Mirador without Organs!

Here, I have decided to present different aspects of this class by dissecting a video that Mally, Chris, and I love! I have always loved this video and was happy that Mally was so curious about it. Today I had Mally watch it a couple of times and I asked him to tell me a little bit about what he thought of the video.

Mally says, "It's about a little birdy on an adventure and he's finding shortcuts to go back home." Chelsea: "Are his adventures planned? Does he know where he's going before he gets there?" Mally: "No! It's like they just come out of nowhere." Chris: "What did you think about the part where he's running through all the trees and then the trees lose their leaves?" Mally: "I thought it meant, you're almost home."

Here is a list of some things I notice in this video:

• It shows the idea of potential
• It shows a balance of organization and disorganization
• Rules develop as the birdy moves through his city
• Fun and excitement of the unknown is what keeps the birdy going
• Individuals and society coexist together
• Each individual is important to emergence
• The attractor is getting home
• The birdy is not overly conscious of himself, he falls down and gets back up
• ELOB principles - self discovery, the having of wonderful ideas, success and failure, the natural world, and solitude and reflection
• BwO - connection of desires and intensities
• Desire as something we yearn for
• Making connections
• Confusion leads to desire

Through Mally's enjoyment of this video, I've realized that kids get this idea of a body without organs - they are able to see the fun and excitement that happens when you allow emergence to take place in this process . This video also shows that it is possible to combine organization with disorganization and come up with something amazing. Mirador shows the beauty, adventure, and emergence that happens when you allow some disorganization to take place. The little birdy goes on an adventure, but it seems that he does not know he is embarking on such an adventure. Through the disorganization around him, emergence takes place and he's climbing mountains, running through forests, flying in hot air balloons, floating through the clouds, and falling through an underground city. Each event unfolds and leads to the next event - emergence takes place. His home has aspects of organization combined with disorganization, there are clear paths, but where they take you is often unknown. Each individual he encounters influences, in some way, what happens next.

As the birdy moves through each new place, it seems as though thought is emerging within him. This story can be used as a metaphor for confusion developing and leading to emergence. After he falls into the forest floor, shapes of all sizes and colors fall from the sky and the disorganized/organized city he just came out of. After the pieces fall, trees grow. I saw this as confusion and disorganization leading to growth and potential. Doors on trees develop and lead this birdy to unknown places, he just keeps following the paths, however confusing, until he gets back home. When he gets home, he takes pleasure in it and then seems to be ready for another adventure. This fits in well with Massumi's interpretation of the soccer game, as the birdy getting home is a metaphor for his obtaining knowledge, through confusion and emergence. When he obtains this he is ready to begin again!

I want to show this video to more kids - I think it puts these ideas in a format that can be comprehended in many ways. If I could have the classroom equivalent to this story, that would be amazing!

The classroom without order-words?

From my understanding of Deleuze and Guattari's order-word, it is a limiting aspect of language, as well as the main form of language that we, as humans use to communicate. There is much emphasis on the order-word as having a negative connotation, even equating it to a death sentence. The order-word is a command and is instantaneous. In contrast to the order-word, I recall the most meaningful conversations I have had with people and they are those harmonious, open-ended flows of thought, and they are non-judgmental.

Deleuze and Guattari state that, "Every order-word, even a father's to his son, carries a little death sentence - a Judgement, as Kafka put it." (D&G, 76) When communicating with each other in a judgmental way, even when that is the least of our intentions, we are limiting potential. Statements that attach judgement are placing assumptions or labels, forcing emergence and potential to stop.

Also in November 20, 1923: Postulates of Linguistics, the idea was mentioned that, "narrative consists not in communicating what one has seen but what one has heard, what someone else said to you. Hearsay." (D&G, 76) A bee communicates in the opposite way: by displaying or expressing what it has seen, but not what has been communicated to it. As an advocate for all life forms, I insist that this is a language. I believe that every living being has a language, but many communicate differently from our own - maybe better? When I am able to communicate what I have seen with my eyes, heart, body, and soul, what I am verbalizing is that much more real and honest. Although, I do believe that much of what we say does replicate or is something we heard from someone else, probably much more than we want to believe.

