Communities of Practice

I was not aware I had so much to learn about learning before I started this course! I enjoy being able to apply what I am learning to my everyday life. I feel more aware of the learning situations taking place in various communities of practice surrounding me in my everyday life.

I am realizing how important it is for us as “intellectuals” to be knowledgeable about the learning that is happening around us so we are able to create ideal learning situations! In order for us to be able to create these ideal learning situations, we have to recognize what is preventing or hindering an ideal learning situation. If we are able to recognize the interferences we can make the necessary changes to improve the situation. I have made it one of my goals to pay more attention to the learning situations happening around me and to recognize that they may need improvement so that I am able to work on what I can do to make them better.

I was particularly interested in our class discussion regarding communities of practice and the vortexes that are created around them. So many times I see them evolving around me but I do not recognize them as learning experiences. I find it interesting how individuals are able to earn their right to enter into these vortexes based on commonalities and shared meanings of the group while others may not be accepted into the ‘vortex’ because they do not share the same meanings.

When I was reflecting on communities of practice and relating them to my own life, I realized that I belong to an almost endless number of communities of practice and from each of them I learn about different aspects of life. There have also been numerous communities of practice that I belonged to in the past but I have left as they are no longer relevant to me. There are also communities of practice that I have not entered yet but will in the future, and there are communities of practice that I tried to enter but I was not accepted. Dealing with feeling rejected from a community of practice is difficult because it makes the individual feel insignificant. However, it can also be difficult to enter and commit yourself to a community of practice because as we discussed in class, you tend to become vulnerable when you develop relationships within the community and you begin to care about the individuals and the meanings that you share.

As I was reflecting on the communities of practice I do belong or have belonged to, it was apparent to me that the most important community of practice that I belong to has also been the most influential. The community of practice that includes my family and close friends has shaped me into who I am today. This may also be the reason why I tend to relate a lot of my learning in this class to my families community of practice. I notice that in my reflections and blogs, I am always relating to the learning that my parents provided me with or to the learning of my son. Many of my memories also evolve from social settings from my families’ community of practice and it is when we get together so many memories are brought back to life. These memories would not have the same meaning for me if my family and friends were not in them.

I grew up in a household that would be considered “assertive” with a balance of participation and reification. My siblings and I were very lucky to be provided with this stability in our upbringing. As individuals we seek stability in our life and often if we don’t have the opportunity to experience that, it can be difficult to be an effective and productive member of society. The stability we feel also has an impact on the communities of practice we choose to belong to and those that we are accepted into. We often see young children in the school systems that are not able to find a sense of stability. They seek attention wherever they can find it and it is often through negative behaviors. This in turn produces a negative response. When we had this discussion in class, I reflected on my teaching experience. Individuals who have submitted themselves to “unacceptable” communities of practice through negative behaviors need the most love and attention. However, they are often the ones it is most difficult to give it to. If we alienate them further we are only reassuring their beliefs in themselves that they are “bad”, we contribute to their low self esteem and they continue making choices that are not in their best interest.

We saw how communities of practice can shape the person we become watching the movie “Crash”. This movie also made me more aware of my own preconceived notions and biases about other people and their communities of practice. It reinforced that old saying “don’t judge a book by its cover”. Many times in the beginning of the movie I passed judgment on the characters based on what my expectations were of them, however, at the end of the movie it is clear that my judgments were not accurate. In our society we can be quick to judge people from the outside looking in but things are not always what they seem. This can happen with first impressions, I like to think that I don’t judge others when I first meet them, but I have. I think it is essential to be aware these preconceived notions so that we can recognize them and attempt to challenge ourselves to think about our thoughts and actions and the influence they have on others. Everyone has lived their lives and has had both positive and negative experiences that we not aware of which have shaped who they are today.

It is my goal as an educator to make myself more aware of  my own preconceived notions so that I can work at the best of my ability to create ideal learning situations that will benefit people involved and also so that we as a society can work together to support one another and treat everyone fairly.

