After my last blog post, I started thinking about how I had returned to the wondering stage while I was composing my email. Several of the questions that I asked John were not on my original list of questions to address in this inquiry. There are some key questions that I have in my mind when I approach each of my sources. In addition to those, though, I think of more individualized questions for each source as well. This phenomenon reminds me of Virginia Rankin's presearch process. Questions developed during the initial exploration process are adapted and expanded upon as more information is discovered.
As I was reading John Dewey's My Pedagogic Creed, I stopped to reflect on the following statement- "I believe that the only true education comes through the stimulation of the child's powers by the demands of the social situations in which he finds himself." To me, he is saying that a child who is sitting in a classroom filling out worksheets is not engaging in true learning. An inquiry project that causes the child to develop his/her own questions and interact with authentic resources (books, primary sources, people) is more likely to result in the child gaining skills and abilities that will allow him/her to think and perform in the real world.
Finally, I came upon an explanation of a Modernist idea in the book The Creed: What Christians Believe and Why It Matters by Luke Timothy Johnson. Based on the work of Nietzsche, the idea is that those who inquire are in direct opposition to those who believe. Basically, by adopting a creed, one has stopped asking questions and engaging in intelligent interaction with the world. This idea was somewhat troubling to me, because I consider myself to be someone who believes and asks questions. Hmm...I'll have to give that one more thought. Not that I'm on the edge of a crisis of faith or anything. My beliefs are strong. :)
I can see both sides of the argument Andrea. First, by established a creed, you have to think about what you value. That in itself is important. You take ownership of your thoughts and values, not simply adopt what you have been taught. Secondly, by establishing your own creed, it establishes you as an individual.
ReplyDeleteI think a creed can be stifling if it never changes. I think, but I'm not sure, that I mentioned in the beginning of this project, that your creed can change as you change and as our culture changes. For example, years ago, in the Church women were never allowed to wear slacks. The creed had to change as society changed. At that time, women wearing slacks was looked down on, so the Church took a stand against it. It really didn't have anything to do with Faith. Now, since slacks are more common than dresses and skirts, the Church creed changes, but the values are still there. Faith didn't change. Does any of this make sense or am I just rambling?