There is an ambiguity in the use of the word "learning" when we speak of
the "learning organization", and it is well to be aware of it because it
can cause confusion. The word "learning" itself is usually value-neutral,
in the sense that it picks out both desirable and undesirable learning.
The idea that schools should be about learning isn't enough, educationally
speaking. Schools should be about beneficial or worthwhile learning, not
about harmful or worthless learning. Ignorance can be learned. Child
abuse can be learned. Racism and sexism and pleasure at torturing people
can be learned. People in conventional non-learning organizations learn
all right, but far too often they learn things which are harmful to
themselves, and counterproductive to the best workings of the
organization. The purpose of the "learning organization" isn't just to
foster any old kind of learning, it is to promote learning which will
enhance the lives of those in the organization, those who come into
contact with it, as well as the intelligent performance of the whole
organization in pursuit of its mission.
Schools have always been about learning. That said, there is an awful lot
to worry about with respect to their efforts to produce learning that is
worthwhile.
That is, of course, why "education" is a useful concept. Education is
about learning, but not all learning is educational. "Education"
normally has positive connotations. "Learning" doesn't. I'm not,
however, advocating that the expression "learning organization" be changed
to "educational organization", because "learning organization" already has
its own head of steam, and it might be too easy to equate "educational
organization" with schools, since we so commonly reduce education to
schooling. This is a petty, but the West has become somewhat obsessed by
"education as schooling".
Graham
R. Graham Oliver (h) 07-856-3566
Education Studies, University of Waikato
Hamilton, New Zealand (w) 07-856-2859
E-mail: g.oliver@waikato.ac.nz
--"Graham" <goeduc@mailserv.waikato.ac.nz>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>