Ben's Personal Stories
Education
I have been a student of many entities during the course of my lifetime. The more traditional sources of teachers and professors come to mind first, followed by my parents, friends and others that I have had the good fortune to meet in my life. Mother Nature has taught me of the immensity of our world and of how little we truly understand, and the music has given me just a glimpse of the potential knowledge gained from listening closely. I have learned from the places that I have traveled to and cultures that I’ve experienced in North America and Europe, as well as through my research into model cells and their structure and how we as a scientific community learn through the Scientific Method. However it has only been very recently before I began to think in greater detail about the duality between learning and teaching. All of my college professors have told us time and time again that the best way to learn something is to teach it, and while I believed whole heartedly in that for school work and my education, it has only been the last couple years that I realized how this applies to all forms of learning. I will discuss a few instances, some traditional and some not, where myself as a student became the teacher and also when myself as the teacher ended up being the student. Both are extremely powerful tools for education and it would benefit us all if we recognize all aspects of teaching and learning in our everyday life.
My first roll as a traditional teacher came in the form of tutoring mathematics at my alma mater when I was a sophomore in college. I managed to have Thursdays free during Fall Quarter, and knowing the struggles of public school students with math I volunteered five hours a week. The head of the math department set up a schedule for me to follow that would fit with the courses they were offering. I was in a wide range of classes from college level calculus to helping special education students with basic geometry. While I found myself explaining the concepts that they might have missed during the lesson, or gently reminding them of algebra that had slipped their mind when the integral sign showed up, it was actually me who was actively adapting, listening, and really struggling to succeed at the problem that was posed to me. It is not the easiest thing in the world to convince a fifteen year old who is interested in being a writer that numbers will have any more significance than a page number, or a profit. I had to learn how to engage the students, how to explain concepts in innovative ways, and how to establish a connection with these kids as something other than just another authoritative figure trying to get them to finish a task. It was difficult, tiring, rewarding work to see eyes light up for a brief time, and gave me a brand new respect for all the teachers that I’ve had in my life. Until you have had a student’s questioning eyes search your face for what knowledge you are trying to leave them with, you will never truly understand how difficult a job education is.
I have had the unique experience of being a brother in Kappa Kappa Psi, a National Honorary Coed Band Service Fraternity which exists to serve college bands in any and all capacities. One of my favorite parts of the fraternity is the Big and Little program, where an active member of the fraternity is paired up with a prospective member as they are going through the education process. The Little is then in the Big’s family, and sees our chapter and the fraternity through the eyes of their Big as they are the one that (hopefully) they form the strongest bond of brotherhood with. I felt at the end of my education process that my big Cerise had taught me so much about the fraternity as well as myself as a person, a musician, and a brother. But when I talked to her soon after I had become active, she told me that it was me that had taught her more that she had thought possible. I don’t think I really understood what she meant at the time, but the cycle continues and I have a Little of my own now. Susie has proven to surprise me with her initiative, her passion, and the love she has for her music and the ones around her. I will continue to learn from her as long as I possibly can. The bonds that we form to other humans in the form of personal relationships are exceptionally powerful educational tools because even when one person might have more experience in a certain aspect, it is always a two way street. The sharing of ideas, thoughts, feelings and emotions between two people allows the other to see the world in a new light, which in turn educates both parts.
Besides learning from other people, I have found myself in a similar position as both the learner and the educator in my experiences with the great outdoors and music. There is a restorative quality to our world undisturbed, or minimally disturbed at least. As that is drastically different from where I grew up and where I expect to find myself in twenty years, the new experience is enlightening as it affords us the chance to look around and see how things might have been. We also learn from Mother Nature as the great designer. When scientists are struggling with a problem, there is a significant chance that nature has already solved the problem in one way or another, whether with an enzyme to hold two molecules in place, a particular structure that allows animals to fly, or a molecule resistant to disease. Seeing the other way around is a little bit out of the ordinary, but I see stewardship and restoration as the counterpart of this education relationship. It is our work in the National Parks, animal conservation, and us taking action on the phenomenon of Global Warming that will propel us into the educator roll to Nature. This Earth has given us a lot to think about, and it is up to us to prove that we have and fix what we have started. Music teaches us through the emotions that are generated when random noises for different durations make something where the whole is larger than the sum of the parts. The different genres of music also convey how different cultures explored their emotions and created original works out of how they were feeling. Yet the creation of music is an individual way of teaching to music. A new improvisation, an original beat, a different type of sound, these are all ways that we improve music as a whole, and leave our own creative mark on the piece we play.
The Post Prison Collaboration Project has the unique composition of a group of people who are all expecting to learn from each other, while expecting the other group to be the teachers. For the group of Honors students, the Post Prison students have the advantage of experience when learning about this topic that we are discussing. They have witnessed all of the issues that we delve into first hand which gives them their own prospective, whereas the Honors students only have second hand experience from books, talks and stories. The Post Prison students are very unfamiliar with the environment of a top notch research university and are looking to the Honors students to guide them through this new territory. What I find so interesting is that while we both came here to learn, we wind up teaching each other more than we ever thought possible. We shattered stereotypes from the moment we sat down at a table on the first Saturday meeting, and learn about the immense struggles that both groups face. We have learned to empathize, share our stories, and effectively communicate while touching the heart. We have learned that human interaction is one of our best chances against the irrational fear that creates our stigmas, and we are still learning how to give that to everyone who doesn’t have the good fortune to be in our class. This has been one of the most eye opening classes in my academic career, and I simply could not give enough time to my peers in that class.
