Gulls regurgitate fish into the gullets
of their young. Since they have to transport
their catch over distances (during which their killings might be pirated by
other birds), this is a crucial survival strategy. For the most part, the fish
are not pre-digested, nor are the seeds and other fare birds regurgitate into
the mouths of their young. Granted, this
image might be (to use a gustatory word) disgusting
in the context of teaching. Let’s work this metaphor.
According
to a proverb variously attributed to Lao Tzu and Maimonides, “Give a man a
fish, and he eats for day. Teach a man to fish, and they eat for a lifetime.” The cover art revises that to a more inclusive
gender-neutral aphorism (although it does use the plural “they” as a singular
pronoun—more on that in another post).
In
teaching, there are significant differences between ramming information down
others’ throats (thus silencing them and making the material undigestible) and
arranging fishing expeditions. Yes, as a
teacher I transport that which might nourish my students across time and space—the
works of Plato, Shakespeare, Dickinson, Lao Tzu, Woolf—but to lecture extensively
is literally to predigest and regurgitate my point of view into my students. Then, according to traditional classroom
practices, I peck-peck at them with one-answer questions so they can regurgitate
what I said into the test booklet.
More
palatable is the image of giving students fishing poles and then sending them
out to “catch” what they can on their own.
But if I give them all the same kind of fishing pole and bait, they are
likely to return to drop their fishing lines into the same (can’t resist) school of fish and return with either
nothing or the same fish over and over.
In classroom terms, this is to assign prompts, which, too often, amount
to micromanaging student minds for more efficient assessment. See our link on Prompts,
Proctors, Pornography.
So,
there are different fish for different folks. And different fish are caught
with different strategies—hooks, various baits, nets, spears, hands, et
cetera. In my classes, this translates
into showing students a range of techniques for plumbing Bram Stoker’s Dracula, for example. We will interpret the same passage from a
feminist point of view, and then compare that to how the passage would
translate from other critical approaches that include Queer Theory, Marxism, Rhetoric,
Structuralism, Deconstruction. Our
harvest will vary with how we
explore. Going on fishing expeditions
together, we catch more than we could solo.
Some
people prefer to fish in streams with body boots—others drop nets in the ocean.
And those who invented fishing poles (which are as vastly different as a string
suspended from a stick to a digitally managed mega-reel on a tuna boat) invented
them for their particular geography, resources, and needs. Once we venture into literature with the
usual tools, I encourage students to invent new tools that better serve their
individual talents and needs. Do you
study the Bible? Then take a biblical
approach to our reading. Do you love
Harry Potter? Then compare one of his ventures to that of Ishmael in Moby Dick. Are you interested in running for political
office? Cull quotes from Shakespeare’s
history plays for your speeches. In
short, create your own fishing gear from the materials in your life.
And
what to do with the fish? That will
determine whether we fish, how, and by what means. For some, the serenity of sitting in one
place with a dropped line, soaking in dawn and stillness is enough. Sitting with a book in one’s lap in a beach
chair can be bliss. For others, the excitement of the hunt is sufficient—once the
quarry is caught, it can be tossed back into its waters. Once the grade is earned, the leased book can
be returned to the bookstore. Chefs
plating tuna sushi; sculptors, photographers, poets embodying a rainbow trout; lacrosse
players studying the swimming patters of quoi; musicians, caregivers, Uber
drivers who listening to audiobooks between fares; trainers dancing with dolphins—so
many fish, so many ways to relate with them.
To
teach is not so much to give students the fish, nor to just settle for giving
them the equipment to catch them.
Ideally, a teacher helps students to identify their own fish, to create
their own harvesting gear, to do fish
in their own unique ways.
Works Cited
Blog Links: Prompts, Proctors, Pornography
I am obliged to add the bible story of Jesus and his fishermen.The story is told of the fishermen's experience while fishing for a whole night and still had empty nets.When Jesus showed up they were murmuring and complaining about the experience that yielded nothing.
ReplyDeleteJesus was willing to tell them to use different strategies in order to yield a big catch and so it was they tossed their nets on the left side of the boat and the catch was so enormous the nets were breaking.This might be a bible story but it is relevant to us as students today.Take the initiative and take the leap of faith.
Dr.Rich you have taught us how to fish ,at no time was anything thrust down own throats even when we waited for it to regurgitate ,we are only what you have sent us out to do.Fishing is a great skill and I am grateful I have learnt how to do it and was told that I had to do it.
