Is Knowledge Really Power?

I remember watching Saturday morning cartoons as a kid and seeing Schoolhouse Rock in-between shows. Shucks, I still use one of the songs when talking about conjunctions in class. One thing that was often said on Schoolhouse Rock was the statement: Knowledge is Power.

And I ponder if that's really true. Education has changed since those days, and my job as a teacher is not to simply inform students about material that I know and they need to learn. I should have a strong grasp of my field, but I don't have all the answers; in fact, I have way more questions than answers.

So are we here to impart knowledge to the students? And therefore, give them power?

My wife and I took a class at church during the winter, and these questions arose. Questions about knowledge and wisdom. Questions about how our brains function. How we learn, how students are tested. Questions about community. Though standing in front of the class and following the set curriculum is a routine and "easy" teaching method for me, it's important to let the students get their hands dirty and explore new options, to choose their own routes, to expose them to innovative technique, to problem solve at a deeper level.

To share their ideas.

I have often used the line (and I'm sure I'm in good company) "two heads are better than one." When you work with another person or group, it's easier to dive deeper into the topic. Different ideas are shared, new perspectives are explored, alternate problem-solving techniques are employed. That concept was key to our discussion at church--Knowledge is more powerful when it's shared.

I don't fault Schoolhouse Rock's educational catchphrase Knowledge is Power. It's a good motivator for students. We all want to gain knowledge. If there's something I want to know, I will try to figure it out, but the important part is finding a person you can trust who can share some of their answers with you. We can learn from each other.

In many ways our society is driven by individual success. I might think it's important to have a skill set that nobody else does so that I become valuable in my work, powerful, maybe irreplaceable. But that's a dangerous perspective, I think. When we keep the knowledge to ourselves, we may be tempted to lord it over somebody else. And really, that amount of knowledge can only take us so far.

I don't lose anything by sharing my knowledge with somebody else--that knowledge doesn't become less. In fact, it can deepen in a way that it couldn't before the sharing. It can be taken to new levels.

In the classroom, it takes a willingness to trust each other. That trust must develop before true sharing of knowledge can occur. Trust takes time, though, and it must be something in which we invest intentionally.

In our church discussion, we whittled it down to relationships. In order to have the right attitude in sharing and receiving knowledge, we have got to develop strong relationships with each other that allow for mutual trust, a trust between students as well as between the teacher and the student(s).

A teacher must:
-value each student and their situation
-connect meaningfully with students as often as possible
-manage behavior thoughtfully
-make material important to each student
-smile a lot
-share expectations clearly
-forgive often
-ask for forgiveness freely
-model respect and responsibility
-empathize regularly

A student must:
-help others become successful
-listen carefully
-speak strategically
-lead when necessary
-follow appropriately
-forgive and try to forget
-ask for forgiveness
-humble themselves
-respect themselves
-enjoy their classmates (and teacher)
-try hard
-empathize regularly

Working toward a classroom atmosphere of mutual trust, such as the one in which teachers and students have the above defined roles, will allow for a true sharing of knowledge. When we work together and respect each other, then our shared knowledge can be taken to new levels and truer wisdom can be attained.