Graham wrote:
> 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.
Hi Graham,
My take on this is a little different. What I got was in the last part of
the FD when he spoke of organizations. Musical Ensembles, the Navaho
people. It is a kind of super-mind. The organization itself learns and
has an evolutionary process. It is not what it is about,e.g., what we
teach, etc. but it is that the school itself evolves as an institution. I
have seen that in choirs. One choir is totally inept, works all year and
moves on to the next level. The next group of beginners begin with the
basics almost where the last group left off, even though I teach the same
material in the same order. The new group has all of the basic correct
moves,(not repertory information) that the old group had at the end. Of
course I am a variable myself, but I basically taught them the same. The
next choir picks up in the same way and the whole program evolves as an
organism with a growth process.
At the same time individuals, like separate parts of the body, also have
their growth, but the distinction is in the ensemble. You can really see
it in a fine ballet company. They literally think and breathe together.
My daughter says they had better, because they lift her up and hold her in
rhythm and if they don't think together then it is a dangerous place.
Like an Ice Skating couple.
Regards,
Ray Evans Harrell, artistic director
The Magic Circle Chamber Opera of New York, Inc.
mcore@idt.net
--Ray Evans Harrell <mcore@IDT.NET>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>