The Classroom Community - times be changin'

First thing's first. It's called "A Vision of Students Today." Have fun with it! I'll see you in 4 minutes and 44 seconds. Here's the video.

Did you have fun? Let's move on...

Education (elementary, secondary, post-secondary) is terribly hierarchical. Authoritarian, even. The teacher is the expert. The student is the learner. At universities across Canada, professors orate their ideas and "findings" to hundreds - maybe thousands - of students who cram into an annonymous lecture hall and try to absorb the distant material. These classrooms are pretty one-dimensional and, more importantly, a lot of 'em are grossly out of date.

Clearly, there are exceptions. Because, clearly, the world is changing. More likely, it's changed...exponentially. There's just too much information out there for any one idea to be tackled by anything less than a team - that's why The Gumboot is getting so much critical acclaim; it's the collaboration, baby!

Sorry, teachers, but when it comes to our classrooms, we're not always the experts. Especially when it comes to technology and how we use a medium like the internet to access information. Navigating its system of pipes and tubes, students can use the web to find a litany of supportive, contrasting, useless, and hilarious sources on any given topic. The more we educators pretend to know it all, the more our students will Facebook and Twitter their way into unproductive apathy. So, we need to include them in the lesson.

Here's my modest proposal. Let's change things in the classroom. In collaboration as students and teachers, let's make a transition from hierarchy to community. Many post-secondary educators out there know a lot about a little, which is great and amazing and important for students to learn. And many students know a little about a lot. And the classroom community can be the vehicle for, among other things, these ideas from everywhere to come together under knowledgeable guidance. Who knows, with the right discussion, a classroom might even turn into a venue for positive social change.

Interested in making your classroom a community? Here are some strategies to try out:

Edutainment: the concept of edutainment combines performance with learning; basically, make the classroom a fun place to be. Use YouTube. Play games. Talk about pirates. And, most importantly, when you link learning outcomes to enjoyable activities, the result(s) are those wonderful 'ah-ha!' and epiphany moments that make teaching such a rewarding experience.

Use technology: sorry, Luddites, but at least part of your curriculum needs to be online (I mean, let's put it in context...grade ones probably aren't going to be blogging...I mean, this isn't Ender's Game, right?). Whether we like it or not, Web 2.0 has allowed a whole generation of learners to personalize their consumer experience. Education is a product our students consume, so why wouldn't they expect one of their most expensive purchases (or their parents purchases) to have the option of being tailored to their needs. Whether it's downloadable lecture notes, an online forum for discussion or a wiki, having technology supplement a comprehensive academic experience will provide a personalized touch that so many students want...and, arguably, need.

Be inclusive: ask them questions. And don't stop there. When your next lesson comes up, show your class that you've taken their feedback and used it to make your material and their experience even better. Empowering young people to take on creative leadership roles can be risky, sure. But when students are set up for success by their teacher and then their plan comes together - wow - it's a beautiful thing. The stuff of inspiration, really.

Let them collaborate: no great thing in the history of humanity was every done by just one person. So, from team-based projects to sharing notes (yes, even on Facebook), let students work together to solve problems. Better yet, encourage them to do so.

Make it relevant: From "machine to community" and "hierarchy to network" - according to Goran Carstedt, this is where the real-world of the workplace is heading. The material (ie. the sociology of peasant uprisings in Early Modern France) might not be directly related to life, but the transferable skills sure will. So why not make education as relevant (with content, form and style) as possible? More than ever, employers are accepting that, when it comes to concepts like social media and interdisciplinary, cross-cultural collaboration the boss, not the analyst/intern/consultant/researcher, will be the student. It was two twentysomethings who brainstormed Best Buy's internal wiki, not the CEO or VP of HR. Having a meaningful, inclusive conversation in the classroom as well as a lecture is a great place to start.

Because if we keep up with our expert orations and do not empower students to engage our ideas with theirs, well, we just might, as Sir Ken Robinson says, kill creativity for good. So, whether you teach kids or adults to dance, do math or save the world using business, try something new in your classroom. You might fail. And that's okay.

