Musings on Modern Pedagogies
February 12, 2007I’ve had occasion to be thinking a lot lately about schooling and the type of education I believe that my kids should receive. I consider myself fortunate to have received both public and private high school education, and I can see the advantages and disadvantaages of both. I still can’t help wondering whether the whole education system itself is in tune with the real needs of my kids? I have a nagging feeling (intuition?) that it isn’t. This line of questioning led me to some Montaignean wisdom on the subject:
I gladly come back to the absurdity of our education: its end has not been able to make us good and wise but learned. And it has succeeded. It has not taught us to seek virtue and embrace wisdom: it has impressed upon us their derivation and their etymology.
Come to think of it, this statement sums up my feelings about my own education. I’m working hard to correct the imbalance on that score.
Aside: the definition of pedagogy?: from paidagÅgos, slave who took children to and from school.
Philosophy 101
December 21, 2006I was channel surfing the idiot box the other night after getting home relatively late from a friends bday and stumbled across a fascinating doco on the design of modern housing and the relationship between housing, architecture and the relationship with the (perceived) quality of our lives. I later found out that it was part of a series called The Architecure of Happiness. A really interesting series. Reminds me of some of the things I loved studying during my undergrad years, and why I ended up with a Human Geography major.
The author/narrator Alain de Botton was also interviewed on a show that started directly after. Here’s a person that they referred to as a Philosopher — a real-life modern-day philospher. Now you don’t hear of that too often. I like the fact that Alain is such a Renaisance man … author, philospher, artist. A generalist in every sense of the word! I’ll be sure to check out his work in further depth. Any suggestions where I should start?
Many find the idea of finding wisdom from studying Philisophy in these modern times strange and bizzare. I’m fascinated by it.
Omnivore No More!
October 6, 2006It’s been six weeks since I last ate meat.
There is no one single reason for making this decision, but rather a number of factors such as wanting to eat a more natural, healthy diet; not wanting to participate in the death or suffering of other sentient beings; and the desire to have less impact on the planet (via the inefficiency of meat production). I find explaining my motivation for going Vegetarian difficult to put into words–Marty has gone Veg too and his own (more elloquent) thoughts pretty much echo mine.
Initially, I thought that the change might be difficult, but it’s going really well. Donna has been really supportive and is helping by cooking diffent meals and trying out new recipes. I am still enjoying food (perhaps even more), and have managed to drop a couple of kilo’s without ever feeling hungry.
I’ve experienced some interesting reactions to my choice, particularly from family and people close to me. Mostly, everyone has been really supportive, but not everyone copes too well when you make fairly significant changes to your life. I guess its the fear of change and that the person they ‘knew’ wont exist anymore. But this is an illusion anyway, we’re constantly evolving and changing, it’s a natural process.
Memorable Quotes - Shuryu Suzuki
August 21, 2006As a ‘knowledge worker’ I’ve long held an interest in the field of knowledge management. I came across this quote from Shuryu Suzuki, which puts forward an interesting perspective on the meta-subject of knowledge. Food for thought! …
“We are in danger of being buried under all of our accumulated knowledge. It’s like trying to survive without going to the restroom.”
Inner Serentity
May 16, 2006I was watching Denton last night and he did a fascinating interview with Lee Stringer–a former crack addict–and best-selling author. Stringer came out with some really memorable quotes and anecdotes about his writing experiences.
Firstly, he described the feeling he got from being published as “a high … but a connected high, not a disconnected high“. Asked about how he handled success as a writer, his reponse was; “gaining by inches on inner serenity.” Poignant.
I guess people have different motivations for writing, but this struck a chord with me. Writing is, for me, often an inner release of thoughts and feelings; and can often be quite a cathartic process. What are your writing motivations and experiences?
