A definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
Herein we find the key to inquiry's necessity. (And this is the last time I'll make a sentence rhyme.) Any teacher who has the integrity and self-awareness to admit areas of limitation and incompleteness must admit room for growth, and growth will require change. How then will the growing teacher decide what changes need to be made? I much prefer the language of 'inquiry' to 'research' but however we name it this process of intentional exploration and analysis for the sake of discovery must be a part of any reflective teacher's practice.
The sort of questions we ask will shape the answers we are willing to accept, and so I believe self-awareness and openness to exploring our own weaknesses will establish the most fertile ground from which our questions may grow. If we are afraid of losing control or authority within our classroom then we may not be willing to ask whether our students could manage an hour a day of self-directed learning. If we are rigidly stuck in the ubiquitous assumption that letter grades are an inevitable part of the education system, then we may not be willing to explore possible alternatives.
Real inquiry will take us places we may not wish to go; growing to accept this natural discomfort and the uncertainty that comes with stepping foot onto new territory will become a part of the inquiring teacher's learning curve. The teacher as inquirer is one who willingly enters a collegial relationship with students, learning along with those she is privileged to teach. Of course the process of inquiry will ever-broaden the teacher's ken and domain of expertise, yet this does not predict an end to inquiry. While a teacher will grow in knowledge and wisdom, neither of these is a finite category and so the developing teacher will always be able to walk alongside her students in the act of inquiry. Teachers may share their wealth of knowledge and from this, new questions will arise and students will contribute their own ration of light and vantage point from which unexpected alleyways of inquiry will become visible.
The process of inquiry therefore requires not only integrity, humility, and a certain emotional fortitude and courage from the teacher, but also assumes that learning is a collaborative process that happens within a community of learners which extends to include the teacher as well. This is how I hope to practice inquiry within my own classroom one day.
-Mark
1 comment:
Hello Mark,
Thank you for articulating so well the need for personal integrity and honesty as we begin our teaching adventures.I identified with your opening quote especially because I think that too often as adults we expect life to work out according to our plans.When it doesn't we sometimes get frustrated and resentful when perhaps the roadblock was there to force us onto another path? I have come to realize that teachers need to be keen observers, lifelong researchers, voracious readers, strong communicators, and courageous self evaluators. Self inquiry is difficult, but the answers we seek as to who we want to be as teachers are inside of us all. If as you suggest Mark we see our students as our teachers than we need to view our classrooms as homes of a collaborating community where a holistic arrangement and many opportunities for dialogue occur.
My language arts teacher Kellie Buis teacher extraordinaire mentioned to us that she stopped setting up her classroom in August and now waits for her class to start in September. She made the distinction that it is not her classroom but theirs (her students). She lets them decide where desks and displays should go and allows them to take ownership and accountability for their joint environment.It is just one small thing but I think the message of respect and community that it sends her students is enormous. Planning and organization are key pedagogical ideas but control is an elusive beast. The only person we can actually controll is ourselves! We make choices of responding to or reacting to the situations in our lives. The power of inquiry is the voice it gives our inner wisdom. Only through reflection can we give purpose to our search for personal truth, professional service and heartfelt connections to our students.
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