I have two sons and wonder with a sense of mystery what it means to educate them well.

I grew up believing that education was somehow about taking a bunch of stuff which was external to me and making it a part of me.  You know, taking that which is external and making it internal.  Even if only for test recall, that was the name of the game.

The starting point was topics like math, science, english, spelling, geography, history, etc.  It all started with some sort of subject matter.  And the goal of education was to take all of that stuff and learn it.  This meant “get it” and make it internal to me.  Not even sure what that meant, I knew that some sort of examination would be the determining benchmark.

I recently watched the movie, “The Big Short” which is about a small group of iconoclastic investors, who bet the opposite of what everyone else believes, what society as a whole believes, and end up being…correct.  In a world in which everyone knows the housing market will go up and up and up, they believe it is all a big hoax, a show if you will, a house of cards waiting to collapse.

History is now available to reveal which perspective was right.

I like those guys because they were not afraid to go against the grain of society with its deeply held patterns of thought and belief.  They were the true innovators.  They were the true futurists.  And it wasn’t because of luck.  Rather, it was because of a deep fundamental understanding that things were not as they appeared to be.

Now, my thinking about education has undergone a pretty radical change.  That which I once held dear and near I no longer hold on to.  I do believe we “need” subjects to expose ourselves to.  But they serve the purpose of identifying and calling forth some part of us which already exists.  Our failure to “get it” or “understand it” does not mean we are stupid or dumb or lacking in some way.  Rather, it only means it is not consistent with who and what we are in our humanness..

There is an eternal, transcendent part of every person which is meant to be discovered, developed, and deployed or put into action;  for the benefit of other people.  And this is what I now believe is the goal of education.  The flow or direction of energy and activity is not from external to internal.  Rather, it is just the opposite;  from internal to external.

It’s about drawing out, not putting in.

There is no such thing as a loser here, only a person who has not yet found that area or realm which is an authentic expression and development of tho they already are at the core of their true self.

Frogs learn they are frogs by being exposed to the subject of hopping.

Birds learn they are birds by being exposed to the subject of flying.

Fish learn they are fish by being exposed to the subject of water.

See my point here?  The subject matter does not somehow determine or bestow identity.  Rather the subject matter simply helps to identify what is already true about identity.

I am not trying to play word games here.  The difference between these two models and mindsets is very large.

The journey of being a lifelong learner has required my repentance.  Ah, another word, like “education,” which needs looking into.  Repentance, aside from the common use in realms of religion, actually means to change one’s thinking about something.

We discover something we thought was true actually is not true and we make adjustments accordingly.  Repentance is a fun word.  It means to grow, to change, to be in the process of becoming.  It’s a reversal of misconception according to Robert Lue, a Biology Professor at Harvard.  And according to Lue, it is a precious and valuable thing to take hold of.

Admittedly, I am a huge fan of Parker Palmer.  And according to Parker, this is the foundation for teaching, learning, and education as a Community of Truth as opposed to an Objective Myth of Knowing.  That is, to be an iconoclastic teacher who cares deeply about the transformative power and potential of this business of education.

If the movie, “The Big Short” can teach us anything, it’s to beware of “crowd thinking” and to not be afraid to go against the conventional currents of societal thought and action.

As for me, I want to be found as a person who educates well.  With all of the repenting that may require, I want to be a person who pursues education against a transcendent backdrop.  Whether my own two sons, or the sons and daughters of others, entrusted to my “care” in a course I am charged with leading, education is best viewed as a sacred trust not to be taken lightly.

Eternity is in session, now.