I have been thinking about my post yesterday, What is my #rhizo15 Learning Subjective?, especially about my Learning Subjective for #rhizo15 as:
The joy is in the journey, wherever it may lead.
and want to clarify this a bit.
Unlike the need for an ongoing, frequent set of (learning) rituals, which to Terry’s point in his well-considered post Creating Ritual Space in #Rhizo15: Why and How are frequently common for a sense of “us” in a learning community, I find that having a community out there, available via Twitter, Facebook, the Google Community, and a handful of other technologies, is enough for me this time around.
Thinking also of Barry’s Rhizomatic incitations, I notice I am not alone in my wondering and wandering. Perhaps there is a trend here?
Granted, I am a somewhat mature learner. I am self-directed. I am interested in this topic. I need it in many ways (Knowles, anybody?). I like many of those who are exploring this with me. All these things, yet I do not have clear learning objectives. While the joy is in the journey, wherever it will lead, this is far from saying I am wandering about blindly.
Quite the contrary.
Thinking of those words that are attributed to Augustine, Solvitur ambulando–It is solved by Walking.
This walking, or wandering around–quite aware of one’s terrain, reflecting on the past-present-future at once, pushed and prodded and challenged and supported by others in the learning community, aware of a certain disorientation while still trusting in the process–this the EduWanderer at its best. Not a polished term, to be sure, but I need something at this point to use to express this learning subjective. It is intentional, though open to learning and transformative experiences as they may present themselves.
I do not think I am alone in this, though have struggled thus far to articulate it. Somehow this makes it seem more real.
Another post trying to make sense of my experiences – EduWander: An Approach to #rhizo15 http://t.co/pyJKJq6cTd
@JeffreyKeefer @EatcherVeggies @Bali_Maha all this talk about commenting made me look…
@JeffreyKeefer @Bali_Maha Jeffrey, when I open it on my phone, I can see it. But not on my computer.
@JeffreyKeefer @Bali_Maha I commented on my phone and computer. Let me know if they show up!
@EatcherVeggies @Bali_Maha Hurray, I can see them! Thank you so much! Have NO idea why such troubles. How about with the same link?
Test reply from my iPhone
EduWander: An Approach to #rhizo15 http://t.co/ibqaHVK63z via @JeffreyKeefer
@EatcherVeggies @Bali_Maha Hmm, I wonder if you are looking at the main page or the post? Check out the bottom here http://t.co/IvwUCCx4df
I can comment on my phone. But not on my laptop. Odd!
OK Jeffrey, it is working now!
Agreed that it isn’t a blind wandering. It is self-determined and done in the company of others. Knowles + http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1076/2087.
Thanks, Barry. I have not seen much of this intentional wandering in the adult learning literature, and think it may have some potential research legs!
I think the idea of the labyrinth is a rich one. So many cool allusions, my fav being Ariadne and her thread. The labyrinth is a curriculum for the inner journey then the outer one. For some, this is a template. For others, I think you Jeffrey, it is an idiosyncratic pilgrim’s way. In my own life on the farm I have used Otto Scharmer’s term “feldgang” or ‘fieldwalk’ as a way to describe this solvitur ambulando. You are not alone. We make this road by walking it much like Daniel Boone blazing a trail for those with a keen eye for the clues that another wanderer has passed this way. Learning rituals can be for a priesthood of one or many. The idea of setting out on a path is one of the oldest rituals that help us define and redefine and embed and cloister ourselves in the labyrinth of world. It is hilarious, but sometimes we can actually see ourselves both coming and going. Hilarious binary that.
Thanks, Tellio. To this point, I have a labyrinth in my yard (once the snow is finally melted) and find the sense of coming and going that you mention among life’s great mysteries. It is somewhat consistent with the explorations we have been doing via #rhizo15, I believe, as well.