Hunger 2: Intellectual hunger to learn 篤志勵學的渴求

• practical hunger to improve
• intellectual hunger to learn
• emotional hunger to achieve
• fearless hunger to invent

It is undeniable that life-long learning is crucial to people from different walks of life. As role models, we teachers are heavily engaged in continuing professional development (CPD). Notwithstanding the notion of qualification inflation, our colleagues actively participate in different modes of CPD in order to acquire the latest education trends and pedagogical innovations in order to fit our students’ needs. It is because we are not educating our students for the present days but for their challenges in the 21st Century.

The world is ever-changing. The societal changes, accompanied with Web 2.0 and 3.0 technologies, destroy our current education system and traditional practices. What we need to do is to UNLEARN if we are going to re-discover the educational souls of our students! Mr. Peter Woodhead, my friend and retired ICT Adviser, English Schools Foundation, wrote the following inspiring message in an on-line discussion forum last year:

We need to unlearn the idea that we are the sole content experts in the classroom, because we can now connect our kids to people who know far more than we do about the material we’re teaching.
We need to unlearn the premise that we know more than our kids, because in many cases, they can now be our teachers as well.
We need to unlearn the idea that learning itself is an event. In this day and age, it is a continual process.
We need to unlearn the strategy that collaborative work inside the classroom is enough and understand that cooperating with students from around the globe can teach relevant and powerful negotiation and team-building skills.
We need to unlearn the idea that every student needs to learn the same content when really what they need to learn is how to self-direct their own learning.
We need to unlearn the notion that our students don’t need to see and understand how we ourselves learn.
We need to unlearn our fear of putting ourselves and our students “out there” for we’ve proven we can do it in safe, relevant and effective ways.
We need to unlearn the practice that teaches all students at the same pace. Is it any wonder why so many of our students love to play online games where they move forward at their own pace?
We need to unlearn the idea that we can teach our students to be literate in this world by continually blocking and filtering access to the sites and experiences they need our help to navigate.
We need to unlearn the premise that real change can happen just by rethinking what happens inside the school walls and understand that education is now a community undertaking on many different levels.
Certainly, there are many others ……

Modifying our long-adopted habits by “learning” is difficult because it is complicated to alter our mindset. That’s why Chris Patten, in his latest book What next?, expresses a pessimistic view towards a lot of changes around the globe. We need to unlearn before we learn.

The secret to learning new things is to be willing to unlearn even if your behaviours previously brought success.
Learn, unlearn and relearn (on-line article) by Marcia Conner (2006)

http://www.fastcompany.com/resources/learning/conner/022706.html

Should we take a close look at Peter’s view above again and add our own items for searching for excellence in education.

Making change is somehow painful but
Those who put in seed with weeping will get in the grain with cries of joy. (Psalm 126:5)

Reference:
Patten, C. (2008). What next? Surviving the twenty-first century. London: Allen Lane.

Email: patrick@patricklamhc.com
Website: http://www.patricklamhc.com/

 務實求進的渴求
 篤志勵學的渴求
 美滿成果的渴求
 勇於創新的渴求

終身學習是現代教育的目標，對任何人仕也是重要的。作為學生之模範，我們老師積極參與持續專業發展。同工們樂於其中，並不是因為近年之學歷貶值，而是同工們不斷尋求最新的教育趨勢及相關教學策略，從而為我們21世紀的學童預備適切的課程及教學設計。因為我們不但讓同學為今天而努力，還為未來而好好裝備自己。

世界急速轉變。社會上的改變，加上Web 2.0及3.0科技之發展，對傳統的教育制度帶來莫大的衝擊。如果我們要深入探求當今之教育真締，我們必需捨棄己學（unlearn）。Peter Woodhead是我一位朋友，亦為已退休之英基學校協會之資訊科技總監，他於去年在網上討論區留下以下對老師們極具啟發性的字句：

我們需要捨棄「老師是知識專家」的意念，因為我們可以把孩子與專才聯繫上，而他們比我們所知的豐富得多。
我們需要捨棄「老師比孩子知得多」的意念，因為在很多情況下，同學可以成為我們的老師。
我們需要捨棄「學習是一件東西/事件」的意念，因為當今的學習著重過程。
我們需要捨棄「課堂內之協作已足夠」的意念，因為我們若落實同學層面上國際協作，他們更能發展更多21世紀技能。
我們需要捨棄「學習的內容十分重要」的意念，因為他們學會自學更為要緊。
我們需要捨棄「同學不需經歷便學曉」的意念。
我們需要捨棄一些過去我們相信是安全及有效的教學方法。
我們需要捨棄「所有同學學習步伐一致」的做法，試想想為何我們同學熱愛那能在個人達標時進階的網上遊戲呢？
我們需要捨棄「引導式上網」的意念，祇是不斷攔截不良網頁並不能促進同學的文化修養。
我們需要捨棄「只顧校本發展」的意念，因為教育是社區群體共同建設的。
當然，還有很多……

改變常規是件難事，因為更新那根深蒂固的思維的過程極其覆雜。難怪彭定康先生在其新著作《What next?》中對全球未來的轉變抱有悲觀的態度。我們在學習前，必須捨棄所學，正如聖經教導我們「倒空」一樣。
「無論從前有多成功，學習新事物的秘密就是願意捨棄已學」
Mareia Conner（2006）《learn, unlearn and relearn》
（網上文章）http://www.fastcompany.com/resources/learning/conner/022706.html

讓我們深入了解Peter Woodhead 以上「捨棄之論」，並提出自己需要捨棄的意念及常規，追求卓越的教育。

轉變或改革在某程度上是疼苦的，但是
流淚撒種的，必散呼收割。 詩 126：5

參考書籍
Patten, C. (2008). What next? Surviving the twenty-first century. London: Allen Lane.

電郵: patrick@patricklamhc.com
個人網頁: http://www.patricklamhc.com/

林克忠 2011年8月