Never be afraid to go fishing and be willing to change your strategies in order to yield a good catch.
Maudry Brown-Nooks
Let me first talk about my negative experiences before I go into the one and only teacher that actually showed me a positive one. Every teacher that I have ever had (besides one) has spoon fed us information and gave us exactly had to do something the way they wanted it to get done. All my teachers has ever allowed me as a student to open my mind to different strategies and ways of learning. We sit in a classroom to hear them lecture and take a test. We don’t actually enjoy what fishing we are catching and how we are doing it. We are doing it because we have to do it. So now my positive experience. Dr. Rich is the only teacher I have ever had that allowed us to be students. To allow us students to be heard and understood. She helps us open our minds beyond the material and help us actually understand what we are learning. She doesn't force things for us to learn, but makes it enjoyable and helps guide us to wanting to know more. Being able to have a teacher who is welcoming and there for the right reasons makes going to class more interesting. I never want to miss Dr. Rich’s class because I know I am coming out for the better as a student and with more knowledge then when I originally went in.
ReplyDeleteThe classic classroom format is simple in that the teacher is telling me what to think instead of allowing me to form my own opinion on the material. This is why so many of us, both teachers and students, feel comfortable in this setting. Yet I wonder how many times have I finished a class, only to forget almost everything I “learned” a few months later. When I try to talk about the material in a conversation, I realize (to my embarrassment) how little of the information I retained. On the teacher’s end, there is less guesswork. The less deviation and perspectives on the subject, the less there is to manage and think about.
ReplyDeleteI think about how many classes I've walked away from feeling as though I got nothing out of it, just a good grade and a level up. Teaching in the way you’re describing is so much more enriching because it forces the student to associate what they’re exploring in class to an aspect of their everyday life, thus looking at it from a unique perspective. I want to adopt this lens as a student, even when the professor is teaching in the traditional format. Ask myself, “How can I apply this material to my everyday life?” “What does this remind me of?” “Does the material interest or matter to me? Why or why not?”
I want to start of by saying that this is a great analogy of the types teaching. As I finish out the semester, I currently am writing up a lesson plan for a teaching course I am taking. What I find most interesting is we all are supposed to follow a set teaching template. I understand that there are certain things that need to be covered but I feel that this is a way constructed to have children ‘regurgitate’ what is said by a teacher. I am excited to become a teacher for many reasons. Some of these reasons I feel to go along side with your closing thought. I want to be a teacher to uniquely help students to identify ‘their own fish, to create their own harvesting gear, to do fish in their own unique ways.’ I understand that certain messages are supposed to be conveyed to the student, however I want children to remain creative and allow their own thoughts to bloom. I do not want a cookie cutter classroom, I find it is upsetting to tell a student that they are wrong but when in actuality they may be on to an idea but we nip it in the bud because it wasn’t the ‘ correct answer.’ Considering I am the future with teaching I want to do best by allowing my students minds to run free while keeping them on track, I want them to identify their own unique qualities and thought processes to not brainwash them into what is ‘correct.’
ReplyDeleteKelly Fleschner
The most independence I’ve ever had in a classroom, was “pick one of the three writing prompts”. From starting school, to being at my last year, I was never given any choice, until I made it to Shakespeare Survey. You handed the syllabus out, and there were no instructions for any papers, and nothing for the group presentations. I was extremely nervous, because I’ve never been exposed to such independence in a class before. The first paper draft was due, and I was so freaking scared to hand mine it. What did she want?! I asked the entire class like 20 times, what did you write about?? How did you get started? But being able to express myself through writing was the key to opening myself up to the literature. We are able to write about whatever, talk about whatever, and essentially do whatever we want in the class. Dr. Rich just wants to make sure that WE are enjoying the class. She wants to make sure WE learn something in the class. The difference between other professors and Dr. Rich is, that she cares about US, not herself. It would be much easier for her to hand out a rubric and give every student the same assignment, but she doesn’t. She lets us find what we want and write what we want. After we hand it in, she reads through every single paper, giving personal feedback to every student. She makes sure that every student is sure of themselves, and are happy with the work they handed in.