Deleuze and Guattari seem to be projecting the idea that the 0rder-word contributes to this notion of incorporeal transformation. The definition of incorporeal is not consisting of matter, without material body or substance. And the definition of transformation is a marked change, as in appearance or character, usually. Incorporeal transformation denotes a marked change, an observable change, that does not show itself physically or even in character. It is a shift that occurs immediately and instantaneous. The example is given of a hijacked airplane, the incorporeal transformations that are occuring are the plane-body turning into a prison-body and the passengers becoming into hostages. These changes take place instantly and without physical change. They are incredibly significant changes. These incorporeal transformations take place when the order-word is spoken. When a judge gives an accusatory sentence, the accused is immediately a convict. When someone says, "I love you," you are now someone who is loved by that person.

In the classroom without organs, potential is an important factor in emergence and positive change. By using a language that consists of an abundance of order-words, potential is limited. Before commanding a classroom body, it is important to realize that what is said has the potential of assuming an incorporeal transformation. One sentence can create a change in an individual or an entire classroom body. When communicating and sharing with the classroom something I have seen and not just heard from someone else I am creating an open and honest atmosphere. I am using a unique language. By encouraging students to use this language to share ideas and thoughts with each other, the potential and possibilities are endless.

Postulates of Linguistics

Notes from reading of Deleuze and Guattari's, November 20, 1923: Postulates of Linguistics:

• "Language is not life; it gives life orders. Life does not speak, it listens and waits."
• The language of a bee - a bee can communicate what it has seen, but not what has been communicated to it. Do bees have language?


• Incorporeal Transformation - definition of incorporeal: without the nature of a body or substance
• The statement of, "You are no longer a child," is an example of incorporeal transformation, it is instantaneous and occurs with immediacy


• Saying, "I love you" is noncorporeal


• Communing with christ = spiritual bodies = no less "real" for being spiritual


• Example of incorporeal transformation: plane hijacking - the plane-body into the prison-body and the passengers into hostages


• "I swear." has a different meaning in court, to a friend, to an enemy, to a lover


• Order-word = language limits potential?


• "Language gives life orders and as a result humans only transmit what has been communicated to them." (Parr, 193) - The Deleuze Dictionary


• "Redundancy of the order-word is its most pertinent trait" (Parr, 193)


• Order-words transform bodies
• The order-words of a judge, his sentence, transforms the accused into a convict
• Order-words are always dated - they occur only in the here and now?
• We believe that narrative consists not in communicating what one has seen but in transmitting what one has heard, what someone else said to you. Hearsay." (D&G, 76)
• "The order-word itself is the redundancy of the act and statement." (D&G, 79)
• "Every order-word, even a father's to his son, carries a little death sentence - a Judgement, as Kafka put it." (D&G, 76)

First Montessori Post

Here is the link to my first post on Montessori:

http://classroomwithoutorgans.blogspot.com/2010/03/thoughts-on-montessori-method.html

The Montessori Philosophy

Taken from Montessori California's website:

www.montessorica.com/interest.htm

The Montessori educational philosophy believes that the educational method, to be effective, must support and address the nature of the child. The nature of the child is not a theoretical construct, but based upon Montessori's detailed observation of the child.
Based upon her observations Montessori came to understand the inner nature of the child:

*The child is a dynamic, curious person that has an inner need to know the the world. The Montessori classroom has a multitude of fascinating materials from which to select.

*The child comes to know the world through the senses. Consequently, experiences that develop and refine the sense are fundamental to knowing the world. Further, because knowing the world comes through the sense activities must concrete and have "manipulatives" (i.e. toy or game-like). The curriculum area of sensorial in the Montessori classroom aids the child in the development and refinement of the senses and the many manipulative materials in the classroom allows the child to explore and learn.