And, hey, if writing this was a huge mistake, well, that's okay. Because I'm not afraid to make mistakes. Learning from them makes us all better.

- JCH

community and the classroom

This all (more or less) happened at Bishop's University.

A few days ago I let my two favourite undergraduate professors know about The Gumboot. Their responses were different and hilarious. One said there was "too much piratology" and struggled to comprehend why West Coasters are so inspired by "water logged wood." The other, I was pretty sure, called me a troglodyte. Of course, I had to go and look up "troglodyte" to confirm what it meant (editor`s note: I was sorta close). Then I realized that he wasn't implying I was a troglodyte, but was actually using the colourful term to describe people who lurch through the grey streets of Winnipeg. And, you know, fair enough.* My former professor - and current friend - told me that it was, and is, impossible to build community. He said that positive change is a hopeless and naive pursuit. Well, gauntlet accepted, sir.

Moving on...

The professorial feedback about Vancouver's coolest new blog was correctly incorrect. But, most importantly, the aforementioned educators have been given a glimpse at what their classroom community-building has created. These profellas, after all, provided two of the most exceptional classroom communities North America had to offer. Whether or not Bishop's is a "good" or "real" university is a debate for the ages - for people who value balanced, well-rounded, liberally artistic, intimate, personalized education, this place is for you. If you want a giant library, state of the art technology and to be taught by a TA, go to UBC, McGill or U of T. The classrooms of the Bishop's History Department from 1999-2003, which may or may not have included boxed wine from time to time, sewed seeds for community engagement in real life. And, if done well, this experience can happen in a classroom anywhere.

Here's how.

In the spirit of Stewart Burgess's brilliance, I have constructed a matrix that displays the way that a classroom experience (mine is the example) can give learners the skills to positively engage their communities:

THE CLASSROOM COMMUNITY	“REAL-WORLD” SKILL OBTAINED	POST-CLASSROOM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ABILITY
Arguing with Dr. Wegert about the tenets of socialism vs. unrelenting German rationalism	Negotiating • Standing up to authority • Confidence • Public speaking • Forming and delivering arguments	Building relationships with a diverse range of people and not being intimidated by the “powerful” ones
Learning about History	Historical perspective on horrible degree choice • Critical thinking • Research/Writing/Presenting	Learning and teaching about the past in an effort to plan for the future • Writing emails.
Drinking wine during seminars	Ability to responsibly consume alcohol in “high-stakes” social situations	Not looking like the office jackass when the delicious celebratory wine is opened
Taking time away from the Dr. Childs’s teachings of life during the First World War to discuss a fellow student’s quarter-life-crisis	Life in the present is more important than stories from the past • Active listening skills • Planned Happenstance	Think outside the box • Take risks • embrace and run with good ideas
Kurt’s perspective and the collaborative, interdisciplinary teamwork we used to destroy him (well, his neo-con , devil’s advocate arguments)	Understanding the power of diversity: my ideas are very rarely the best ones; really, it’s a team thing.	Kurt Heinrich is simultaneously an inspiring and annoying teammate. And being opened minded to new ideas and new communities makes us better equipped to engage others and change the world.
Tough marking, tougher feedback	Failure is fine • Learn from mistakes • Do better	Projects and the ideas behind them will fail, and we – as a community – need to keep going!

©Copyright 2009 Stewart Burgess and The Weekly Gumboot

To all the learners out there: your next step should be to figure out what community service learning means to you and then brainstorm some ways to take your experience in the classroom outside into your community. History at Bishop's University was a good place to start. But community within - and beyond - the classroom can do so much more for the world around us. So, next time you find yourself in a classroom don't just think about ideas; do them!

And, most importantly, have fun with it!

- JCH

*No offense to the noble people of Winnipeg (or people who dislike footnotes). By living in that city, you`re automatically braver than most people in the world. Well done, folks.