simply don't want what we have to offer.  It's not just that we aren't engaging, it's just that we aren't talking about what 'they' perceive as being valuable or useful, you know, because they know.  Of course, this is all tripe...nonsense.  How can someone with so little exposure to the trade, or immersion within that trade, really know better?  They don't of course, so we end up with a situation that benefits no-one particularly well, but at least it gets people somewhere I suppose.  Wish I knew where that was.

I believe what I'm saying is that good intents' partnered with the best wisdom one can muster will continue to have to do.  I hold no miracle solutions, except what I do know can be writ in stone.  Learning takes work, it takes discipline and it takes some kind of evaluation to make sure that a student has it tucked in there somewhere.  Flaccid, super-woke and trend driven notions on what works best just ain't me.  And they don't work for the majority either.  I am taking back my teaching.  Trust me on this one.