*The child auto-educated. Essentially, the child constructs knowledge through physically manipulating the environment. The physical manipulation, or handling of the environment, allows the child to construct mental images. Mental images lay the foundation for later abstractions. The Montessori teacher does not teach, but rather provides experiences for the child to construct mental images.

*The child learns that which is of personal interest. It is important, therefore, for the child to have freedom to select activities that are highly interesting. The Montessori classroom contains hundreds of colorful, exciting materials that are of interest to children.

*The child repeats activities until they are fully mastered. The Montessori class schedule has long, uninterrupted times in the morning and in the afternoon for the child to concentrate on activities.

*The child is orderly and focused. The Montessori classroom is calm, respectful and peaceful.

*This atmosphere meets the child's inner need for an atmosphere that supports concentration.

*The Montessori classroom is orderly and encourages the child to maintain an orderly environment.

*The teacher observes the child to determine what is of interest to the child.

*The teacher prepares the environment to meet the observed needs of the child.

Taken from Pacific Crest Montessori School's website, Seattle, WA:

http://pacificcrest.org/education-for-life/montessori-philosophy
Some of the fundamentals of a Montessori educational paradigm include:
*Respect and support for the innate intelligence of every child
*Children are natural learners; curious and capable of self-direction
*Child directed versus teacher directed activity
*A prepared environment (curriculum) that responds to each child’s interests and developmental needs
*Motives for action and meaningful activity
*Opportunities for independence and interdependence
*Freedom to follow interests within the limits established by the community
*Full engagement, focused attention and concentration
*Spontaneous self-discipline, responsibility and a heightened sociability and cooperation

Taken from My Brain:

There are some aspects of Montessori that I agree with. I agree that children are curious and I agree that the classroom should be peaceful and respectful. I also agree that children need to be challenged to learn independently.

One thing I think Montessori is forgetting is that children need assistance in being challenged. From what I have learned about Montessori, it seems that the teacher does not want to present too much information, just a broad spectrum and then allow the child to decide what is interesting to them. And then with this curiosity, they use classroom materials that have been strategically placed in the classroom. A requirement of Montessori is that children have a three hour continuous span of uninterrupted independent learning time. This makes it very clear that children are relying on their independent selves to challenge themselves. In the Montessori classroom, the teacher rarely instructs the entire class, most interaction is one-on-one between the teacher and the student as she moves around the classroom. I think that a teacher can be a wealth of knowledge and does not need to simply share that knowledge with the classroom, but have it available to share and use it to provoke curiosity in children.

So much of Montessori is based on the teacher's observation that it uncomfortably makes me feel like a science experiment is taking place. I believe that observation is helpful in understanding an individual child's needs or learning patterns, but there is a point where more time needs to be spent challenging kids rather than observing them trying to challenge themselves.

As presented in the soccer game analogy, the sharing of ideas is very important for the emergence of knowledge to take place. I agree that allowing children time to work independently and ponder their own curiosities is important. I also think it is a very powerful and rewarding experience to share those curiosities with a group and to allow them to grow and expand within that group. With Montessori, the child is taught to rely so much on herself that the potential of the classroom as a whole is being restricted. After the first few meetings as a classroom, most, if not all, work is done independently and classroom time as a group no longer takes place.

In my opinion, it does not seem that Montessori allows for curiosity to be left dangling and left to expand and left to raise more questions. I feel that the best way to learn is to be allowed to constantly question, maybe you will live your lifetime and never find the right answer. Maybe it doesn't exist. But you will have grown so much trying! The fun of questioning and curiosity is what makes learning such a rewarding experience. In Montessori, the positive outcome is when a child figures something out, when they answer the question that they were prompted to consider based on the materials in the classroom. As having worked in a Montessori preschool, I know that the general guideline is to not interfere with the children's independent learning. If a child asks for assistance, you direct them to continue trying, as they are capable of figuring out the answer on their own. I am all for independence, but it's very sad that if a teacher has thought provoking insight to provide a child that would further their curiosity, it is frowned upon to provide this.

