Hmmmm! You do know how to pick em!! Some thoughts:

For about three decades we have been focusing on developing "something more than content knowledge." I submit that this is a fine sentiment if it can be shown to produce a student that can excel at both fundamental knowledge as well as creative thinking. Unfortunately, such has not been the case. One could even assert that the quality of the overall student has actually declined over time. I would argue that creativity grounded on a basic information and skills base is superior to creativity grounded on ego reinforcement. I think if you compared our parents' generation (1930s,1940s) to our childrenís' you would find tremendous qualitative differences; both in the mastery of basic academics as well as creative output. I don't have any data to back up this notion, but I would guess that cognitive potential is directly correlated to the information base on which associations can be built. If one fails to load the base data, then all of the self actualization in the world won't lead to a creative output. Perhaps we should forget about enrichment and return to fundamentals. Presumably, our culture provides all of the enrichment necessary outside of the classroom. Of course, basics are harder to teach......

Mike Jude

Shirley

I really enjoyed your feedback, and would love to include it in the next News Letter, would that be okay? It sound to me that we need to "look beyond" those things that we would normally just do or accept, because, as you pointed out, there can be deeper meaning. Theran

Thanks for your prompt reply. Well, yes and yet more than that. If one applies the dual concept to the KAM requirements, I think that looking at. Process as well as content should begin from the very ideas that go into the Learning Agreement, and then to be intellectually mindful of one's own processing from the first book or article. I'd like to tell you my own "battle" with KAM 1 sometime, but here is another kind of "Content and Process" example. Let me give an example, if you don't mind. First let me "set the stage" so to speak. I am a good bit older than most Walden students, was born and educated in Rochester NY in a very strict convent school. As a student you either accepted fully the content of what was being presented or you left it strictly alone, no thinking through, no compromises. In nursing school, we used to use the phrase "how many times do you need to make a bed to know how?" This was used to mean that once one was presented with a bit of information, even when it included psychomotor tasks, "its all the same thing". This changed first when I was doing some graduate study at the U. Of Hawaii, Honolulu, and working at Queens Center, one of the largest hospitals there. The different cultures there were so numerous I can't even remember all their names, both among the patients and my students. The content "make a bed" became a multitude of processes, there was the fracture bed, the surgical bed, the Stryker bed, the incontinent bed, the post-op bed, etc. One type of "bed-making" I will never forget concerned an elderly gentleman from somewhere on a South Pacific island. It was plain to see he was deeply revered by the number of visitors and their reverent actions toward him. He had one unusual demand that puzzled everyone, he insisted that the top sheet hang down to the floor on the side facing the door. Nobody knew what this meant but since it was a harmless request, they humored him. One night, while making rounds about 2am, I stepped close to the bed to make sure he was ok & my foot bumped a soft pliable object under the edge of the sheet on the floor. After my equilibrium returned to normal from this, I found a beautiful 16 or 17 year old girl, wide awake, just lying under there. Turned out that it was their custom to assign such a young maiden to this duty on a regular basis, for two reasons. First, if the old gentleman needed help with the urinal, for a drink of water, to be turned, or just someone to hold his hand during the night, that would be done by the young lady. Secondly, it served to educate the young of the community of the respect and needs of the older ones, and how it was their duty to be available to assist the older generation as needed, and not have these elderly be embarrassed to have to ask for help from outside their society. So, this "PROCESS" itself, the routine making of a bed in a certain way, through understanding of the many processes involved, thus becomes a variation that teaches that nothing is really ever "just simple content", if the learner will look at the myriad of processes associated with it. Make sense?? Shirley

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Future Questions: It has been suggested that questions initiated by the News Letter Editor in the future be offered to our PDK Chapter members by last name for response. The reason being that all of us are very busy, and that by doing this more people will be involved since they would only be asked to respond about once per year. Of course, any and all members are encouraged to provide input to any question at any time. This is only meant to keep you from feeling guilty. Please let me know what you think of this idea. I can be reached at: tmuglest@waldenu.edu .

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