tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337360001060332600.post3793359676832427088..comments2023-07-25T08:26:50.096-06:00Comments on Learning at Westminster: Learning Citiesgaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05362826471852969332noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337360001060332600.post-86761391186577731562010-02-12T10:18:56.143-07:002010-02-12T10:18:56.143-07:00I also wonder about what would happen if we though...I also wonder about what would happen if we thought of communities as schools. In addition to how our neighborhoods and cities/towns would be different if one of the goals was learning, I wonder how that learning would be different if one of the goals (of the learning) was the health and well-being of the students?<br /><br />I was in court a couple of days ago for a speeding ticket. (Driving far too fast on a wide open northern Utah road...)<br /><br />Anyway, five young men (19 years old) were appearing on charges for drug possession and underage drinking. <br /><br />The judge randomly selected three of the five for a drug test during the hearing. They all tested positive. And they were all taken away in handcuffs.<br /><br />During the questioning, the judge asked them all the same question. "Why did you do it?" They all gave the same answer. "Because it was there." <br /><br />He kept pushing them for why they did it, why they would make those choices, why they would willfully choose to break the law, why they would come to their hearing "dirty". The young men couldn't answer the questions.<br /><br />The judge said, "You're not learning a thing." <br /><br />But I couldn't help but feel at the time that they hadn't learned because our systems had failed them. Community systems, school systems, church systems, family systems...<br /><br />I wonder if students could actually answer questions about why they do things if we were paying enough time/attention to be able to help them understand why they do? If their learning had something to do with their well-being?<br /><br />I wondered after reading this post about how those systems might look differently if one of the goals of learning (in any of those systems) was to promote whole well-being. People learn better when they feel better.<br /><br />The idea of learning outside of school appeals to me. I also like the idea of schools becoming places where a broad section of learning can happen. Or where these places (schools, churches, etc.) that hold groups of people in a community (or system) can serve to support/foster/enhance the health and well-being--mentally, psychologically, physically, and socially--of the people in that community.<br /><br />Just a thought.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337360001060332600.post-3469218214369491462010-02-12T07:32:24.977-07:002010-02-12T07:32:24.977-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com