Wonder
One of my favorites of Dickinson’s poems is # 1331 in which she describes the essence of curiosity in the first two lines:
Wonder — is not precisely Knowing
And not precisely Knowing not —
She then goes on to identify this as “A beautiful but bleak condition.”
I reflect on these lines often with teachers as we debate and discuss how to keep a child’s sense of curiosity and wonder alive, especially as they transition from elementary to middle school and from middle school to high school. Not knowing something can be a “bleak condition” (and perhaps a key reason for a child’s misbehavior in class?); however, with an enthusiastic approach and through engaging lessons, a teacher can preserve the “beautiful” and engrossing aspects of the unknown for a child—so that the learning becomes irresistible and the lesson becomes meaningful and relevant.
Tech-savvy teachers can certainly provide such irresistible learning through project based learning where students collaborate in real-life endeavors and become producers and publishers of work that is literally shared with the world. Of course, through authentic, tech-based work on projects, students can also learn how to deal with and solve problems with technology as they encounter issues – and this lead me to the idea for my parody of Dickinson’s poem (in my book Great American Poems – REPOEMED). My parody opens with the following lines:
Windows is not precisely Working
And not precisely Working not—
An essential but bleak condition
I am a firm believer in Murphy’s Law, so I always tell my students that they need to be prepared to deal with any unknown problem— and with technology, there are times when Murphy goes a little overboard with his law. Students need to be able to think creatively and to solve problems logically when faced with unknown issues as they arise, and what better training than with real-life applications and experiences?
This idea brings me back to Dickinson’s poem: in the opening line of the second stanza she states that, “Suspense — is his (i.e., Wonder’s) maturer Sister.” Students do need to retain their sense of wonder, but they also have to be able to solve suspenseful problems. Yes, problems can create a “bleak condition,” but through effective instruction, teachers can transform a bleak outlook to something “beautiful.”
Wonder — is not precisely Knowing
And not precisely Knowing not —
She then goes on to identify this as “A beautiful but bleak condition.”
I reflect on these lines often with teachers as we debate and discuss how to keep a child’s sense of curiosity and wonder alive, especially as they transition from elementary to middle school and from middle school to high school. Not knowing something can be a “bleak condition” (and perhaps a key reason for a child’s misbehavior in class?); however, with an enthusiastic approach and through engaging lessons, a teacher can preserve the “beautiful” and engrossing aspects of the unknown for a child—so that the learning becomes irresistible and the lesson becomes meaningful and relevant.
Tech-savvy teachers can certainly provide such irresistible learning through project based learning where students collaborate in real-life endeavors and become producers and publishers of work that is literally shared with the world. Of course, through authentic, tech-based work on projects, students can also learn how to deal with and solve problems with technology as they encounter issues – and this lead me to the idea for my parody of Dickinson’s poem (in my book Great American Poems – REPOEMED). My parody opens with the following lines:
Windows is not precisely Working
And not precisely Working not—
An essential but bleak condition
I am a firm believer in Murphy’s Law, so I always tell my students that they need to be prepared to deal with any unknown problem— and with technology, there are times when Murphy goes a little overboard with his law. Students need to be able to think creatively and to solve problems logically when faced with unknown issues as they arise, and what better training than with real-life applications and experiences?
This idea brings me back to Dickinson’s poem: in the opening line of the second stanza she states that, “Suspense — is his (i.e., Wonder’s) maturer Sister.” Students do need to retain their sense of wonder, but they also have to be able to solve suspenseful problems. Yes, problems can create a “bleak condition,” but through effective instruction, teachers can transform a bleak outlook to something “beautiful.”
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