Welcome to ‘Got Questions?’

Posted in DemEd in Real Life Philosophy of Education on Oct 14, 2009 - 02:16 PM

Welcome. Before I begin responding to your questions I would like to say two things about what I will be doing here.

The first has to do with my own life as a young person. I remember being very excited about the concept of democracy: People coming together to decide, through discussion and compromise, through an open exchange of ideas, the best course of action that they, as a group, should take. Perhaps that is why I never understood censorship or indoctrination. If you believe an idea to be wrong, let it out in the world so it can be proven wrong. Don't turn it into a precious subversive commodity that people can rally around without being given the space to truly understand it or its implications. And if you believe an idea to be right, invite challenges, welcome criticism, and relish the opportunity to have that idea take hold and grow into something that you haven't thought of yet.

It is for that reason that I wanted to do an advice column rather than a blog. I want this column to be truly democratic: to engage readers not only in an exchange of ideas, but also an exchange of struggles and questions. Because it is in those places that we are able to acknowledge our need for help that we are able to learn and grow.

The second reason is to clear up some potential misunderstandings about the nature of advice. I was telling one of the camp counselors that I work with that I was going to be writing an advice column on a new education website. Her response was, "But Jonah, you don't give advice...you just listen, ask questions, and tell stories." Advice is a tricky thing. Often, when we come upon a difficult situation, we just want someone to tell us what to do, to fix it. But other people's solutions rarely help us develop our own understanding. So while it would be easier for all of us if I could respond to your questions with perfect solutions, it would not be honest. Instead, I will respond with thoughts your questions inspire, stories your situations remind me of, and questions I would ask you.

Keep the questions coming,
Jonah

I'd rather know some of the questions than have all of the answers.

Tags for this entry:
questioning, discussion, challenge

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Jonah Canner

Jonah Canner is a co-founder of IDEA. He is the Founder/Educational Director of the Fertile Grounds Project, a non-profit organization that provides New York City youth with educational programming that reaches beyond the classroom. Jonah was a founding teacher at the Community School for Social Justice in the Bronx and received his Masters in Education from the New School University in New York.

In this column, Jonah offers up his seven years of experience working with public schools, twelve years of summer camp leadership, and his deep understanding of the principles of democratic education in response to your questions. Wondering how youth can become successful leaders or how public schools can engage students? Jonah's your man.

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