News
Reflecting in the moment
February 10, 2022
Greetings,
As we move into 2022 I often find myself taking stock and reflecting on the many visible and less visible changes and shifts that have taken place within our American society in a relatively short amount of time. From a historical lens I think about what events will be most recognized, remembered and influential for future generations and then I wonder what’s going to happen tomorrow?
Perhaps it’s a sign of the times, perhaps it’s the way the media sensationalizes or presents stories or perhaps it’s just me and my familiarity with different times when the ground didn’t feel like it was shifting on a daily basis. Regardless of what I choose to attribute these sentiments to there is no denying that my education and life experiences have provided me with the grounding that I need to press on, discern information and cope with whatever has been and will be.
During and after my interactions with community members, friends, family and colleagues I often find myself reflecting on how my education and experiences actively shape and empower me to; develop a highly nuanced position around a specific topic or issue, spot and filter through hidden agendas, recognize persuasive language, annotate assumptions, articulate a premise that anchors beliefs and to ultimately take action that is authentic to me.
Throughout this reflective practice it is important to highlight that I’m not only learning more about myself and others - I am recognizing and defining the value of my education.
Much like in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, my ability to “see” the world with my own eyes and independently from the constructs of increasingly polarized agendas is liberating and something I do not take for granted. The longtime agenda or narrative that depicts the world in black and white, right vs. wrong, good vs. evil and any number of dichotomously polarizing ways only serves the present and does not do justice to the past or any long term favors for the future. Life is and always has been a potpourri of circumstance, emotion, incentive and nuance that does not conform or adhere to a specific principle, rule or prescription……except that it only goes on and on.
As educators (both formally and informally) our work is to illuminate the past and “train” each other for the future. None of us can or should ignore the present but as of late the weight of the moments we are living through rarely allows us to. As a country the challenge in front of us is to “see” the future we individually and collectively want and work to find a path to it together. What it means to be together is starting to look more and more different each day but the education profession provides us with a tremendous opportunity to redefine, reinvent and repurpose our collective ability to “see” the world as it was, as it is and as it will be…..together.
By:Travus Burton (Director for Civic Learning and Community Engagement )