Did Lewin get it right?

For some time I've become quite preoccupied by the idea that learners perceived sense of community may impact their decision of whether to persevere with, or withdraw from their course of learning.  Recently I've been reading the work of Vincent Tinto (1993) and its certainly giving me food for thought.  Some of what I'm reading I agree with and other parts I'm not so sure about.


A thought that is explored quite early in the book is that change brings personal growth.  The author presents the idea that it's OK to change our goals as we grow and mature in response to educational stimuli.  And while I think that's true, I found myself wondering why I feel so exhausted.  With so much change and even more talk of change going forward, is anyone else at the point where in your head you're screaming out: "Stop the bus, I want to get off!"  I don't feel like I've grown much at all.  Indeed, I kind of feel ready to cave in.  

I mean, really, I get that as a teaching and learning community we're constantly reflecting and looking back in order to make the future better.  But, in the context of the past two years, when you're caught on an endless treadmill of improvement and quality enhancement in addition to all the other changes that have taken place , when do we stop and just appreciate what we've got right here, right now.  Where is the mindfulness?  In all the talk of trauma informed pedagogy (OneHE, 2021), have we forgotten to take care of ourselves?


I think back to the beginning of 2020 and I remember making the decision to look after myself, look after my health and wellbeing, be more mindful etc.  Now, the walking has stopped and I'm back on the treadmill again.  What went wrong?  

In Lewin's (1951) model of change he proposed a three step process of unfreeze (get ready for change), change, then refreeze (stop changing and look at what you've got).  I remember when I studied Lewin's model for the first time it was in the context of organisational change and change management.  This model was largely discredited on the basis that change is continuous and never ending, whereas Lewin's model suggested change was stepwise.  But such critique of this model suggests that it's wrong to take small steps and that it's wrong to stop and rest and reflect.  No!  It's a necessary part of being human.  

Last year I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful lady called Juna.  She was a counsellor that I went to when I was struggling with my mental health.  One day she asked me the question, "When an athlete is training for a competition, what do they do?"  

I said, "They eat right, they train, they work with coaches, they buy good equipment, they practice, they reflect, they improve..." 

I began to run out of ideas.

"And?", she replied.  

I was stumped.  

"They take time to stop and rest."  

A number of blog post by @BaliMaha and Mays Imad @lrningsanctuary recently made me think about this and how it is important to stop, look after our hearts, look after our bodies and minds, and appreciate what we have in the moment.  I've been back teaching face to face now for around eight weeks and I can completely identify with the sentiment of feeling energised by my students but drained at the same time (Bali, 2021a).  

As teachers we give of ourselves all the time.  In our scholarship, in our teaching, our energy, our time, our emotions, its like casting lots of rose petals to the wind (Bali, 2021b).  Some fall at our feet and travel nowhere, but others are caught up high, travelling far and wide touching lots of people across geographic borders.  I especially loved the idea of my writings as digital rose petals reaching through time and space to touch people I never met.

("Single rose petal" by coofdy is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

But what happened to the rose where those petals came from?  Who looks after the rose bush so that it blooms again the following spring and continues to offer up flowers and more rose petals?  The rose itself needs to be pruned, nourished and looked after by a capable gardener.  Who takes on that responsibility if not ourselves?  Plants don't always like change.  A consistent amount of sunlight, moisture and nutrition keeps things well balanced and healthy.  Change of any kind can disrupt that delicate eco-balance.  

While change can bring personal growth, that's not always true.  In the same way that we are each a rose in our own right, we are also part of a garden, a collection of roses and other beautiful plants rooted together in the same soil.  And, in that, we have to recognise that the corner of the garden where we work, is quite distinct from other parts of the garden where we live.  We as teachers take significant amounts of time to support and nurture our students, change and amend our curriculum, our service provision, our policies...  but have we stopped to look at the rest of the garden, or indeed the garden as a whole?  


We are not just teachers, and that is not intended to devalue our passion and our vocation, but we are also individuals, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, parents, wives, husbands, partners, carers...  people.  In the same way that a rose is more than just its flowers, we are more than just teachers.  We are human beings.  

The self care that was so valuable during the height of the pandemic is still important.  Creep occurs too easily and I know that has been my mistake.  Creeping back into old ways and old habits.  We must take on the role of the vigilant gardener watching out for aphids, caterpillars and other pests that threaten the beauty of the garden.  

You can follow me on twitter @McintoshMclean.

References

Bali, M. (2021a)  That energised but drained feeling... [Online].  Available at:  https://blog.mahabali.me/pedagogy/that-energized-but-drained-feeling/ (Accessed 12th October 2021).  

Bali  M. (2021b)  Open Public Scholarship as scattering rose petals [Online].  Available at: https://blog.mahabali.me/writing/open-public-scholarship-as-scattering-rose-petals/  (Accessed 12th October 2021).  

OneHE (2021)  Trauma-Informed Pedagogy & How Is Your Heart? [Online]  Available at:

Tinto, V. (1994)  Leaving College : Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [12 October 2021].



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