The need for participation, compassion, & community in the classroom (and lecture hall)

Good teachers are like sculptors. They subtract to reveal what is already there. Bruce Lee once said: "It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential." This is one of the secrets to mastery, yet much of our work lives or school lives are spent on the unessential. Good teachers and good presenters — indeed, good leaders in general — work hard themselves to "hack away at the unessential" to create environments which foster natural engagement, encourage participation and exploration, and in the end lead to simplicity, clarity, and meaning.

In the book Dumbing Us Down, author and award-winning teacher John Taylor Gatto speaks on the importance of community. Real communities, says Gatto, "promote the highest-quality of life possible — lives of engagement and participation." This engagement and participation happens in many unexpected ways, says Gatto, "but it never happens when you've spent more than a decade [just] listening to other people talk and trying to do what they tell you to do, trying to please them after the fashion of schools." Engagement and participation are indeed elements of the highest quality of life in general and learning and teaching in particular, but this does not happen in an environment of fear, compliance, passivity and "just listening." Real meaning requires openness, empathy, and a clear structure which allows for freedom and discovery, including self-discovery.

Inspiration in a Japanese elementary school
The award-winning Children full of Life is a remarkable documentary that should be seen by everyone who is concerned with education. I recommend you take 45-minutes and watch this program today (in five parts on YouTube). It will touch your heart and make you think. It does not matter where you are in the world, this glimpse into a single Japanese elementary school is evocative and illuminating. It may just make you question what education is for in the first place. Kanamori-sensei, the homeroom teacher, is a modern day Master Yoda. As described in part one below, Kanamori-sensei is "kind, tough, and funny."

Part 1.
In this clip you will see 10-year olds make class presentations by standing in front of their classmates and sharing their journal entries. The lessons in honest communication, empathy, and compassion are inspiring. Having lost my own father when I was young, it is nearly impossible to watch this clip (and subsequent clips) without tearing up. A valuable lesson in authenticity and speaking from your heart.



Part 2
"Good teachers," says Kanamori-sensei, "connect theory with life." In this clip the teacher makes a stand against bullying (some students are being picked on) not by giving a lecture but by some straight talk and getting the students to bring out the truth themselves. At first the students take the easy way out (by blaming others, etc.). The sensei says this is not good enough. "Just pretty words," he says. "You're blaming everyone but yourself!" In the end, by searching inside themselves, the students learn a valuable lesson in personal responsibility, empathy, and compassion. One little girl in particular learned a valuable lesson in compassion by revealing some of her own painful memories (just try to keep a dry eye through this).



Part 3
In this clip the wise ol' Kanamori-sensei is in the end moved and deeply impressed by the maturity of his 10-year olds. This is a remarkable lesson in team work, responsibility, and speaking up for what is right in order to find a solution that matches the problem.



Part 4
In this clip one of the students loses his father; it's touching and deeply moving how the class reacts to this news. I lost my own father suddenly in my first year of junior high. I must say, my own experience at school after my father's death was very different than what occurs in this clip. Again, here the devastating news is also a lesson in empathy and compassion for one's fellow human being (and group member). It's also a teachable moment: death is a part of life.



Part 5
The students again decide on a group project which communicates their empathy from the heart. At the end of the clip the sensei reviews what was important these past two years together: "It is important to make an effort to make yourself understood and to understand others...."



The contents of this short documentary have many lessons (and reminders) for all of us. Additionally, the documentary itself is a good example of pairing down a large topic to a simple story that is able to express the core essence of the larger topic (education) by focusing on the particular.

In the whole scheme of things, two years with a great teacher is a short time. Yet, usually we had even less time than that with those who helped us the most to discover what we had all along inside. Are not the best teachers, then, the ones who recognize the ephemerality of the time they have in each student's life, and instead of trying to fill their heads with as much information as possible, work to create a sense of community through engagement and participation that will help the student go on to learn far more on his/her own than they ever could do in a school? The great master Ueshiba Morihei (O-sensei) touches on a similar theme in his writings: "Instructors can impart only a fraction of the teaching. It is through your own devoted practice that the mysteries of the Art of Peace are brought to life."

Comments

[Lily]

Isn't life rich and wonderful. Today, after receiving my beautifully-boxed parcel in the mail The Presentation Zen Way, I came to this site to discover more. What I wasn't expecting was to cry my eyes out and not be able to read the information here.

I will be back when I stop sobbing. Thank you so much for sharing these thought-provoking videos of beautiful, brave children and a wise, compassionate, gifted teacher.

Best wishes and gratitude from Australia.

[garr]

Thank you, Lily! To be honest, I have watched this documentary 4-5 times now and I cry during each clip. I do not know why exactly, but this seems to be a common reaction. This documentary does a good job of putting us there in such a way that we can not help but empathize (and sympathize). There is no trickery, no Hollywood cliches. It's just a peek into some simple moments of honesty and vulnerability which could have never come to the surface without a teacher like him who made it safe. I am blown away by this documentary.

