| News
& Views
- Oct, 1992 Issue |
To Speak of Carpenters and Gardeners
By Lon Woodbury
In human affairs, two of the most common
analogies compare activities with carpenters or with gardeners. These
analogies are useful because it simplifies complex activities down to
basics that are more easily understood.
The carpenter conceives of the final product
in every detail, and then molds the raw material to bring his or her
vision into being. Every part is cut or molded into just the right shape,
and place where it can best contribute to the final product. The carpenter
is a creator, having total control in molding what nature has produced
and mankind has processed. The carpenter is the controlling agent, master
of every detail of the product and justifiably receives full credit
or blame for the end result.
The gardener is very different. The gardener
selects the seed, prepares the environment, and nurtures the growing
crop. Where the carpenter actively molds and defends against nature
and natural deterioration, the gardener prepares the environment, and
helps nature take its course. The gardener has a more humble perspective,
with nature receiving most of the credit or blame.
In education, the teacher who develops
detailed lesson plans well in advance, and strictly follows them, is
thinking like a carpenter, as is the teacher who sees his or her primary
mission as teaching specific facts and specific skill to the students.
On the other hand, the teacher who has a general idea of where the class
is heading, but emphasizes taking advantage of “teaching moments”, and
creates lessons out of students’ interests and questions is thinking
like a gardener. The former molds and controls, while the latter nourishes
and removes obstacles to growth.
In Special Purpose schools and programs,
a carpenter will do a diagnosis to pinpoint the exact problem, and then
carry out the cure. On the other hand, the gardener will create a structure
that removes negative environmental factors, and then supports the child
in finding values and behaviors that lead to success.
Both the gardener and the carpenter are
concerned with results, but the process is radically different. Both
types of thinking are necessary in Special Purpose schools, depending
on the circumstances. But, if the child is psychologically intact, I’m
inclined toward the gardener’s type of thinking. You see, while the
gardener’s method is to nourish living things and help each achieve
its full potential, the carpenter must first kill the tree.
Copyright
© 1992, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced without
prior approval if the copyright notice and proper publication and author
attribution accompanies the copy.) |