ReplyDeleteSimply being able to be myself, write for myself, and being able to enjoy the work that I do instead of having to follow the rules and standards of other professors is what I am truly thankful for. I had the privilege of taking a class with Dr. Rich, two semesters in a row. First I had her as my Writing Poetry professor last semester and now I have her for my capstone course, which is Senior Writing Seminar. She truly cares more about how we feel, and is always making sure that we are okay. She let’s us be free in our writing, which helps us as students to fall in love with our writing again instead of always dounting ourselves because of everything past professors have put in our head and constantly critizied in our writing. Because of so much critique that we have delt with in the past, it is often hard to be able to open ourselves up in our writing and we tend to always be scared of getting a failing grade or a constantly worried about reaching the page limit and or getting a certain word count in order to have “completed” a paper to the standard that any other professor would want. I am so thankful that Dr. Rich is the type of professor to help students get out of their comfort zone and still help students feel that it is okay to write for yourself and how you want instead of how others make you do it. So we as students can have our own independence.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteNicole Diefenbacher
Throughout my college career, I have passed a lot of my classes solely by memorizing things. I actually did not have to take my geology final because I memorized the study guides for the first three tests and passed them all with flying colors. If you asked me what was on those study guides now though, I wouldn’t be able to tell you, because I didn’t truly learn them. I memorized them for the time I needed them, and after that, it’s like everything but the words igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary just fell out of my head. I actually prided myself in it, because the way almost all of my classes as a college student have been taught is purely “here’s some info, here’s a test”
However, when I got to your class I was stunned and had a hard time rewiring my brain to not memorize everything. Because that wasn’t how your classes worked, and it was a hard change to make for myself. As I’ve said in other blog posts, I appreciate your class because it is not the typical lecture, memorization, test spiel. And personally, I feel like it began so young for us that it was extremely difficult for me to change. I have a 12 year old sister, and she is currently taking the PARCC tests for school. They are literally just memorization of formulas and stories and barely anything creative. And when it is something that could be considered creative, it really isn't because the essay has to be written in a particular way. So I appreciate the fact that your class has been one of maybe two classes in my college career that isn’t like that.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI truly believe that this blogpost, Fishing for Knowledge, is truly informative and relatable to past experiences I had in school while I was growing up. I can say that I 100% agree with the statement, “in teaching there are differences between ramming information down others’ throats and arranging fishing expeditions.” I’ve had so many different kinds of teachers, many with different teaching styles, and many with different teaching approaches. Many were beneficial to the students in the classroom and many weren’t beneficial in any way. One teacher I had in elementary school used to throw information at us and then help “feed us with a spoon”, which basically refers to having the teacher tell us how to do certain problems, give us extra credit, and give us open book tests. In my opinion, I believe that did help the students as a whole because it showed us that she wanted to help us succeed. Relating back to the blogpost, this teacher showed signs of arranging fishing expeditions and going on these expeditions with us along the way. On the other hand, a teacher that I had in high school was the complete opposite from the teacher I had in elementary school. This high school teacher had many different ways of teaching the students, which were not all that beneficial to us as students. He always lectured us and shoved information down our throats, and then expected us to remember this information the next day without any notes or help from him. In a way I understand that was his teaching strategy, but it was a strategy that wasn’t beneficial to the class. He stated, “I’m preparing you for the real world,” and that’s exactly what he was doing. I used to always think that he didn’t care and he wanted us to not succeed, but now looking back at it now, I appreciate his teaching strategy. As a college student, there are many professors out there that have the same teaching strategy as he did, and now in a way I’m prepared for those classes because of my high school teacher.
ReplyDelete- Kelci Neto
Dr. Rich, I appreciate this blog! I’ve always been a visual learner and as I grew older I became more of a doing and writing to learn, visualization was no longer my primary fish. I realized by watching others complete things that I needed to learn I would daydream, I couldn’t remember routine, and sometimes I’d forget the entire process.
ReplyDeleteI never had the ability to memorize study guides and spit it out verbatim- memorizing a crap load of numbers is my strong suit. So the way a teacher taught and how I took my notes is essential to how I fish to pass. Organization and routine is my fishing pole. The more organized I am with my notes, books, and readings the less time I have to spend cramming for a test. I write anything and everything that the professor writes because for some odd reason that’s the only way I can keep it memorized. If you give me a study guide with all the answers you handed me the fish for the day. But if you allow me to copy that study guide into my notebook with a pencil you taught me how to fish. By copying it down, even if I don’t look at it ever again, I already recorded most of it to get a B or better.
