Smelly Knowledge

I have to admit it — I have not read Ted Sizer’s seminal book, Horace’s Compromise, until now (I picked it up recently at the More Than Words bookstore). Actually, I’m still reading it, but I found a paragraph in the prologue (page 2) I wanted to share:

We can play at learning, without retaining much save the temporary pleasure of the play, and we can act the teacher, strutting expectable stuff in front of blackboards. Real learning and real teaching require more. Successful learning gives us that rush of confidence which comes from competence. We cannot fake it. Often it comes from a struggle, from hard reflecting, from trial and error, from considering the previously unconsidered. Sometimes it jumps out serendipitously, like the meant word in a crossword puzzle. Sometimes it is forced out by apprehension, by the fear that if we do not master this sequence of ideas, we will suffer a reduced respect from ourselves, our teachers, or our peers. Whether our learning comes from orderly revelation or serendipity or hard attention fueled with apprehension, we know that the process we went through to reach understanding is complex, subtle, often mysterious, and sometimes not much fun at all.

I think this paragraph really jumped out for me because it is very successful at describing the complexity of the relationship between learning and teaching. One approach, one philosophy, one outcome, or one measurement of this relationship seems too reductionistic and short-sighted. Here’s looking forward to having the time and motivation to explore learning and teaching in depth.