[Ryan]

I like the idea of improvement through subtraction. It is very hard to achieve however. I think it is partly due to our mindset that if we are adding 'value' we must do it by adding 'something else'.

It's interesting how some of the most powerful ideas are so simple.

[chris]

Garr... I am big fan of you in presentation design and delivery since two years a go. I am from Indonesia, now I am a student in Kanazawa University

When I watched these movie, I notice that this school is located near my apartment.

Very great lesson, Garr. Thanks for sharing.

[momo]

Thank you so much for sharing this moving and powerful documentary.

[Charles Martineau]

I've that documentary 2-3 yrs ago... I was blown away. I've always thought the best professors are the ones who make you hungry for knowledge & happiness!

[Takeshi]

Thanks for sharing the video.

[Doug Pratt]

Is there a Japanese word for happy? I noticed that the teacher and students always used the English word. Thanks for sharing.

[Mike Sporer]

Thank you so much for putting those video’s on your blog. The priorities in that classroom are right on and should become part of the culture in all schools. I noticed the teacher touching the students in a genuine caring fashion. In the US, that would be frowned upon. Looking out for one another isn’t emphasized here in the US. The part on bullying provides a simple and a workable solution to the problem which is very big here in the states. Our children are encouraged to be selfish and irresponsible, and those traits are demonstrated in many of the adults who teach them.

The most important idea I got from those videos is integrity. I know how important honor, integrity and good character are to the Japanese. Americans think of the Japanese as regimented and shallow. Actually the exact opposite is true.

Again, watching the videos and reading your comments touched my heart. These kids were being taught the value of being genuine! Genuine makes all the difference.

[garr]

Hi Mike -- I agree completely. This is the kind of discussion I want to prompt as well. Really spot on.

Yes, I noticed that about touching -- touching as any friend or father would. Nothing wrong with that. But because of media hysteria in the USA we assume *every* non-parent touching a child is a pedophile. It is very, very sad indeed. What a cold place the institution of school has become in many cases. But I do not know the "rules" in USA, etc. Are grade school teachers for forbidden to behave in a similar fashion to Kanamori-sensei in the video? Is comforting a child be touching them not allowed? I remember that even in High School our coaches freely touched student athletes for purposes of instruction, or encouragement (pat on the back/butt), or massage to work out a cramp, and on and on. This was the early '80s and PC had not really been invented yet I guess. No one thought our coaches or teachers were weird for touching students (like their parents might). I guess it is a different world now.

I read an interesting book a while back called "The Science of Fear: How the Culture of Fear Manipulates Your Brain" -- this book gets at part of the problem of our irrational fears.

[hoş sözler]

You’ve got a lot of cool posts here. Really like it. It served to be helpful. Thanks on that.

[Marisa Goudy]

I have just found your blog, and wish I had the time right now to devote to these videos - especially since so many of your readers seem to have been affected so deeply. I will return... - Marisa, http://blog.styleease.com

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thanks for share , buyt why some artile comment always off?

[Mike Sporer]

I'll check out "The Science of Fear: How the Culture of Fear Manipulates Your Brain". It is a shame that in the US, people are afraid of touching, especially in the school setting. The media blows things out of proportion so much! It seems we have forgotten that all of us are in this together.

My thoughts are with the Japanese people during this time of devastation. Things like this affect everyone in the world. The US Senator in my area (Robert Casey) is involved with such foreigh affairs. He is pressing for US help. We must step up!

[Zak]

I didn't feel like crying on part of this film, but i did felt that how immature, and selfish i have been all my life.

[Floria Vasquez]

I love your blog! I've been reading all your posts and would like to model mine after it. Have you heard of http://dollardrip.com yet?

[Social bookmarking]

In my Personal Statement, it is really quiet amazing and funny but nevertheless, GOOD work for a job well done. Nice tactics!

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I believe teachers can really make a difference in someones life and one or two teachers have done in mine over the years. It is teachers job to work their students to their potential.

[Emory]

Amazing videos - Wonderful to see a master teacher at work.

[Mike]

I'm new to zen but I'm looking to learn as much as possible for my studies.

[True Religion Outlet]

A life, a fulfilling life, a rich life includes ups and downs, includes pain and getting up again, includes failure and getting up again.

[Egocentrisme]

Seeing this post about japan people I wanted to warn you, there are some fake sites which ask for donations for Japan. And they keep everything for them...

[Kevin]

what a nice dayly

[Komik Oyunlar]

thanksss

[Pepe Fenjul Jr.]

Nice post. I know how important honor, integrity and good character are to the Japanese.

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which ask for donations for Japan. And they keep everything for them...

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Wonderful to see a master teacher at work.

[Elley Chan]

Great post! Great movie!