I give thanks, this sunshine-filled mid-week day for my Gurus who come in various avatars. As I write this, I am delighted that both words have crept in on soft feet from Sanskrit where they were born into the language that I have adopted as my own.
We have been learning about the Titanic at school: facts, opinions, speculation and wonderings. I am always humbled the energy with which students throw themselves into learning when they are presented something engaging. And the gift given to me, as a facilitator, that I can ask questions that invite them to step out of a school-ed path of thinking and consider the whispers of silent voices.
We read through fact sheets, and pored over websites and newspapers. We made posters, dabbed recounts with fragrant teabags to make them appear old. We got ready for the Titanic Museum walkabout.
And then my most vocal Guru asked a question, honey brown eyes honest and earnest, stopping just to catch his breath:
Were the other ships?
Were there other people?
Do you know who they were?
Are we going to learn about them too?
Are there books, are there websites or photos?
See, this is the payback. Once I present one set of stories, the fertile mind is going to ask for more. The ethical and pedagogical responsibility for me then is to go out and find out more. So that I bear witness to the journey of learning: mine and theirs.
Critical thinking jumps out of coloured hats and cue cards and becomes a niggling question that I must ask myself:
Do I have the courage to admit that I don't know?
Do I have the courage to tell them what I do know?
Do I have the strength to walk with these questions until we find some answers?
Do you?
Namaste.
No comments:
Post a Comment