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.

This week's keyword!

This week's keyword is "Active Pedagogy." This term is a part of Expeditionary Learning Schools Core Practices. I will take a look at the basic definition of each of the words, active, and pedagogy and in another post dissect the meaning. For now, here are the definitions to ponder...

Active:

1. Being in physical motion: active fish in the aquarium.

2. Functioning or capable of functioning.

3. Marked by energetic activity; involving or requiring physical exertion and energy.

4. Being in a state of action; erupting or liable to erupt; not dormant: an active volcano.

5. Marked by or involving direct participation; currently in use or effect; openly acknowledged or expressed: an active dislike of the new neighbors.

6. Producing an intended action or effect.

7.Expressing action rather than a state of being. Used of verbs such as run, speak, and move.

8. Being a source of electrical energy; capable of converting or amplifying voltages or currents.

Pedagogy:

1. The art or profession of teaching.

2. Preparatory training or instruction.

3. The function or work of a teacher

4. The art or method of teaching

What I love about ELOB principles!

ELOB's ten principles are the foundation of teaching in and out of the classroom. The principles are based on the works of Kurt Hahn, the founder of the Outward Bound program. Below is a link to the ten principles:

http://www.elschools.org/aboutus/principles.html

Here I will list what I love about each ELOB principle and my personal take on them...

1. The Primacy of Self Discovery

Learning is not about memorizing and stating facts. It is not alone about knowledge and presentation of knowledge. The most powerful kind of learning is that which evokes self discovery. That which promotes emergence of ideas. Emergence of ideas is what leads to self discovery. Imagination is required! Oh, imagination! Another powerful tool for the emergence of ideas which leads to further curiosity and learning. Teachers help students overcome their fears. With every report card I received as a child, the teachers always stated, "Chelsea is a pleasure to have in class, very smart, so much to offer! She needs to speak up more!" How wonderful it would have been if one of those teachers had realized my difficulty and fear of speaking up in class and helped me!

2. The Having of Wonderful Ideas

Wonderful ideas cannot come about during one lesson. Often a person needs more time to consider a topic and to let their wonderful ideas emerge. This principle states that "learning situations should provide something to think about." This philosophy understands the importance of thinking and the time it might take for ideas to emerge. With ELOB students are given learning expeditions that last twelve weeks. A classroom will look in depth about a particular subject for this entire time! They can take this one topic and it can cover language arts, math, science, social studies, art, and technology requirements. And it gives students a chance to focus on one topic and to unfold their ideas.

3. The Responsiblility for Learning

What I like about this principle is that it presents the notion that learning is a very personal thing. All students learn in a different way and to recognize and strengthen your particular style of learning can be a wonderful tool.

4. Empathy and Caring

"Teachers and students ideas are respected." As a child you need to know that your ideas, however silly they may seem, are respected. Your teacher is always learning just as you are. There are no wrong answers. A "wrong" answer leads to curiosity and the emergence of ideas.

5. Success and Failure

This principle states that students will "learn to persevere when things are hard." It is very important to teach children that challenges are positive tools for learning. When you make a mistake you will probably learn something you wouldn't have otherwise.

6. Collaboration and Competition

Another principle that promotes the emergence of ideas! Students are not competing, but working together. This allows for children to share ideas and to rely on not only themselves, but each other to solve problems.

7. Diversity and Inclusion

"Diversity increases the richness of ideas." Teaching children about diversity is very powerful. Teaching them about the diversity of their own neighborhood and school and the one down the road and on the other side of the world helps them to realize how emergence is happening in different ways all around them.

8. The Natural World

It seems that ELOB's focus on the natural world is not alone science and fact based. They teach children the importance of a connection to the environment and their surroundings. This philosophy is able to take the classroom outside and relate not only science, but language arts, math, social studies, and art to the natural world.

9. Solitude and Reflection

"Students and teachers need time alone to explore thoughts and reflections." This has a nice balance to principle #6 about collaboration and competition. Here students are taught the importance of allowing themselves time to think through their own ideas. Ideas emergence and present themselves in a group and can be expanded upon when you have time to think to yourself. They are able to learn the power of their own curiosity, imagination, and creativity.

10. Service and Compassion

Teaching children about the importance of helping others is huge. In these schools there are often service learning type of projects where students of all ages go out into the community and help others. Having compassion for others in the community allows children to see the importance of every individual person. They can reflect on their service in the community and become aware of their personal strengths.