Over nearly 40 years as an educator, I think change has been consistently the major education issue in nearly all settings. And added to the mix are all the changing demographics of our community, the growth, the changing needs of students and families. Yet, our teachers are dealing with all of them at once. Let's begin with the classroom. A favorite Thornburg metaphor for the process of learning is that of the primitive village.
Information exchange happens by the campfire, where stories are told and knowledge handed down.
From the campfire, the learner moves to the watering hole, where there is conversation and dialogue. And, when he's ready, the learner goes forth into the context of his life to experience what he has learned. Apply this metaphor to the changing environment of our schools today, and it becomes clear that learning must be in the control of the learner. If the campfire and the watering hole are settings found within the classroom, the cave necessarily is the home and life, the community. Rather the teacher manages a learning environment which inspires discovery, rewards questioning, and reaches out to home and community.