Technolandy

Day 136 (of 2025/26) 🧡 the visit with Shane Safir and Crystal Watson

I feel very fortunate that our district is doing some work with Shane Safir around the book Pedagogies of Voice… 

Our recent focus was looking at the 10 toxins that undermine learning… with the credo: we decolonize the classroom at every level. Love the reshare of Sir Ken’s “Changing Education Paradigms” – always a profound watch… wish he was still creating provocations for us… RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education ParadigmsYouTube · The RSA17.9M+ views  ·  15 years ago

Great share of James Baldwin’s Talk to Teachers: https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/baldwin-talk-to-teachers/

TOXINS – which one resonates? For me I am pushing on the “Power Over” concept – especially around graduation – with a conflict that philosophically I LOVE BC’s Educated Citizen concept… but in the 40-ish years since it was conceived and started as part of the abandoned Year 2000 (too ambitious, needed tech to catch up) it isn’t as mindful of neurology as brain studies show so much more… and in todays world, is it as important to have some general knowledge of a lot of things vs getting to the “need to knows” and exploring other areas ‘when the interest is there’ rather than when some unknown elders decided we ought to know it… 

Counter points (anti-toxins) – include:

Identity 

Embodiment

Vulnerability

Abundance Mindset

Curiosity

Deep Listening

Intergenerational Learning

Holism

Healing

Learning as ceremony

Relationality 

Activity… 

Belonging (you are seen and loved here)

What to do (Pedagogies):

Questions over Answers

Quality of Questions

– no single right answer

– invites nuance and complexity

Feedback over Grades

Ooh – good example of a discussion looking at, and then unpacking: gentrification vs revitalization of neighbourhoods. 

Belonging

Inquiry

Efficacy

For consideration:

I still think a lot of educators are going to be uncomfortable with many of these reflections and rethinks about the ‘needs’ for educational change (eg redefine who determines ‘success’) – especially at a time when some provinces are really trying to roll back some of the amazing work to make education more inclusive and better personalized… which I also see a lot more on educational social medias – a big push to revert back to “stand and deliver following a standardized script”… despite that having never worked despite being tried over and over… sigh…

Really glad that Shane Safir (read Listening Leader and Street Data) and others of the writing team are along for this part of the journey!