Not Just Education.

I guess it’s my problem but I learned early that the logical way to approach things is to be prepared first. It also turns out it’s what all the best advice, experience and tradition says too. So my frustration is caused in several ways number one is people not letting me prepare. There may be many reasons why this happens their lack of understanding generally or of me, or it is to their advantage to not let me prepare? Second, most people start at the end not in thought as in having the end in mind they jump to later stages with out acknowledging (noticing) everything that has or could happen before. This is my third avenue of frustration where I notice and acknowledge the majority that happens before the obvious action bit at the end. Whether it was adults when I was a child or bosses at work the same pattern of unprepared people ignorant of methods or the situations imposing on me their choices. Now if you trust the other person by experience or giving them a chance you can be rewarded with a workable compromise and a better situation than you could on your own. But you get experience and unwariness of another’s preparedness and knowledge. Sure they have experience, but of what: fire-fighting, buck passing, guessing and of doing it ineffectively, or being lucky (family) or underhand (borderline illegal (which side of border?)). The truth is lots of people keep jobs by not rocking the boat or playing ‘the game’, not through job performance of their actual job (unless that job is actually just keeping it!). I want to encourage setting up and structuring negotiations with people and problems to get success not just turning up (every time) and shouting loud how successful one is, as long as you do not analyse it of course. This is having the knowledge and skills and plan before being chucked in the deep end. My work experiences have been various different deep ends. I have survived, I have coped and sometimes people have thought I have done well and others times badly. These thoughts are rarely measured, usually random silence fillers covering up the errors of the situation occurring in the first place. But the basic pattern is I will never get the job to stop it happening in the first place.

Explaining something to someone who does not understand has an element of art to it where simple words can sometimes enlighten the learner to new levels of thought or understanding. We all though have our limits and are wondrously varied in what and where these limits are. I have worked with children who are supposed to be ignorant and I have enjoyed adding to their knowledge and skills and hopefully their life. I have also worked with adults with similar experiences. The science of teaching is knowing what the learner knows or can do and adding the next piece of the puzzle to take the learner forward. When we move forward we like it, there is little resistance to the process or the teachers (guiders or what ever label chosen) input. Sometimes the input is not noticed by the learners or anyone around. The joy of teaching is in the progress itself. Sometimes of course the teacher and learner are one and the same.

The resistance to the process is my bug bear and constantly a frustration developing force. The resistance comes in many forms. A teacher is often in a formal setting with imposed compromises that reduce the joy of learners progress. Stakeholders is a common phrase where several uninformed parties can interfere with the teacher and the teaching. This is the biggest frustration in teaching; trying to explain or reason with these stakeholders. Humans are biased and without trust or force they will not listen or act to or for another person. Authority or perceived expertise sometimes has a formal structure or appearance whether there is actual expertise or not. Leading learning is leadership. Autocratic leaders deal with dissension in severe ways and do not have the loving trust of the followers but a hating trust of what the autocrat will do.

Resistance and barriers to learning can come from the learners background. They need a foundation to build learning on. As well as the social resistance there is personal resistance and barriers. Einstein is quoted as saying ‘say things as simple as possible but not more simple than that’. This occurs in teaching, the first is where the learner does not yet have the foundation on which to add the next piece of the puzzle. There are many instances I have found where people do not have the skills of learning, or the trust in teachers to proceed. Often they cannot recognise their lack of knowledge or skill or have an ego defence mechanism in place. Creating the conditions to deal with these barriers first is more difficult the older or senior the learner becomes. This lack of foundation of understanding is most difficult when the leaner perceives themselves as competent or in the senior position. I have often been in the position of explaining (mostly tactfully) to a person their job. Frustration is when you realise the second element from Einstein’s quote is insufficient to encourage understanding either at the time or probably ever.

Everyone has their limits. When you see clearly the learner is a long way from being able to do the puzzle (job) they are attempting. They do not have the foundation. Frustration is seeing the person is paid a lot of money for a job they are not equipped for where creating the conditions for progress are insurmountable. When of course the learner is your boss! When there is no realistic path to progress it’s time to accept defeat. They (and others) often do not know their own limits and without some flexibility to change nothing is going to proceed.

The main barrier is incomplete foundation. Many injuries are self inflicted mainly in youth as a skill or programme is attempted without preparation. The resulting injury will help bring the learner to reality or not. I often find with adults they do not have the skills and understanding of how to improve, they do not know what works for them. They train in short term methods wanting long term gains. They are susceptible to marketing and emotion and resistant to planned development. The quick fix is easy to sell, even if it has rarely worked (that may even be the business model). As well as the knowledge and skill deficit there are thinking and approach barriers too. A big restrictive thinking skill set comes under critical thinking. This is not monkey swinging in trees or running on the plains thinking. This is stop and work things out and then use the conclusions of thought. This has to be taught or researched (self teaching?) and practised. It is not within most education. Daily continuing logical fallacies are allowed, unchallenged in all aspects of life. Essentially the maths does not add up. The simple children’s toy illustrates (and must have been a great challenge for some). It is to put different shaped bricks into the right shaped holes. Like with like is simple to understand, a rock is not an elephant. And yet categorical errors are rife, comparing things illogically, changing descriptions by cherry picking certain information to make it fit a chosen view. Many times these errors are displayed by people with more power and rewards then intelligent thought. Often they have passed exams with the elements of critical thinking but fail to practically use the ideas or have destroyed the toy hammering all the pieces in the same hole!

I want to randomly try to express ideas towards finding better ways of explanation to aid progress in learning and application. I will think out loud to find better ways of teaching (self and others) and improving performance. I find perspectives from science but also traditional views from round the world that express ideas and concepts well. Many of the above elements and barriers have been recognised for centuries and yet still ignored to get results, even though they are barriers to achieving results.