Diseño, cine, ideas

Fragmentos del artículo.  Artículo completo:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/200805/education-is-not-the-filling-pail-the-lighting-fire


This quote is from William Butler Yeats (Poet, 1865-1939). It captures what lies at the heart of authentic engagement - fire. As an educator, I've learned a great deal about pedagogical pyromania. In fact, it's my passion.


The fire triangle
If you talk about lighting, or fighting, fires, sooner or later you'll talk about the "fire triangle" (firefighters will add the fire tetrahedron and the fire square as well, as our knowledge expands about types of fires). Focusing on the fire triangle, we can articulate the science and art of building a fire. The three elements of this triangle are fuel, heat and air. The science of building a fire is knowing that these work together (and quite a bit about fuel itself like tinder, kindling and fuel wood). The art of building a fire is being able to regulate these under the given circumstances to get a blaze going.

Unfortunately, many educators assume that one or the other of these components - will & skill - is simply the students' responsibility. For example, I often hear colleagues lament how students lack motivation. They lack the will for learning. These teachers expect that it is the students' responsibility to come into the classroom on fire for learning. Similarly, others remark that students don't know how to write the essays required in their course or how to read. They lack skills. Of course, students who don't think they can succeed at a task (lack skill) won't feel very motivated to try.
It's true that ultimately the student must be the fuel for the fire, but that doesn't mean that educators don't have a role in lighting this fire. At the very least, we have to spark the students' interest.



Concluding thoughts - "kindling the gift of life"
I'll end with a quote from one of my favorite educators and writers, Parker Palmer. His book, "The Courage to Teach," is simply excellent. Here's what he has to say about fire and learning in some introductory remarks he wrote for a colleague's book.
"Tips, tricks and techniques are not at the heart of education - fire is. I mean finding light in the darkness, staying warm in the cold world, avoiding being burned if you can, and knowing what brings healing if you can cannot. That is the knowledge that our students really want, and that is the knowledge we owe them. Not merely the facts, not merely the theories, but a deep knowing of what it means to kindle the gift of life in ourselves, in others, and in the world" (Palmer, p. x; Foreword to O'Reilley, 1998).
In education, in life, let there be fire!


Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D. is an associate professor of psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, where he specializes in the study of procrastination.