A Discussion of Learning as a Way of Being and To Know As We Are Known

            When one brings up the topic of education several images spring to mind.  The idea of sitting in some sort of classroom, surrounded by students, of various but generally similar levels of learning, waiting to listen and learn from a single person, the teacher, comes to mind.  In addition, education seems to imply a lacking on our own part, a need to be infused with new information, and new learning which will allow us to progress in whatever field we are being educated.  For a great majority this is not a word which spurs excitement and joy, which causes one to get passionate or even brings good memories and thoughts to mind.  One major reason for this is our current model of education which is first of all information centered, and secondly, focused on the teacher, the master of the classroom experience.  This is not only the case for specific school based education, but this model can be seen throughout our lives, in virtually every area we learn and need to be taught.  

            The result of this is a battered view of education, and a society in which learning is almost adversarial.  We compete with ourselves, with others, and seek to both impress and get past the teacher.  In this brief paper, I will discuss the ideas of two thinkers, one specifically Christian oriented, the other specifically business oriented, and seek to understand their conceptions of how we must change not only our models of education but the very underlying conceptions of what learning and education actually consists of.  With this, I will also engage this topic from my own perspective, seeking to learn from my own past and discovering how such views impact my present and future role in the area of education.  If learning is an activity which we engage in, hopefully, throughout our lives, it is essential that we discover thoughts which will help us along our journey and allow us to be helpers to others.

            The key word to understanding both Parker Palmer’s, To Know As We Are Known and Peter Vaill’s Learning as a Way of Being is “holistic”.  For both of them the primary problem in education is that learning and education has primarily consisted learning a set amount of information, and key strategies for implementing such information in specific settings.  This is an intellectual pursuit which requires an intellectually focused atmosphere.  With Peter Vaill, we are introduced to the concept of “permanent whitewater”, that is, the general situation of real life, and the continuous upsetting of our general patterns and plans.  His key conception is that we as learners must begin to think like explorers, able to fluidly engage the various struggles which we will encounter, indeed even becoming able see these struggles as part of the overall process.  He elaborates on the idea of  our current models being “institutional” learning, and shows why this model actually prevents in many ways the successful engagement of the various problems, crises, and situations that are prevalent.  His conception is that we must renew our understanding of ourselves as learners and of our teachers and of the learning process as a whole.  We must put behind us the “institutional” ideas of learning as competition, as simply the acquisition of more and more knowledge, and as a series of benchmarks which by themselves will indicate our competency.  Instead, we must engage what we learn, realizing that just as we are not compartmentalized people, we cannot learn simply with one aspect of our being.  The learner must be shown how to look at learning as a process which engages all aspects of who one is, and must see oneself as part of a continual, interactive process, in which there are many paths to travel, and the benchmarks are the successful integration of life and learning, so that we not only have a base of knowledge, but the creative ability to react and respond continually to what life entails.  Learning becomes part of who one is rather than what one does, so that every part and experience becomes integrated into the building up of both the individual and the community of which they are a part.

            Parker Palmer engages education and learning from a distinctively Christian perspective, relying in many ways on historic models of Christian education, especially on the thought and words of those great Abbas of earlier days, the Desert Fathers.  For Palmer and his model, Abba Felix, learning is simply not the acceptance of a set amount of information to be regurgitated upon demand, and stored in mental boxes for later use or discarding.  Rather, learning involves understanding truth, gaining not only the content of information but learning how to engage life and learning in such a way that we know reality, that we know ourselves, and that we know others, together uniting in our pursuit in order to grow in understanding and faith.  The current models of education, basically the idea of Vaill’s “institutional” learning, have removed and separated the learner from the process, taking away his or her own responsibility and engagement, so that the Teacher can impart wisdom and understanding.  Truth is something “out there” which must be received.  Palmer’s basic premise is that rather truth is something which we all participate in, we all have insight into, and we all must be active in both pursuing and sharing in order for the truth that is in us to be shown.  Learning loses its adversarial qualities and becomes an act of love.  In addition, a key to Palmer’s thought, and that which makes it distinctively Christian is his conception of truth, not as a simple idea, but a living reality.  Truth is not only something we seek out, but it too seeks us out, living, moving, yearning to be discovered and engaged.  Thus, learning an education for both Palmer and Vaill insists in our active involvement mentally, spiritually, and even physically, so that we learn as we are, holistically.