Learning Continued

I would like to begin by saying how much I enjoyed reading every ones first blog! It was great to be able to relate your personal learning experiences in the blogs to what I was reading. There were many times when I was reading that I reflected on a learning experience that someone had shared. The blogs really helped to bring it all together for me and further my understanding of the readings.

The fact that the blogs help to reaffirm what we are learning through the readings and classroom experience confirms what Crawford writes about in his book ”Shop Class for Soul Craft” and the way we learn through a shared dialectic http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Soulcraft-Inquiry-Value/dp/1594202230 p.185.

I find that I learn much better in a classroom where there is room for discussion and sharing of experiences and opinions as opposed to learning by trying to figure things out on my own. At work I also like to work as part of a team, I have no trouble working independently but I like to know that there are other people around to discuss and share ideas with. I agree with Crawford that the standards of work are improved through social relationships and many times we come up with new ideas and things come to “light” as a result of working together http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Soulcraft-Inquiry-Value/dp/1594202230 p. 187. I enjoy learning with others and it is great to have a class that can work together like ours. I think the blogs are a great way to bring the individuals in the class and learning together.

I wasn’t sure how ready I was to return to school and I knew that it would mean time management and dedication. I am enjoying being back in school. I can’t say that I always enjoyed school and learning but as I got older I developed a new appreciation for learning and the satisfaction that comes from it. I always need to leave room for progress as it is what keeps me motivated. I can’t imagine ever feeling that I know everything I need to know. Crawford refers to this in his book when he writes about striving for excellence and worthiness by cultivating a particular skill http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Soulcraft-Inquiry-Value/dp/1594202230 p. 203.

Even though I found myself “skipping” over some of the mechanical explanations in the book ‘Shop Class for Soul Craft”, I enjoyed it. I can relate to the trades in this book and to apprenticeship in “Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation” http://www.amazon.com/Situated-Learning-Participation-Computational-Perspectives/dp/0521423740  through my current position at work. Part of my job is to promote and encourage women in trades and technology. I have to say I have never thought of the term apprentice outside of the trades and certainly never applied the term to midwives, tailors, quartermasters, butchers and alcoholics as Lave and Wenger did http://www.amazon.com/Situated-Learning-Participation-Computational-Perspectives/dp/0521423740 p. 61-87. Lave and Wenger exemplify the social nature of our learning and knowing through these five studies of apprenticeship http://www.amazon.com/Situated-Learning-Participation-Computational-Perspectives/dp/0521423740 p. 61-87. I thought the study of Alcoholics Anonymous was a prime example of legitimate peripheral participation http://www.amazon.com/Situated-Learning-Participation-Computational-Perspectives/dp/0521423740 p. 79-84.

In working to promote and encourage women in trades and technology it has been my experience that many times women do not even consider a career in a non-traditional role. We encourage women to think about what they really like to do. Some women discover that they really like to work with their hands and do manual labor; however, until it is presented to them, they don’t see themselves in these roles. They seldom see other women in these roles and have often been told that trades are not something they should consider! I have worked with women who have worked on cars in their yard all of their life with their father, they loved it and they were good at it, yet they were never encouraged to become a mechanic. I have worked with women who are volunteer fire fighters and they love it but they were not encouraged to become fire fighters. It is my opinion that our school system, although it is getting better, does not provide enough encouragement for young women to pursue a nontraditional career. I have worked with one woman who wanted to be a carpenter when she was getting ready to graduate.  Her guidance councilor discouraged her from this and told her she would make an excellent hair dresser. She never did become a hair dresser, but she didn’t become a carpenter either.

Trades have in the past not been encouraged for many people in comparison to university; working with women in trades presents a whole new challenge! For many reasons people do not “believe” trades are careers for women.  You could probably say that women are not always welcome in the community of practice “vortex” we discussed in class. Some of the myths include that careers in trades are too physical for women, they are to dirty and dangerous. Of course, there is also the idea that the trades are a place for ‘men’ and women don’t belong!  In “Shop Class for Soul Craft” Crawford referred to his trip to India.  He came across a group of electricians and one of the things he wondered about was if they were making the same “sexual jokes” he would be making with his crew.  This is another challenge we often face working with women in trades and technology http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Soulcraft-Inquiry-Value/dp/1594202230 p.200!

