Feb. 1

Getting to Maybe: How the World is Changed, Chapter 1: The First Light of Evening

Sarah Turgel 

The reading cleverly demonstrates how people in our society often overly simplify life. We often think that there is a good and bad way of handling all situations and that making one’s way through life is like following a recipe. The world unfortunately does not work this way. One method does not fit every situation. Take children for example. Pedagogical techniques that work for one child can be detrimental for another.

This article reminds me of banking education, whereby teachers teach and expect students to memorize facts, as if these facts will guaranty success. Since the world is continuously changing, and since the world is so complex, a “recipe” for life will not work. We need to encourage students to think critically and use their imagination to solve situations that are complex and that may seem overwhelming and out of our control. Students need to think on their own two feet when faced with a challenge.

Tina Lin

My favourite part of this reading was how in Brazil, they used humour to win people over to using condoms- by handing out condom shaped lollipops. But in seriousness, when the author talked about how the world is complex and evolving, this tied back to what we discussed in one of our lectures. We talked about how complicated problems in the world are and how children need to think creatively to come up with effective solutions, since rarely are problems cut and dry.