Clearly, my previous experiences have shown that learning goes on in both parts of the relationship between two parties. Since the background of the group is vastly different yet we are both here to learn, the pathways to shared knowledge are even more accessible. Our instructor told us that the main reason that this class exists is that she saw exactly the same characteristics in the Post-Prison students she was tutoring as the Honors kids she was teaching: a similar curiosity, a thirst for knowledge, and a drive for what they believe to be correct. I know that I have learned so much about the Criminal Justice System in the past month, but I also need to remember that education is a two way street, and everything that I say and do has huge repercussions for the education of my peers. I can only hope I have had as much of a positive influence on them as I know they have had on me.
My first roll as a traditional teacher came in the form of tutoring mathematics at my alma mater when I was a sophomore in college. I managed to have Thursdays free during Fall Quarter, and knowing the struggles of public school students with math I volunteered five hours a week. The head of the math department set up a schedule for me to follow that would fit with the courses they were offering. I was in a wide range of classes from college level calculus to helping special education students with basic geometry. While I found myself explaining the concepts that they might have missed during the lesson, or gently reminding them of algebra that had slipped their mind when the integral sign showed up, it was actually me who was actively adapting, listening, and really struggling to succeed at the problem that was posed to me. It is not the easiest thing in the world to convince a fifteen year old who is interested in being a writer that numbers will have any more significance than a page number, or a profit. I had to learn how to engage the students, how to explain concepts in innovative ways, and how to establish a connection with these kids as something other than just another authoritative figure trying to get them to finish a task. It was difficult, tiring, rewarding work to see eyes light up for a brief time, and gave me a brand new respect for all the teachers that I’ve had in my life. Until you have had a student’s questioning eyes search your face for what knowledge you are trying to leave them with, you will never truly understand how difficult a job education is.
I have had the unique experience of being a brother in Kappa Kappa Psi, a National Honorary Coed Band Service Fraternity which exists to serve college bands in any and all capacities. One of my favorite parts of the fraternity is the Big and Little program, where an active member of the fraternity is paired up with a prospective member as they are going through the education process. The Little is then in the Big’s family, and sees our chapter and the fraternity through the eyes of their Big as they are the one that (hopefully) they form the strongest bond of brotherhood with. I felt at the end of my education process that my big Cerise had taught me so much about the fraternity as well as myself as a person, a musician, and a brother. But when I talked to her soon after I had become active, she told me that it was me that had taught her more that she had thought possible. I don’t think I really understood what she meant at the time, but the cycle continues and I have a Little of my own now. Susie has proven to surprise me with her initiative, her passion, and the love she has for her music and the ones around her. I will continue to learn from her as long as I possibly can. The bonds that we form to other humans in the form of personal relationships are exceptionally powerful educational tools because even when one person might have more experience in a certain aspect, it is always a two way street. The sharing of ideas, thoughts, feelings and emotions between two people allows the other to see the world in a new light, which in turn educates both parts.
Besides learning from other people, I have found myself in a similar position as both the learner and the educator in my experiences with the great outdoors and music. There is a restorative quality to our world undisturbed, or minimally disturbed at least. As that is drastically different from where I grew up and where I expect to find myself in twenty years, the new experience is enlightening as it affords us the chance to look around and see how things might have been. We also learn from Mother Nature as the great designer. When scientists are struggling with a problem, there is a significant chance that nature has already solved the problem in one way or another, whether with an enzyme to hold two molecules in place, a particular structure that allows animals to fly, or a molecule resistant to disease. Seeing the other way around is a little bit out of the ordinary, but I see stewardship and restoration as the counterpart of this education relationship. It is our work in the National Parks, animal conservation, and us taking action on the phenomenon of Global Warming that will propel us into the educator roll to Nature. This Earth has given us a lot to think about, and it is up to us to prove that we have and fix what we have started. Music teaches us through the emotions that are generated when random noises for different durations make something where the whole is larger than the sum of the parts. The different genres of music also convey how different cultures explored their emotions and created original works out of how they were feeling. Yet the creation of music is an individual way of teaching to music. A new improvisation, an original beat, a different type of sound, these are all ways that we improve music as a whole, and leave our own creative mark on the piece we play.
The Post Prison Collaboration Project has the unique composition of a group of people who are all expecting to learn from each other, while expecting the other group to be the teachers. For the group of Honors students, the Post Prison students have the advantage of experience when learning about this topic that we are discussing. They have witnessed all of the issues that we delve into first hand which gives them their own prospective, whereas the Honors students only have second hand experience from books, talks and stories. The Post Prison students are very unfamiliar with the environment of a top notch research university and are looking to the Honors students to guide them through this new territory. What I find so interesting is that while we both came here to learn, we wind up teaching each other more than we ever thought possible. We shattered stereotypes from the moment we sat down at a table on the first Saturday meeting, and learn about the immense struggles that both groups face. We have learned to empathize, share our stories, and effectively communicate while touching the heart. We have learned that human interaction is one of our best chances against the irrational fear that creates our stigmas, and we are still learning how to give that to everyone who doesn’t have the good fortune to be in our class. This has been one of the most eye opening classes in my academic career, and I simply could not give enough time to my peers in that class.
Clearly, my previous experiences have shown that learning goes on in both parts of the relationship between two parties. Since the background of the group is vastly different yet we are both here to learn, the pathways to shared knowledge are even more accessible. Our instructor told us that the main reason that this class exists is that she saw exactly the same characteristics in the Post-Prison students she was tutoring as the Honors kids she was teaching: a similar curiosity, a thirst for knowledge, and a drive for what they believe to be correct. I know that I have learned so much about the Criminal Justice System in the past month, but I also need to remember that education is a two way street, and everything that I say and do has huge repercussions for the education of my peers. I can only hope I have had as much of a positive influence on them as I know they have had on me.