Quality Learning and Productive Perplexity

Abstract

This chapter continues to explore the holistic pedagogical approach of quality willed learning. Let us agree that successful human beings often love learning, are often curious, open inquirers who are self-determining. If events such as creating, self-determining, openly inquiring are for themselves rather than tools for something else, many have agreed that schools and universities could provide conditions whereby those activities could be developed as a primary goal. For over 100 years schools and universities have been moving more and more in the direction of developing specialties. When a problem arises in a field other than one’s own specialty, one often looks to others to solve the problem. Self-directing people either solve a problem or peacefully and consciously accept problems that are not presently solvable. Teachers and professors don’t often enough notice that they are answering students’ questions before students have questions, and in doing so may interfere with students having questions. A free teacher without free learners is not enough for quality student learning. Teachers understand the importance of being free and of overcoming oppression; they should not in turn become oppressors as they often are when following strict guidelines that interfere with students becoming self-determining, curious lovers of learning.

As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world—that is the myth of the atomic age—as in being able to remake ourselves.

Gandhi