From: john williams (ducati900@bigpond.com)
Date: Wed Feb 05 2003 - 11:02:33 GMT
Hey dustin,
I missed your initial post but I find the thread exciting. I'm about to start training as a teacher and I'm glad to hear you are trying to put MoQ into your work. Just a couple of points.
Dustin said: What I am hearing you say is that it is better to domesticate than it is to educate. That is all static patterns are -- domestication. In static patterns there exists billions of tiny agreements that are made for me, not by me. I didn't choose to speak English. I didn't choose to be American. I didn't even get to choose my own name. Before I am old enough to decide for myself what is good and what is not good, more and more agreements are made for me --- "Don't trust black people." "Women aren't as smart as men." "Homosexuals are going to Hell." "What would Jesus do?" -- in all of these I had no choice but to believe with absolute faith.
I think static patterns are very important and what I'm reading here is that your experience of static patterns hasn't been a happy one. I agree with you that these patterns can be bad, but they are also vitally important to the development of human kind. It is static patterns that allowed us to move from biological to social and then on to intellectual, trial and error improvements, unfortunately a lot of shit comes up with the good.
Dustin said: I want to give my students choices. I want them to decide for themselves what is good and what is not good. I say to them again and again, "You may say anything you want to say in my class as long as you can defend it." The other concept I am learning to adopt is "You may DO anything you want to do in my class as long as it offends no one."
This sounds very much like the Quality classes the Phaedrus taught in ZMM and its what I think Matt is talking about when he says he prefers ZMM over Lila. Wim also spoke of teaching like Pirsig rather than about Pirsig, I think that's the way to go.
I'm going to teach Primary (6-12) and I believe I should be able to make these kid recognise DQ and SQ, the difference and the importance of the two.You made a point in another post about getting the kids to love you and respect you and going from there. I must agree, although I haven't taught I've been a sporting coach of the age group I'm aiming at and I found that when the children realised that I cared for them (about them), that they would do anything I asked.
It's what excites me about becoming a teacher, watching them improve, I found that every child had something that they could get out of the game. I just needed to find it, help them recognise that potential and go for it. In some kids it was just getting them to run, other it was complex plays, but they all had something to offer and it was my job to find it bring and it out, it is a joy. I hope teaching will be the same.
Dustin said: Why shouldn't this world unravel? Aren't we in Hell?
Yes if we're not there we're not far away.
John from The Rock
----- Original Message -----
From: Dustindmorrow@aol.com
To: moq_discuss@moq.org
Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 3:26 PM
Subject: Re: MD Teaching Morality
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