One of my interests at the moment is where the responsibility for learning lies…is it with the teacher, in whatever guise they might be taking – i.e. trainer, facilitator, workshop leader or is it with the learner…and if the responsibility is a shared one how can that be negotiated successfully?
Yesterday I asked someone a question at the end of a session of training, it was a simple question, “Can you tell me something you’re going to take away from this morning?” It’s a question I usually ask participants at the end of training in order to create an opportunity to consolidate, reflect and reaffirm the explorations and findings of our time together. When I asked this particular person that question, I was more than a little surprised at her reaction. She had such strong resentment at having to answer something she wasn’t sure about. Now I understand her defensiveness was almost certainly covering a host of insecurities but I couldn’t help thinking it was a shame.
The other thing I couldn’t help thinking was a shame was when the group were asked at the start of the training why they were there. A number of participants said, “Because we were told to?” Compare that with some of their colleague’s answers, one of whom said that they were there to, “Learn something new about themselves” and another that said they wanted, “A new look at things.” Now it doesn’t take a genius to see who is going to get the most out of the day…
So this is the thing…before any training is done with a group it occurs to me something much more holistic needs to take place that negates the fear, distrust and resentment that characterises too many people’s attitude to education. That heals the scars left by whatever harmful experiences have led people to a place where opportunities to develop are at best undervalued and at worst identified as something to attack… I also think that somehow the message has to get through that in order to develop ourselves and move forward we have to accept that some responsibility has to fall to us…no matter how good the teacher if we’re not prepared to listen no progress can be made…
I shall end these musings with a wish…I wish that everyone who is given the opportunity to learn, in whatever context, begins that experience with the thought, “What can I get out of today?” What an excellent atmosphere that would create in all the training rooms in all the land…wishful thinking? Possibly…but it is absolutely vital if individuals and organisations are to reach their potential…
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Friday 16 October 2009
"It's our job to entertain. Yours to draw conclusions"
On Wednesday night I went to see The Caucasian Chalk Circle at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Sometimes when I go to the theatre I come out inspired, sometimes almost asleep and sometimes so frustrated at the quality that is passed off as professional theatre I end up venting my disappointment the entire journey home.
This performance was different; I was left with a sensation difficult to reduce into one word or one sentence, hence the compulsion to spend some time gathering my thoughts in this response.
The first thing that struck me about the production was how relevant the play was to the contemporary audience, despite it being written 65 years ago by a German playwright in exile in America. There was a sense of universality and truth about the play and this production of it that was routed in Brecht’s insightful understanding of humanity and the world we have created.
There were so many seemingly opposing ideas and concepts juxtaposed against each other, resulting in a retelling of the world that made a rare degree of sense. The sobering exposure of how one person will willingly degrade another was married with a story that is ultimately optimistic. The contrast of the poetic nature of reality was placed alongside examples of the petty base nature of humankind. There was violence and romance, betrayal and loyalty, utter greed and selfless sacrifice, justice and inequality and the tinderbox danger of corruption and power. In fact every emotion was contained in the three hours of theatre in a tapestry made richer by the heightened characters and the slightly fantastical nature of Epic theatre.
I was also struck at how the writer, director and company told the story of war on a micro level creating a much deeper understanding of its horrific price than the macro picture of body counts and resource inadequacies painted in our hourly news updates. News updates that we have almost come to accept as part of our daily life and as a result we often fail to register the significance of its content. In contrast I found the careless description of a rape by a morally corrupt soldier, as he chastises a subordinate for not relishing his part in it, abhorrent.
The list of things I took away from my evening at the theatre is substantial, hence my inability to condense. I’ll just mention a couple more of my thoughts before I close. Brecht expertly illustrated the relationship and contrast in between what is said, what is thought, what is felt and what is done. He showed us the necessity of making decisions and the implications of this, that reality often contradicts with our vision of what should be and the need to live with and by the decisions that are made. That the world isn’t perfect but that we have a responsibility to do what we can to make it better, rather than be dragged into the destruction.
I’m not the first practitioner to write about the didactic nature of Brecht’s work and I am nowhere near as knowledgeable as the majority but I felt it important to note that although time has passed, in showing us why things happen in addition to what happens, Brecht still has so much to teach us.
“Singer:
But you who’ve heard the tale
Of the chalk circle
Remember the wisdom of the ages:
That everything
Belongs by right to those who
Care for it:
Children to the motherly
So that the children thrive.
Horses to the good horsemen
So that the horses thrive
And the earth to good farmers
So that the earth may thrive.”
The Caucasian Chalk Circle - Bertolt Brecht
This performance was different; I was left with a sensation difficult to reduce into one word or one sentence, hence the compulsion to spend some time gathering my thoughts in this response.
The first thing that struck me about the production was how relevant the play was to the contemporary audience, despite it being written 65 years ago by a German playwright in exile in America. There was a sense of universality and truth about the play and this production of it that was routed in Brecht’s insightful understanding of humanity and the world we have created.
There were so many seemingly opposing ideas and concepts juxtaposed against each other, resulting in a retelling of the world that made a rare degree of sense. The sobering exposure of how one person will willingly degrade another was married with a story that is ultimately optimistic. The contrast of the poetic nature of reality was placed alongside examples of the petty base nature of humankind. There was violence and romance, betrayal and loyalty, utter greed and selfless sacrifice, justice and inequality and the tinderbox danger of corruption and power. In fact every emotion was contained in the three hours of theatre in a tapestry made richer by the heightened characters and the slightly fantastical nature of Epic theatre.
I was also struck at how the writer, director and company told the story of war on a micro level creating a much deeper understanding of its horrific price than the macro picture of body counts and resource inadequacies painted in our hourly news updates. News updates that we have almost come to accept as part of our daily life and as a result we often fail to register the significance of its content. In contrast I found the careless description of a rape by a morally corrupt soldier, as he chastises a subordinate for not relishing his part in it, abhorrent.
The list of things I took away from my evening at the theatre is substantial, hence my inability to condense. I’ll just mention a couple more of my thoughts before I close. Brecht expertly illustrated the relationship and contrast in between what is said, what is thought, what is felt and what is done. He showed us the necessity of making decisions and the implications of this, that reality often contradicts with our vision of what should be and the need to live with and by the decisions that are made. That the world isn’t perfect but that we have a responsibility to do what we can to make it better, rather than be dragged into the destruction.
I’m not the first practitioner to write about the didactic nature of Brecht’s work and I am nowhere near as knowledgeable as the majority but I felt it important to note that although time has passed, in showing us why things happen in addition to what happens, Brecht still has so much to teach us.
“Singer:
But you who’ve heard the tale
Of the chalk circle
Remember the wisdom of the ages:
That everything
Belongs by right to those who
Care for it:
Children to the motherly
So that the children thrive.
Horses to the good horsemen
So that the horses thrive
And the earth to good farmers
So that the earth may thrive.”
The Caucasian Chalk Circle - Bertolt Brecht
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