            To be honest, these books were a bit of a struggle for me to get through.  This is not because their concepts were too difficult, or their writing too complex.  Rather,  I realized early on in both Palmer and Vaill the quality of my own educational past, and how this has shaped my view and engagement with learning as a whole.  My very first class as an undergraduate was called “Freshman Experience”, a class in which under the guidance of a professor, a small number of students were led in discussions which related to who we were as students and as Christians.  This class also consisted of weekly papers, in which we were required to respond to various ideas, such as why we were there, what we thought about various educational and religious concepts, and how we saw our lives as a whole.  Indeed, this class was the discussion part of a larger class in which we were introduced to Theology and Culture, and required through conversation and writing to engage our own beliefs, and to seek out the learning of the professors and other students.  This was not a unique class experience, but rather, as I look back, my entire undergraduate experience consisted of this model (with various exceptions of course).  One example is my American Church History class in which throughout we were given quality lectures, but also continually asked to respond, with our final project being a “family religious history” in which we combine our own story with the tools and information we had been given throughout the semester.  The motto and goal of the educational process at my school was “the integration of faith and learning”, and its success in doing this can be seen in the fact that both my geology class and my class on meteorology actually had as much impact on my faith and life as did my various Bible classes. 

            Also, throughout Vaill, I realized that I was one of those lucky people who have found success in institutional learning precisely because of my own pattern of learning as a way of being.  I do not come into class with an adversarial or competitive task, nor do I see classes as simply meeting a requirement or simply teaching me about one area of knowledge or activity.  Rather, what I learn in one class is vital to all my other classes, and in fact vital to my life as a whole.  The classroom tasks are working together with my own ministries, my own reflections, and my own interactions with others to help me along my journey towards Christ.  I simply do not have the ability to compartmentalize or separate my mental from my spiritual or my spiritual from my physical. 

            As I reflect further on this, I realize that while this is not new, that this is a pattern which I need to cultivate and express to others.  I realize that my expectations tend towards presuming that others view education in such a way as well, and that some frustrations of mine have built up precisely because I cannot conceive of someone not viewing learning and education in a holistic manner.  Another idea which has come into my head is the extreme value of reflecting on my past experiences.  Interestingly, I did not really consider the past modeling of education which I have experienced.  I valued the learning, but I have not looked very intently at discovering how that teaching was conveyed and how learning was both inspired and made one’s own.  It is important that I reflect on the good and the bad models of teaching and education, and seek to discover precisely how I was formed into a holistic learner.

            In putting this into practice I must remember these reflections.  Because, again, of my own natural tendencies towards integration in my own life, despite the format which information is presented, I simply cannot expect that it others.  In my own teaching I must be aware and active in engaging the learners who are there, who may need their thoughts and truths to be drawn out.  I realize that when I teach I tend towards being lecture oriented, expecting students to integrate on their own and take the knowledge into other aspects of their life.  But, I as read, and see modeled in these books and in class, it really is vital that I actively seek to create a learner centered environment, actively not only conveying information but also drawing the learner into the learning process.  And with this, it is vital to take my reflections on my past positive experiences and seek to create a model of teaching which reflects both my own personality and the successful formats to which I have been exposed.   Part of my role in teaching for Christian formation now is not only conveying the Christian truths, but helping others to understand new patterns of learning and thought which will give them tools of discovery and the ability to seek out and integrate on their own the lessons and teachings which God has given them in all aspects of life, and through these shared experiences to grow and develop as the body of Christ.