Paradigm Shift
Here’s an idea: Let’s have a
new paradigm
for the
new year!
But first, a description of the old paradigm, what some call the dominator paradigm. The dominator paradigm is one that glorifies
the head over the heart (the intellect over emotions)
the male over the female
the abstract over the embodied
It rests on the basic structure of one-up/one-down, where (obviously) one person (the white person, the male person, the rich person, the cisgender person, the beautiful person, the popular person, the angry person, the self-righteous person, the parent, the teacher, etc.) holds the power and another person submits to it. It is a paradigm that thrives on extreme power imbalance, and it has prevailed in Western cultures for millennia.
Another word for the dominator paradigm:
bullying.
Yes: When one person strives to silence another, to “win” over another, to be smarter or more right or more righteous or more outraged or more deserving or more powerful than another, we’re talking bullying.
We’re talking crushing the Nth. Which means, among many other things, ruining all chances of mutual growth and understanding.
What would the new paradigm look like?
At bottom, the new paradigm is all about connecting. About benefiting each other. About mutual understanding. About strengthening and improving, changing and growing. Let’s call it the
paradigm of possibility.
In this time of anti-racism, of (maybe?) anti-misogyny, of striving for equity and universal well-being; in this time of online education, where teaching is as much about safe, supportive relationships as it is about content — in this terrible, promising time we need to throw off expectations and needs for domination. What would that look like?
How ‘bout
getting in our right mind
managing our own emotions (rather than acting out on each other)
honoring our own and others’ gardens
listening again (can’t have enough of that)
I’m mostly thinking about the Big Picture here — our particular social and political reality right now — but let us consider a paradigm shift in education as well. One that emphasizes attuned relationships — among teachers and students, yes, but with the content as well. One that cultivates the Nth, that seeks possibility, that nourishes the potential genius in absolutely everyone. A paradigm shift that remembers teachers and students are people. Full stop.
Possible mantra: Watch for the old paradigm in your life. Go for the new.