Last week I headed to the West coast for a conference, all full of energy. A few 16 hour days, some jet lag and a couple of evenings with a couple of glasses of wine, and I was a bit tuckered. Then a quick trip across the Confederation Bridge to PEI and back and now I’m home, having just cleared out my aggregator.
Both conferences were a chance to see people who I was loosely connected to, as well as meet some new friends. I was ready for a little F2F reinforcement, having spent most of the year as a virtual colleague/friend/associate. One of the advantages of being a free agent is the ‘luxury’ of reflection. I have had time to read books in depth, think long about my blog posts and follow online discussion threads to their murky depths. The past week showed me that I really don’t want to lose this perspective.
It seems that most of us are in a hurry today, and I meet few people who have had the time to read even a few good books and reflect upon them. Fewer still have taken the time to digest new ideas and discuss their learning with others. There has always been a need to balance action and reflection, but the latter seems to be losing out in many of our workplaces.
Discussions this week centered around new tools, new literacies and perhaps even a new pedagogy, but few (yes, there were some) were demanding more time for reflection. As the digital surround engulfs us, it may become critical to carve out more reflective time and space. One way to help our children is to stop homework, but what is the equivalent for the rest of us in the working world?
Reflection should be a large part of the schoolwork and also of homework.
Homework isn’t the problem. If kids would spend less time in school there would be plenty of time for homework.