Pathways to Learning

I just came out of a meeting related to education and started thinking about how many different educational models we can call to mind from personal experience or shared anecdotes, and their relative success rates.

There is the authoritative model, where the representative of a powerful system knows best and attempts to squeeze students through little compartments in the machine in order to crank out identical copies of the original. I am thinking of the colonial approach to government, business and education in many countries; and in particular, the residential school system in Canada, with the deep divisions and identity-crushing suffering this type of model can inflict on individuals and on society as a whole.

At the opposite end of the scale is the free-for-all, "here for a good time, not a long time" model, where the group animator is just a "buddy-old-pal" who has no authority and expects students to figure everything out for themselves; this system drives students for a long distance in a top-of-the-line party bus and then drops them off with a hangover and fuzzy memories at the edge of the jungle to fight their way through the chaos on their own, without a clear sense of direction or the necessary gear... and is then surprised how few of them succeed.

In my mind, the best model is one that offers a guide for a challenging hiking journey. In this model, students are travelling to a destination they have chosen for themselves, but have access to quiet expertise which can be called upon as needed. In this model, individuals receive advance preparation and training for the potential risks and obstacles, learn the sense of agility required to adjust the route as needed based on circumstance and ability, and benefit from constant companionship and shared stories along the way, which leave both student and guide stronger, more connected and fulfilled when the goal is reached.

Mentors

OK, you may have noticed we're on a bit of a theme this week. And if we're going to talk about apprenticeship, we also need to talk about mentors.

This is a time when we need mentors more than ever. We need leaders we can respect and look up to, heroes to emulate, role models to learn from, footsteps to follow. Our individualistic culture has given us many gifts: freedom, a sense of possibility, a belief in our own abilities... but to a degree, it has also turned us inward and shaped the belief that it all begins and ends with ourselves.

Mom and Dad: if you're reading this, you'll remember the famous words of adolescence... "I'd rather make my own mistakes."

OK, fine... but as much as it's good to have initiative, to demonstrate independence, to learn something for ourselves—if we don't also have mentors, teachers and guides, we can spend a lot of time lost in the woods, re-discovering fire and re-inventing the wheel. I believe in experiential learning, but there's no reason for everyone to start from scratch. That's just wasting time that could be spent making headway on some of the really important problems we face: finding solutions to violence, hunger, injustice, poverty, and an environment decaying at a seemingly exponential rate.

We could be standing on the shoulders of giants, seeing so much further into both past and future... if only we could find someone who's been through some of the things, someone to learn from, someone to trust. We can read about those people with the big ideas, listen to them on TED, follow them on social media, peruse their blogs, listen to their podcasts... but can we really connect on a personal level, learn one-on-one, share our missteps and ask for advice? Maybe so; maybe the future mechanism is different than the traditional one.

And what if we could take the time to BE one of those people for the next guy? We don't have to be the one with ALL the answers, but surely each of us has learned something of value along the way, in some area of our life, that could be a cornerstone for someone else out there. Can we be generous enough to share freely?

A mentor is someone who comes to meet us where we are and walks with us to the destination we're travelling towards, telling us stories and pointing out landmarks along the way. "That's where the bear almost got me; the water in that spring is pure; watch out for the loose rocks on the side of that hill...and just over there, almost hidden from sight, is a rare flower that only grows here... but you need to keep your eyes open or you'll miss it."

Build relationships of trust, share ideas and experiences generously, reach for the stars; find a mentor, be a mentor.