When spontaneity is allowed in the classroom, as a whole, knowledge is gained. With Montessori, there is little room for spontaneous learning involving the whole classroom. So much of the learning is based on the materials in the classroom and how they relate to the individual child that it is difficult to question ideas outside of those materials you are presented with.

As someone who strives to one day teach a classroom, I am unable to comprehend how the Montessori Philosophy fits in with the responsibility of being a teacher. Sharing knowledge and challenging children in a classroom setting does not prohibit them from learning. Observing children's learning styles when presented with classroom material does not encourage individualism. It does not spark curiosity. What is catalyzing the classroom in Montessori? Why is the challenge of questioning and becoming curious left entirely up to the child? Why is the value of the classroom as a whole not equally as important as the child as an individual?

The Classroom as a game of soccer!

I had heard about Brian Massumi's translation of Deleuze and Guattari's philosophies and became intrigued to further develop these ideas into the classroom setting. In Massumi's book, Parables for the Virtual, I came across the essay titled, The Political Economy of Belonging.

Massumi dissects a game of soccer and tells how the organization combined with the disorganization on the field contributes to the emergence of each and every game played. The game has specific rules that develop itself and keep cooperation among the players, but it also has a disorganization or unknown that makes the game happen. If the observers of the game knew what would happen before the game, they would not watch the game, it would lose all of its excitement. If before the game, the players knew how the game would play out, they would quickly lose interest and not have a desire to play soccer. The fun and excitement on the field is not knowing what will happen next.

To better understand Massumi's article, I replaced the soccer field with a classroom. To begin, Massumi looks at the individual and society and uses the chicken/egg metaphor. Discussing what came first, the individual or society. Massumi argues that it would be absurd to separate the two - the individual and society. They coexist together and influence and reflect one another in each other.

I imagine the classroom as a society or body and each individual in that classroom is an important part of the emergence of creative energy, ideas, and knowledge. I found Massumi's essay particularily interesting because it focused on the game of soccer as having rules to abide by, but also disorganization and rules to potentially break that contribute to each and every game played. With my previous focus on the Classroom without Organs, I struggled with my passion for emergence through disorganization and limited rules and how to balance that with rules and organization. I have always naturally been drawn to organization, which can be very helpful, but sometimes realize that I gain the most when I allow disorganization to happen, when I do not follow strict guidlines.

Some notes from Massumi's dissection of the soccer game:

• The rules of the game capture and contain the variation


• Subject/object - player, ball, disassociation of subject/object can allow for emergence


• Circumstances arise that force modification of rules


• Condition of games emerge


• What is the "condition?" The field.


• The field is minimally organized and polarized by two attractors - the goals. They function to induce the play. What are the attractors in a classroom? The teacher?


• The game itself is activated by the presence of bodies on the field, goalposts, and the ground. These aspects induce the play, the ball catalyzes it. Ball = focus of every player.


• What catalyzes a classroom? The teacher? Knowledge? Structure?


• Parameters of actions are regulated by rules


• "When the ball moves, the whole game moves with it." (73)


• "Any player who is conscious of himself as he kicks misses." (74)


• Players in relation to each other are openings of potential


• The player looks past the ball to the field of potential


• "Any and every movement of a player or the ball in that space modifies the distribution of potential movement over it." (75)


• "Change is emergent relation, the becoming sensible in empirical conditions of mixture, or a modulation of potential. Post-emergence, there is capture and containment. Rules are codified and applied. The intermixing of bodies, objects, and signs is standardized and regulated. Becoming becomes reviewable and writable: becoming becomes history." (77)

Without rules, the game of soccer would not exist, nor would any other sport. Without rules a classroom would not exist. Rules are not the enemy, although, they often are more successful with room for alteration. The rules in a classroom keep the ideas and emergence on track. Rules do not necessarily mean organization. I could create a classroom rule that states, "Allow emergence to take place." Another that declares, "Respect your own ideas and those of your classmates. They help us to learn and be curious." These are awesome rules! And without them, my classroom would not know how valuable each individual is in contributing to the knowledge that is gained each day.

