For me, the first ‘stop’ moment was when Eisner was talking about the culture of schooling. On page 83, Eisner says, “one of the first things a student learns–and the lesson is taught throughout his or her school career–is to provide the teacher with what the teacher wants or expects.” I think that Eisner seems to suggest that students’ learning in school is tied down to satisfying teachers’ expectations. I am not sure if I fully agree with this statement. This statement appears to be more like one of his many assumptions about schooling. Eisner has also published an article titled, “Questionable Assumptions About Schooling”, in which he lists twelve assumptions, taken for granted by education policy makers. I realize that Eisner was a leading scholar in art education, qualitative research, and curriculum reform. Also, he was a well respected and leading authority in educational policy and development, receiving numerous awards in recognition of his thirty-plus years of scholarly work and contribution towards educational reform. As an aspiring teacher, this statement seems to be troublesome. That is, to imagine that every interaction between a teacher and student in a school setting is somehow linked with the Hawthorne Effect. This may be the case in some instances, but I am skeptical about this statement partly because there appears to be no evidence to backup his claim.
Another ‘stop’ moment occurred to me when Eisner was talking about appreciation of other modes of thinking. On page 101, Eisner writes, “Learning is a humble thing compared with teaching. To teach puts one in a superordinate position, to learn in the position of a subordinate.” I also think that learning is a humble thing when taught by others. For me, the concept of learning is intangible, much like responsibility, confidence, hope, fear, motivation, etc. I do not necessarily think that teachers are the primary sources of knowledge, in this day and age, who somehow transfer their knowledge to their obedient students. I think that learning can take place anywhere with or without anyone physically teaching. Having said this, I think that being an independent learner or the process of learning independently is not at all humble. To the contrary, I think that the process of independent learning is exciting, empowering, and awe-inspiring in itself. In fact, I would argue that independent learning could be an indication of an individual’s intrinsic motivation and a growth mindset towards accomplishing something. Here, I am not limiting independent learning to the abilities of an individual learner, but can also involve groups of learners working collectively.
BC’s new curriculum states the following in their website: a) graduation is a major step from childhood to adulthood, b) our children need to be prepared to succeed as adults when they walk across the stage and get their graduation certificate, c) it is our job to prepare all children for success in whatever life path they choose, and d) aims to connect students with the skills they need to succeed in their next chapter. These statements, more like advertisements on a billboard, are not surprising. On page 88, Eisner alludes to some of these kinds of offers to the community from the schools. Eisner says, “the school offers to the community an education menu of sorts; it advertises what it is prepared to provide. From this advertised list, students have, at least in principle, an array of options from which to choose.” In BC’s case, the curriculum offers the prospect of graduation, future success of students, and skills that may be needed in the future. I am wondering how are teachers supposed to accomplish these things without significant opportunities for personal and professional development. On a positive note, as part of the core competencies, the new curriculum seems to promote deep learning and life-long learning by developing all learners’ intellectual, personal, and social and emotional proficiencies. I think that Eisner would be smiling in his grave, because of the positive changes that are taking place in schooling the young. To start with, these curriculum documents had input from practitioners.