Learning Anew – Teaching and Learning for the 21st Century, 2003 - 2007

Abstract

Many of the more interesting stories that come to us from ancient times getclouded or distorted by the course of history. For instance it’s said that during the course of his trial, allegedly for corrupting the youth of Athens,Socrates declared that real wisdom is the property of God and that even thebest of human knowledge is worthless by contrast. One common interpretation of this declaration holds that Socrates was essentially criticising the Athenian authorities who used human knowledge as a form of political power in advancing their own interests. Another interpretation concludes that human efforts at learning are a vanity and that Socrates was encouraging youth to renounce them in favour of some kind of ascetic mysticism. If one allows that irony and subtlety didn’t desert Socrates at this most momentous event of his life, a more revealing point can be discerned. This is the suggestion that human knowledge, even in the most esteemedscholars, remains partial, and in both negative senses of the word: incomplete and burdened by bias. The brighter side of this rather sobering suggestion is that inviting critical perspectives from others in our own bestefforts to learn provides a worthy and promising way of addressing thesetwo shortcomings. Thus learning environments are characterised by jointenquiries that remain ever on-the-way, but that never claim to have the full picture, and that remain open to constructive revision. This characteristicis evident in Socrates’ own lifelong commitment to learn ever anew with his students. Such an orientation may be even more important in what is commonly called a ‘knowledge society’ than in a classical age of learning, not leastwhere one’s way of life is that of a teacher. This final report on the TL21project reviews some recent efforts to promote orientations of this kindamong Irish post-primary teachers and students, and also makes some suggestions as to how such orientations might be sustained more widely inthe future.