Teacher/Student. Who is the subject? Who is the object? Hopefully neither. Allowing for a barrier to be broken for all subject - object relationships in the classroom can open many doors for emergence to happen.

What is it that keeps a classroom polarized? In the game of soccer, it is the goals. They are a key focus in the game. Ideally, the players will make a goal, but it does not happen effortlessly. They rely on themselves and each other to get there. In a classroom, ideally the students will succeed in learning something new. So, I will say the the attractor in the classroom is the possibility of learning something new. And in the classroom, the students and teacher should rely on themselves and each other to get to that point of learning something new. Along the way they will ask and answer questions, gain curiosity, and pass ideas back and forth. Much like in soccer, as they would pass the ball back and forth, they contemplate the path and their own curiosities.

What is the "game" of the classroom? Knowledge. And the metaphor for the ball in the classroom is ideas. The flowing of ideas should catalyze the classroom, just as that ball catalyzes the game of soccer. The students, teacher, activities, and classroom itself induce the society of the classroom. The flow of ideas catalyzes it. When ideas move and flow among the classroom, knowledge (the game) moves with it. Any player who is conscious of himself misses when he kicks! In a classroom, any student who is conscious of herself will miss! When the classroom environment encourages ideas to flow and emergence to happen, hopefully, self-consciousness will be less likely to occur and there won't be as many misses. I think of all the times my self-consciousness got in the way and I missed in class. There were so many things I wanted to share, but didn't because I was afraid they didn't make sense or I didn't make sense.

Just as in a game on the field, in order for the classroom to be successful there needs to be a balance of structure and rules that closely share the space with minimization of rules and allowance for modification of those rules. There needs to be a common attractor that the students are aiming for, in the case of the classroom, the attractor is the possibility of learning something new. In both the field and the classroom, the attractor should be attainable and exciting and challenging to attain. Questions need to be asked and curiosity needs to happen to get to that point. There needs to be a catalyzer (the ball) that is passed between the students and the teacher. It is something that is shared and respected and moves throughout the classroom. The catalyzer of the classroom is ideas. Ideas should be bounced back and forth until they reach the goal of becoming knowledge.

When this knowledge is attained it should be exciting, just as it is to score a goal in soccer. It is valued as a team effort. When the goal is not attained, the team keeps trying and they eventually make the goal.

Dissection of Keywords - Active Pedagogy

Without looking at the definitions of Active and Pedagogy, here are the ideas that I have about each word...

Active: energetic, compassionate, movement, excitable, focused, attentive, curiosity

Pedagogy: teaching, more than teaching, concepts and ideas in teaching, learning how to teach, innovations in teaching, creativity in teaching, teaching as an art, teaching as valuable, teaching as a way of communicating creative ideas

So, some other ways I would say "Active Pedagogy" are...

• energetic concepts and ideas in teaching
• compassionate about learning how to teach
• movement and innovations in teaching
• excitability and creativity in teaching
• teaching as valuable and attentive
• teaching as an art that promotes curiosity
• teaching as a focused way of communicating creative ideas

These terms help to better understand the idea of Active Pedagogy, an idea which is valued in the ELOB philosophy. Teaching should be active and I believe that is takes a compassionate teacher to create a classroom. The teacher needs to be energetic for the children he or she is teaching - this will keep them interested and show them that their teacher is passionate and truly cares about the subjects they are teaching. Teachers should encourage the movement of ideas in the classroom, this will help keep the classroom as a whole excited and curious.

Teaching is so much more than a job. It is about being creative and understanding the value that teaching holds. I believe that teaching is an art and can be taught to an extent, but it takes compassion, creativity, love, curiosity, and a desire for children to grow to effectively teach a classroom.