Something special about specialisation

As we move away from silos, the role of the specialist teacher becomes obscure and teachers who have been trained in an isolated field can experience a loss of identity. Education is moving towards a broader interpretation of project learning where students are working across the curriculum.

So what of the specialist teacher and their specific knowledge. Can expertise in a traditional sense be useful in a modern learning environment?.

Recently a news article highlighted how teachers were trying to deal with the noise levels in a large learning space. Some were ' rebuilding the walls' in a bid to resolve the sound dynamics and minimise irritation. 

How do we resolve the challenge of noise - which I would suggest is nothing new - is also a challenge across smaller classes, through the walls between traditional classrooms and if we are really honest especially prevalent in staff rooms and even restaurants and bars. 

So who is an expert we call on who could offer value advice in resolving this current issue.

I would suggest Music and Drama teachers.

Music and Drama teachers are well versed in understanding how to work with a range of instruments and personalities in large groups dynamics where noise is not always orchestrated . Ask them the strategies they have refined over the years to cope with and exploit the opportunities in this setting. 

What about other specialists?

Art and design teachers are experts in chaos, if you have ever experienced the last week of folios, then you will understand the skill required to survive the intensity of working with individual students with individual projects. My personal experience enables me to switch from giving advice to one complex project to continually flicking every five mins from one student to another for up to nine hours. You soon learn to work at a high level of cognitive complexity. 

The skill of English teachers was recently highlighted, working pastorally with a student who always got in trouble by thinking out loud and reacting to authority. By getting him to take time out to sort his thoughts and write an ' essay' on what his key challenges were, he was able to develop the skill of refining his thoughts prior to unleashing. 

There are lessons to be learned from all specialists.

The gist of this blog post is that as we generalise education it is important to acknowledge the deep pool of knowledge that already exists, many educators not realising that they already possess the skills required to ensure success in a modern learning environment.

There is something special about specialisation.

Noise

The modern world is noisy, there are seldom times for quiet. This generation is seldom unplugged and find it uncomfortable to live in the quiet. It reminds me of a story that someone told me once that a tour group of Japanes tourists got off the bus in the Mackenzie Basin and suddenly became very uncomfortable with the eeery space and quiet of the Endless space. They are used to a intense bustling city and struggled to adjust to the lowly populated landscape.

In the same way students when invited to contemplate the silence can be at a loss as to how to function in this unique  landscape. The young listen to music constantly for a reason, often it is to quell the confusion of an adult world. Often we are the ones that require the tranquility and the quiet. 

Can the young meditate amongst noise , they can certainly hold a conversation while gaming intensely and often it is a wiser pathway in discussing personal matters. 

Silence in a modern world is elusive , yet may not be essential for the current generation.