Dr. Rich,
ReplyDeleteOkay, this is officially my favorite post. There are plenty of fish in the sea, this is very true. There are also many students all over the world in various schools who are in need of diverse education. What I mean by diverse education, is education which is not typical, but can be accessed by all students but be perceived in diverse ways. My theory is that if we can introduce this diverse education, we can change the way that students learn. If we can change the way that students learn, then we can change the way that students think. As a future educator, if we can change the way that students learn and think - then we can make a difference in not only their schooling career, but in their lives too. That is what is is all about. I believe that the entire point of going into the field of education, is to make a difference in students lives. I feel that young teachers fresh out of college are not passionate about it as they should be. They could learn a thing or two from the older fish in the school (the older teachers known as oldies but goodies). I have seen and observed that these newer teachers are not only not passionate about teaching, but it almost seems as if they are using this incredible job opportunity as a stepping stone to get to some higher position, such as a principal of a school. This angers me, because being a teacher is not just a job opportunity. It is a chance that is very much privileged, and it is unfortunately looked down upon by these new teachers. Not only does it affect me, but it also affects the students. The way that a teacher instructs their students matters, and the students know this, they feel this. We, as future educators need to make sure that no more bad, new teachers enter our sea of bright student fish!
Fishing for Knowledge
ReplyDeleteI’m a very consistent fisherman. I use the same fishing poles over and over again. I’m comfortable and happy using these tools and they’ve proven to be successful over the years of writing papers. The thing I enjoy most about Dr. Rich’s classes is that I’m working collectively with other fisherman who have their own tools, nets, etc. Together, we are a big fishing ship and we go on massive expeditions and catch many different types of very beautiful, gleaming, nourishing fish. This is what I enjoy most about Dr. Rich’s classes. On my own I use the same tools and therefore tend to catch the same type of fish. My papers traditionally tended to take on a very rigid, flat, reporting tone. Since taking Dr. Rich’s classes, I have loosened up a little. I take more chances, I try to be more creative and use a more relaxed and sometimes playful voice. I also enjoy being in the class with very artistic students because it’s like their electric energy rubs off on me everytime I sit near them and I love to take it all in. While I have grown as a writer, being part of a larger group that is happy to experiment with different ideas is what I value the most. The fact that I hear over and over again how much my classmates enjoy our time and the safe space to explore reminds me of how vast and calming the sea can be.
To Dr. Rich I dedicate the following from Walt Whitman:
“O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won”
This post of fishing for knowledge, it a great example in relating to our learning. Using the example Lao Tzu and Maimonides, “Give a man a fish, and he eats for day. Teach a man to fish, and they eat for a lifetime.” This metaphor explains if you just give somebody anything that they want or need, the people will always come back to you because only you know how to get it. But if you give lessons how they can get it on their own, that knowledge will stay with them forever. We all have different learning of things that’s been pass down from families, teachers of education, and more. My school experience had been positive and negative how to understand strategies in life. Some taught a difficult way, that I was completely lost on how to answer or solve it on my own. Some had taught it a better way, that I comprehended it right away and was less stress on me. Some people have their own material what works for them. Just as it is to learn how to cook in the kitchen. Show them the ingredients and measuring cups; there’s food. Each generation is a school of fish and has to work together on how to get by in education. The ocean is massive for expeditions on how to catch different types of fish in the sea, that I could learn one person’s way or the other how to capture a perfect fish, and carry that knowledge for the rest of my life.
ReplyDeleteDear Dr. Rich,
ReplyDeleteThe words that yelled out of my mind after reading the paragraph below were, “WORD IS BOND” because I think that a class cannot be considered equal opportunity of learning, if the opportunity is appropriate for the success of that person. In other words, equal does not always mean fair. Students must apply what is relatable and connect to what they're learning in order for the information to stick to their brains and for comprehension to occur. You mentioned that you, “encourage students to invent new tools that better serve their individual talents and needs” and it is a statement that I as a future teacher need to replay over and over in my head. If i do not tailor my lesson plans to meet the needs of every individual and create a memorable task or explanation then I will fail to teach my class in its entirety. No human is the same, therefore humans need personalized fishing rods to catch and the more we discover ourselves the better we can tailor that rod and catch our fish. Teaching to fish is an essential component, in anything, whether it is fishing, cooking, or sowing but each can take its own style and as a teacher, I will embrace the unique ways that each general component can be done. If everything was done the same, then we will become more robot like than human. The incredible part of a human is the brain and how abstract it can be. So of course, innovation and invention and creation will all be encouraged in my future classroom and I will hold my students to a high standard because I will always believe that each and every one of my students can stand out in their own way. We humans, are inspirational and can make a difference if we really set our minds to it.