Becoming Human

I’m currently reading the most beautiful book by Jean Vanier. It’s a series of lectures he gave entitled, Becoming Human. It’s not explicitly related to education, but I think his insights are very much worth sharing in this blog, none-the-less. So, here’s my take on the first chapter.

Vanier writes that loneliness is an essential aspect of being human.  We can cover over loneliness by surrounding ourselves with busy work, but it is always still a part of who we are. Loneliness can by a force for good, however - we can give our lives meaning through occupations and volunteer work that makes us feel useful and needed. It can lead us to creative expression and even lead us to seek God. Vanier describes an experience of God as paradoxically both satisfying our thirst for the absolute and at the same time whetting it, leaving us seeking more. I think this is certainly true in my experiences. I write my best songs, paint my best art, and often accomplish my most meaningful work when I am lonely. And the feeling of loneliness is often a reminder to me to take more time for my relationship with God. I appreciate that Vanier doesn't write loneliness off as a purely tragic thing; he acknowledges both sides of this essential aspect of human beings.

Unfortunately, while loneliness can inspire creative fulfilling work and faith, it can also birth apathy and depression. When a person is unsuccessful in filling this hole of loneliness with anything, they can give up. They can begin to believe that there is nothing they can ever do to make the world better of find any meaning in their life. This sort of loneliness, Vanier describes as "a feeling of not being part of anything, of being cut off", and it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with whether the person is alone. This is too often the case for people with disabilities, or for people who are disabled by their life situation of poverty or discrimination, since such people don't always have as easy access the positive growth opportunities that loneliness could inspire them into. 

Vanier describes loneliness as a paradox; we need connectedness with other human beings to quench our loneliness and bring us feelings of security and order. Yet that same connectedness can stifle the positive loneliness which encourages us to take new creative paths. So how do we live with others in this paradoxical world? I like how Vanier puts it,

"All humans are sacred, whatever their culture, race, or religion, whatever their capacities or incapacities, and whatever their weaknesses or strengths may be. Each of us has an instrument to bring to the vast orchestra of humanity, and each of us needs help to become all that we may be."

Vanier's ideas aren't specific to education of course, but they are easily relateable. As a teacher, revealing to my students what instrument they play well is a great responsibility and honour. Of course, by the time my students have reached first year, they've done quite a lot of figuring out what their role in the world is already. But I don't think this revealing ever stops in life, so I hope that I can be a part of that for my students at their current stage of life as well. Showing them their uniqueness, and striving to understand who they are and where they are in their life - these things encourage the inspiring creative side of loneliness. Vanier specifically mentions the importance of celebrating the person for who they are and the abilities they do have. Pity is the opposite of empowerment - regardless of ability.

It is also my role as an educator, to guide my students away from the tragic side of loneliness and towards community with each other. Creating community is one of my biggest goals with my students this year. Of course, I intend to build community in the context of teaching them a good conceptual understanding and strong problem solving skills, but I want to make sure they all finish the year with the community that they need to grow those skills and conceptual understanding in the future.

I am trying to structure my tutorial so that my students each feel that they are an essential contributing member of a team with a common goal. That's a big learning process for both me and the students! It's been a challenge for me to set up the teams, and especially to set up my physical classroom space (which consists of 70 chairs, with mini desks bolted to the floor in rows - it's taken a lot of different attempts to try to make this a space for collaboration as you can imagine!) It's also taking time for the students to figure out how to solve a problem in a team, and I've definitely seen lots of bumps so far in tutorial. There are cultural barriers, the challenge of being humble enough to ask for a friend's help, and issues of impatience with team members who aren't "getting it" quickly enough. It's not easy to learn to value the different contributions classmates can make, but I've seen enough successful teamwork and improvements in teamwork to trust that we're learning how to do community as a class. And I'm excited about that.