Lifelong Learning
I favour a broad definition of lifelong learning. If one were a person with their nose in a book through much of their childhood and adulthood, lifelong learning with the most impact may mean a radical departure from passive learning to more direct community engagement. Conversely, a person may have been involved in direct activity or engagement at the expense of a theoretical framework. They may need quiet contemplative time to read, consider and reflect to the exclusion of distractions and people pulling you away. Perhaps most of us need a balance between conscious thought and engagement to move forward effectively into “lifelong learning.”
Educators such as Brookfield and other notables in the field of adult education have used Marx as a reference point to explore topics such as dialectics, consciousness, ideology and social change. I became exposed to Marxism through reading about history, and studying political science decades ago as a teen. Many people do not realize that Marx’s early writings were extremely beautiful, and addressed some fundamental ideas about how human beings should express themselves, in a natural state to the benefit of the individual and the collective, contrasted to a capitalist society in which people are necessarily divided by the labour they are required to undertake (for wages, survival). The Materialist Conception of History 1844 – 1847) Keeping in mind the historical context of the writing (all the “he’s”), Marx states
“For as soon as the distribution of labour comes into being, each man has a particular exclusive sphere of activity, which is forced upon him and from which he cannot escape. He is a hunter, a fisherman, a shepherd or a critical critic, and must remain so if he does not want to lose his means of livelihood; while in communist society, where nobody was one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming a hunter, fisherman, cowherd, or critic.” The Materialist Conception of History 1844 – 1847)
Even for those who would distance themselves from any association with Marxist thought, the idea that we should not be solely defined by our occupations is appealing. Human beings are mult-faceted and lifelong learning should try and address the multi-faceted part(s) of ourselves that we have learned to ferret or hide away. I think our desire to “hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, and criticize in the evening” speaks to a human quality within us that needs to engage with world around us. (not literally “hunt”, for me anyway unless it means bargain hunt…) We continually construct meaning, even (or especially) in the blandest occupations. Psychological studies of women doing repetitive work in “All the livelong day: the meaning and demeaning of routine work” by Barbara Garson (1994) provided powerful qualitative evidence of creative and higher power thinking that takes place in various case studies involving factory work. Circling back, I believe that adult educators and adult students want to understand and influence the complex world around them in positive, constructive ways. When people have narrow fields of activity and occupation, education can continually offer greater ways for us to identify with the different dimensions of ourselves and world we inhabit.
Negotiating the Politics of Teaching
Stephen Brookfield addresses negotiating the politics of teaching in chapter 19 of “A skilled teacher.” I think it is bold, practical, and helpful. They can be applied to formal and informal learning environments. He essentially has created a mini “Best Practices” guide to aide educators. An initial point he makes is worthy, in my view, of a whole chapter. He states, “Become a cultural anthropologists of your institution”, noting the first rule of survival which is ‘know what you are dealing with.” This approach involves stepping outside of oneself to map out the institution, literally or figuratively and try to gain a sense of its historical development, influences, language, funding structure and the various interests of the parties. I imagine in doing so, the most difficult aspect of the institution to understand are the relationships and powerful influences of people, both open and acknowledged and those below the surface, and not necessarily accountable. Perhaps teachers should be sociologists of our own institutions as well. Brookfield recommends being deliberate and strategic in our orientation to the institution: build alliances, contribute time and effort to pivotal parts of the organization to support its functioning, and limit our battles to those we can realistically influence. Having credibility outside of the organization through generating external recognition for our efforts help to fortify not just our position and presence, but that of the program we value as well. Creating a papertrail frequently substantiates our role in communications and help establish or delineate areas of responsibility; for it is difficult to contest the written word. The advice provided by Brookfield should not, in my opinion, be undertaken like a “to do” list, but in raising these areas for consideration, we are already more conscious of the reality: teaching is influenced by politics, and education is political. His specific recommendations are highly principled in that both the individual instructor, and the institution benefit from the practices outlined.
Finally, I would say that most teachers (secondary, post secondary, and community based) would welcome administrators and policy makers into their classrooms, to see and experience the value of the education being provided. However, these opportunities are few and far between. That said, how can decisions regarding funding allocations and prescribe the roles and activities take place….Decisions regarding education are political and teachers have historically been in a political role, in addition to (or as a part of) their role as teachers.
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