Some thoughts posted in the discusion Forum

Thank you for sharing your sales person metaphors for teaching. I find metaphors a valuable way of thinking and communicating. I appreciate teachers who are direct and share their teaching preferences, styles and metaphors with their students.  I find value in the variety of approaches and individual strengths of teachers I have had. I see the value in the sales person metaphor but I also see some weaknesses so just to play devils advocate for a moment I would like to present an alternative metaphor.

My cat Winnie knows what she is doing

I find the idea of selling students a set of ideas kind of troubling. First I would suggest that we do not know everything and that much of what we do know is how to use more and more resources. But understanding that any message can be sold I will go to the more loving and Parental model for environmental education proposed by the institute for earth education. http://www.eartheducation.org/
From this perspective, scientific education has failed to inspire knowledge that helps us live sustainably on this planet. It is suggested that too much emphasis is placed on what is known. More time could be spent telling stories about the mysteries, changing theories and ways that we know what we know. To teach like we parent. To lead students to ask questions by showing love and respect for the material. The things we consider bad and taboo in education are related to our historic fear of communism and long term thinking.

Cat on Bar

There is a critique that says we have brought a cold and sterile business model to education and the environment to help transfer ideas of the western economic system and industrialization to a next generation of students. The argument goes on to say that the environment should not be something teachers can explain all the mysteries of and it should not be something we are afraid of showing strong emotions for. The fear of loving trees is being sold in many classes. I ask you how many planets our solar system has -- or does any one really know.
Some of us have already bought lots of education and are ready to sell -- Check out my blog
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