Growing Education

Thoughts & Reflections

We’ve been thinking a lot about education. Not only what it means to learn, as in the ways in which we learn, but also the system, tools and constructs that are needed for the opportunity. There are so many people that think the traditional system of education is in a state of disarray. We’re overwhelmed, they say, with how to accommodate the needs of each and every child. “The system just doesn’t allow it.”

Think of Alice and Wonderland. We can’t measure her growing, only her growth. As Francois Jullien notes, “To grow – we do not see growth, whether we are looking at children or at trees.” The state of education encapsulates this paradox. If our goal is “growing”, but we can only measure our “growth”, what do we try to teach to: the transformations that lead to “growing” or the measurable results of “growth”. How could you possibly create a system of education to accommodate this paradox? Well, Montessori did…