Despite the challenges I like to think that society is making a step in the right direction and again the community of practice “vortex” is evolving and advancing with time. The number of women training in trades and technology is increasing as is the number of women working in them. There are also programs being developed to encourage young women in junior high school to explore trades and technology before they enter high school and college programs to support women through their training and into the workforce.

It is ironic that as I was doing my reading “Shop Class for Soul Craft” for this course,  my younger sister was beside me doing her work and getting guidance from my father.  She is studying to become an electrician. I was struggling over the mechanical terminology in the book and  trying to figure out how Crawford’s Ohm’s law comparison http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Soulcraft-Inquiry-Value/dp/1594202230 p. 165 related to learning and knowledge, when my sister spoke up to tell me she could show me the diagram if it would help me to understand. Until that point I didn’t realize there was much in common in the subjects we were studying,  but I guess education really is all connected!

Learning to Communicate

As I was reflecting on my notes from my first class for my Masters of Education, I realized that there are a lot of behaviours in our social cultural lives that we may not recognize we had to learn. This is especially true of our communication skills. Simple gestures such as eye contact, body movement and facial expressions are often considered to be "innate" or "second nature" to us; however, these are all behaviours that we have learned through observing and communicating within our culture.

The communication rules that are developed among cultures are expected by those around us and they become "norms". When a person does not conform by following these communication rules we begin to learn when we are born, the person is often considered to be "different" and many times do not "fit in" society. So much of our society is based on conformity that when people deviate from these social norms in their communication style whether it is by choice or due to their genetic make-up they are often ostracized.
Rules and conformity are essential in society in order to maintain control and prevent chaos. The goal of this blog is to create awareness for those who are not able to learn the various social communication skills and rules as easily as others. Many individuals will not remember being taught how to communicate or interact with others. However, for some individuals, especially individuals with neurological disorders such as ADD, ADHD and Autism, learning to effectively communicate does not come easily. They do need to be taught these social and communication skills, and it takes time. Too often in our schools, work and in social settings, society negatively labels those who are unable to effectively communicate.

Often it is taken for granted how easily many individuals are able to learn to communicate on their own with little guidance, simply by observing the world around us and participating in social interactions. Learning to communicate does not come so easily to everyone and I believe educators need to more aware of this. As in the case of most activities we participate in, learning is an ongoing process and the more experience we gain with a given skill, the better we become.

The activity of sitting back to back with someone and trying to carry out a conversation is a great example of how an individual whose communication skills are not developed may feel when having a direct conversation with another person. Our natural instinct is to want to turn our head, make eye contact and look at the person we are talking to. When you are not able to do that you almost feel awkward and it can be difficult to carry on a meaningful conversation. What if it was not your automatic response and your mind does not tell you to perform these communication gestures. You would be aware that "something" is different about the way you communicate and relate to others, as well as the way others communicate and relate to one another, but you have a difficult time figuring it out. One can only imagine that this would lead to feelings of frustration, anger and the feeling of not wanting to communicate at all. This in turn can further alienate one in a social setting or society in general. It is our job as educators to recognize these individuals and to provide the encouragement and support they need to become effective communicators and ensure they are not labelled in our classrooms.

As the parent of a six year old boy with ADHD, I am very aware of the social challenges that come with neurological disorders. Although I had heard of these challenges before, and on many occasions worked with children with neurological disorders, I did not truly understand the various challenges these individuals face, until I had my son. It is not that individuals with neurological disorders are not capable of developing effective communication skills; it is that it may require a lot of work, time and patience to achieve something that seems to come so easily and naturally to others. The role of educators is essential in supporting these individuals and taking the time to work with them.

I encourage everyone to think back to the class activity referred to above and remember how it felt! Next time you are working with someone who has difficulty communicating, remember that communicating effectively does not come as easily and naturally as we assume for all. Take the time to make a difference in their lives and ask yourself what you can do to help!

My son Rielly- Age 6

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Graduate Studies in Lifelong Learning