Challenge Accepted: A Primer on Discovering Working Values

 Anyone familiar with the work of the Reverend Howard A. Soehl knows that he asks a challenging question now and then. For those of you unfamiliar, suffice to say that my father has, among other admirable characteristics, a sharp, analytical mind, a practical skepticism, and a strong sense of justice. From my father, a "challenging" question can refer to the question itself, difficult to answer, but it can also refer to the purpose of the question, a challenge.

My previous post on grading had quite a few reads (for me anyway). Something I wrote resonated with parents and educators.  So, naturally, I was feeling pretty good about myself. My imagined intellectual strut became an internalized narrative that I had utterly, if briefly, deconstructed the educational elephant in the room. I was like Shiva, dancing out the destruction of archaic and impotent ideas about grading.  I hadn't provided the perfect solution, but I had provided the starting point for a better system: just determine what is valued in a given educational experience and build a way of recording and reporting most consistent with that value. 

And so, while I was feeling smug and confident in my clever turns of phrase and plays on words, my dad "dad-ed" me. 

(Guffaw!) Do I have any ideas? (My sidelong glance settles in an incredulous look.) Of course, I do! What am I, some kind of charlatan? Jeez! Just let me think of some. Jeez. 

Ok! I hadn't gotten that far, dad. Ok? Ok, dad?! Jeez! 

All kidding aside. One of my favorite things about my dad is that he often asks the practical question after the philosophizing is over; so what? Where do you start? 

So let's begin my task to identify "ideas for books or exercises that would help us all in the task of discovering what are our working (as apposed [sic] to aspirational) values are [sic]."

The first exercise happens all the time in my workplace: professional discussion of real cases. My colleagues are phenomenal at seeking counsel from each other in finding the balance of doing right, caring for others and embracing excellence in order to determine appropriate learning targets, management practices and opportunities for growth.

On the other hand, I know I am guilty of jumping into those conversations with the misplaced goal of urgency, and I suspect some of my peers are, too. The pressure of all the responsibilities and expectations on teachers urges quick decisions. But hasty decisions all too often solves short term problems by augmenting long term weaknesses. 

So to limit the corrosiveness inherent in the pressures of urgency, maybe our conversations should be less oriented toward outcome and more oriented toward intention. I know this flies in the face of the outcome-based evaluation (SMART goals, SLO's, PPG's), and I don't mean to disregard that outcome matters. But I believe we could get better outcomes if we started with better intentions.  In other words, it might make more sense to begin important conversations and actions with awareness and intention.  Awareness can help us uncover the values we are currently acting out and, in turn, adjust the intentions that quicken us.

Let me give you a grading example, since that was the context in which I was challenged. We have students who don't complete assignments by a due date. Old problem. Which part of this problem is most offensive to the educational system is up for debate, however. And the way in which I process the offense sets the stage for the way in which I will attempt to rectify the lateness. Therefore, there are numerous responses ranging from not accepting student work after the due date to accepting student work anytime before the end of the semester.  Whichever choice I make, however, is rooted in an intention. 

Is my intention to postpone dealing with the obstacles the student is facing that affect completion (to the point that I can ease my conscience in giving the student a low grade by telling myself I gave them all the opportunity I could)? Is my intention to punish the student for not turning in work (is this the same as punishing for not doing the learning) by the arbitrary date I've manufactured? Or is my intention to pay homage to the mechanization of educational production in saying, "Well, at some point, I just have to move on"? 

Intention is not always conscious, obvious or reductive. But awareness of our head and heart space might lead to a better understanding of the values that are motivating our actions and decisions.  Hopefully this could provide a basis for healthier decisions in regards to ourselves and others. 

So the point of this first exercise is self examination.  If that doesn't appeal as a way of determining values, here's another: read poetry.

I know I'm an English geek. But there isn't another form of language more resonant of the human condition. Hearing people say "but I don't like poetry" or "I don't like to read" is all the more reason for them to read because it suggests they have a limited understanding of poetry and its benefits. We need to encounter the enormity and mystery of this art as a means of stretching our thinking and being.

Reading poetry does two things. First, it puts words to the human condition in a way that validates the breadth and depth of living. People are always looking for language to understand and explain the experience of life. Poetry condenses emotional, intellectual and psychological meaning into beautiful words,  phrasing, rhythm, and movement (since poetry is meant to be spoken).  In other words, poetry reflects the heart of communal living. It is public, it is human, and it is creative.

Second, poetry forces us to observe and reflect in a way that affirms our experiences. To write or read poetry is to emphatically declare the importance of the personal in relation to the communal. We encounter multitudes of lived experiences and perspectives. We think and construct, feel and express. Poetry is for the soul what the sun is for a honeybee.

Now that I've thoroughly over-romanticized poetry, if the practical import of reading poetry a in discovering working values isn't clear, let me try to explain.  If conducted with sincerity, reading poetry is a creative act of self growth.  In poetry we encounter human authenticity in language, the medium we use to uncover and define values. In poetry we use language to think symbolically, divergently, wholly, so we can observe and discuss the interplay of action and belief. In poetry, we encounter the space in which empirical experience interplays with meaning and springboards behavior. And if working values are to have any resonance, it is in the space of experience, meaning and behavior. 

If you're still skeptical. Good. Go read; see for yourself. 

The third suggestion I'll make, briefly, is from the lesson my father continues to teach me: challenge yourself and others. To be clear, challenging yourself and others can lead to uncomfortable and vulnerable situations. And dominance, "winning" or correcting others should not be the goal. But if performed in the spirit of humble reflection, gracious receptivity and relationship building, a challenge often leads to wisdom.

While these are not the only, nor by any means the best, exercises for discovering working values, they have provided a starting point for me. I imagine the paths to personal and communal value building are many and vary widely from person to person, group to group. So I offer my suggestions with humility and encourage you to explore how you have and continue to discover your own working values.