You can cross language barriers, cross the border, cross the line, go cross country, cross over to the other side, get caught in the cross-fire, have someone in the cross hairs, cross your fingers, cross that bridge when you come to it,cross your heart, be at cross purposes with someone, be cross with someone, or cross cultures. But what is a cross connection? Dictionary.com defines cross connection as “an intersection of two or more separate things, typically parts of different networks, circuits, or systems.” As part of a water system, cross connection is a source of possible contamination. In circuitry it seems to perform a function that is valuable but incomprehensible to normal human beings. But in life, I think it is one of the most enriching concepts you can put into practice! Let me demonstrate that in just a few areas of interest to me.
When I first started investigating homeschooling, I read a lot of books and did a lot of thinking about the purpose and methods of education. One of the philosophies that really resonated with me was unschooling. Unschooling is something of a misnomer in my opinion, I would call it unteaching. The child is the learner, the parent is the facilitator. One thing that often happens with unschooling is called rabbit trails. As a child follows their interests one thing leads to another and they may start out making paper airplanes and end up reading about World War II with investigations of the principles of lift and drag and air traffic control along the way. Sandra Dodd has some good examples of rabbit trails in her blog Connect the Dots http://sandradodd.com/connections/ She talks about how “learning comes from connecting something new to what you've already thought or known.”
This concept is borne out by the research presented in the book How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School, (John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown and Rodney R. Cocking, editors). http://undergrad.fiu.edu/cat/developing_teaching.html The book states that “The development and retention of new knowledge depends in large part on the relationship between what one is learning and what one already knows. Because novices in a field typically don’t know much of the content in that field, they have little to which they can relate the things they’re attempting to learn. So they retain less.”
So in education, the more students are allowed and encouraged to make connections between different subjects, the more framework they have in which to place new information and draw new conclusions from that information.
I have a friend who lives on the other side of the world from me. We are not alike. He is a Muslim, I am a Christian. His native tongue is Arabic, mine is English. He lives in the land of one of the world’s oldest cultures, mine is called “the New World.” He is a father who works long hours to support his family, I am a mother who stays home to care for mine. Yet we are friends. We have a cross connection. And underneath all those differences, we are really much the same. We love our families, we worry about the future, we hope for peace and we trust in God.
Many people in the US seem to be isolated from anyone who is different than themselves. I don't think it is intentional. For many parts of the US, you have to make an effort to meet people who are different than yourself. We live in neighborhoods, go to work, shop at the store and worship with people who all speak the same language as us, and look much the same as us, and think much the same as us. And this is a poverty. A poverty many people don't even realize they have. From hosting ESL students and teaching English to refugees, I have had new experiences in food, greeting customs, manners, and perspectives. Conversation and respectful debate with people who come from a different background has taught me things about my own beliefs that I didn't even realize I had. And that is irreplaceable. And for that I thank God.
My goal in this blog, and in my life, is to explore new connections and see where they lead in learning more about the fascinating world we live in, to live more fully, and to be engaged with the world not just our own surroundings. Goals are something to aim for - I may not always, or even often hit the mark. But I hope it is an interesting ride, whatever direction it ends up going!
No comments:
Post a Comment