Just returned home from speaking at another large international conference where meaningless clich\u00e9s filled the air and rolled off of people’s tongues. Aside from being boring, clich\u00e9s oversimplify complex issues and distract us from making forward progress. Clich\u00e9s are a tranquilizer that retard our thinking and decision-making. Clich\u00e9s amplify the superficial and form of a vapor barrier around powerful ideas.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, the clich\u00e9s are not even true. Yet, they still manage to become a community standard.<\/p>\n
One particularly pernicious clich\u00e9 goes something like this.<\/p>\n
“We all have so much to learn from our students.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Variations on this theme include:<\/p>\n
“The kids are so much smarter than us.”<\/p>\n
“My students know so much more than me.”<\/p>\n
“They are the digital natives. We are digital immigrants.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The motivation behind uttering such banalities is likely positive. It acknowledges that children are competent and encourages adults to learn with<\/em> them.<\/p>\n
However, these clich\u00e9s suggest a power relationship in which all adults (particularly teachers) are resigned to the role of bumbling TV dad while the kids rule the roost. In education, this often serves as a justification for why teachers irrationally fear computers and modernity or appear to have stopped learning.<\/p>\n
The clich\u00e9 diminishes the value of expertise and effort for adults and young people alike.<\/p>\n
Let me state clearly that I have no problem learning from anyone or any experience. I love learning with and from children. Nothing delights me more than when we co-construct some meaning. I just don’t go into classrooms thinking I am dumber than my students. I have experience, expertise, knowledge, wisdom, insights and a better Rolodex than they do.<\/p>\n
My old friend Branford Marsalis is widely considered one of the world’s greatest musicians. He is also a very fine educator.<\/p>\n
In the documentary, Before the Music Dies<\/em><\/a>, National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Branford Marsalis<\/a> was asked to share what he has learned from his students.<\/p>\n
This one-minute clip may surprise you.<\/p>\n