Curriculum of Imagination Beyond the Walls of Standardization
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Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Fall 2006 Curriculum of Imagination Beyond the Walls of Standardization Robert Lewis Lake Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Recommended Citation Lake, Robert Lewis, "Curriculum of Imagination Beyond the Walls of Standardization" (2006). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 512. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/512 This dissertation (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A CURRICULUM OF IMAGINATION BEYOND THE WALLS OF STANDARDIZATION by ROBERT LAKE (Under the Direction of Ming Fang He) ABSTRACT This dissertation is a theoretical inquiry into ways of seeing, knowing, and learning that are frequently excluded in this present climate of standardized practices in the field of education. In this study, I explore how imagination permeates every aspect of life experience and helps develop personal and political awareness in students to look beyond what they take for granted, to question the normal, and to develop various ways of knowing, seeing, feeling, and acting upon positive social and educational change in an era of accountability. This is accomplished by tracing the historical and contemporary evolution of the concepts of imagination and metaphor and, in specific terms, how they make possible the creation of personal meaning and agency. An imaginary dialogue based on actual quotations from Maxine Greene and Paulo Freire serves as the theoretical framework for the inquiry, with the researcher’s commentary interspersed at various points in the conversation. The study also explores the connection between eugenics and the origin of standardized testing and the practice of tracking in the United States during the twentieth century. By reflecting on my own experience as a student, teacher, and researcher, I look for ways to describe the roles of imagination in naming, being, and transforming private and public worlds. Applications and connections to practice are described in a variety of settings, ranging from the use of multiple forms of literacy in 2 content area studies to the use of literature and media to enhance understanding of the “other.” I also focus on the significance of sensing gaps and perceiving the unanswered, the unfinished, and the unjust in ways that passionately move us beyond the taken-for-granted and the status quo in the present system of “official knowledge” and contrived practices of classroom accountability. INDEX WORDS: Imagination, Standardization, Metaphor, Problem-finding, Multiple literacies, Creative process, Dialogic literature review, and Empathy 3 A CURRICULUM OF IMAGINATION BEYOND THE WALLS OF STANDARDIZATION by ROBERT LAKE B.S., Empire State University, 1999 M.Ed., SUNY at Albany, 2000 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION STATESBORO, GEORGIA 2006 4 © 2006 Robert Lake All Rights Reserved 5 A CURRICULUM OF IMAGINATION BEYOND THE WALLS OF STANDARDIZATION by ROBERT LAKE Major Professor: Ming Fang He Committee: William Reynolds Michael Moore Clyde Coreil Electronic Version Approved: December 2006 6 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated first and foremost to my wife Elizabeth. You are a walking embodiment of a curriculum of imagination, who has awakened me to find beauty in everything that surrounds us. Secondly, I dedicate this work to my six children, Rachel, John, Thomas, David, Mary Elizabeth, and William. You each have your own distinct perspective, interests, and expression. Through you I have learned to treasure the uniqueness of the entire human family! This work is also dedicated to my granddaughter, Lily Rose, and all of my future grandchildren. May your imaginations enable you to always live beyond walls! 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Ming Fang He for believing in me enough to release me to write a theoretical dissertation. The idea for “an intellectual conversation between Maxine Greene and Paulo Freire” came from her. Dr. He, you have been a source of continual inspiration to me as a caring mentor and an outstanding and tireless scholar who is never static in your pursuit of understanding! I have learned much about metaphor in personal narrative from you! Thank you for all of your help! Thank you, Dr. Reynolds, for introducing me to the work of Paulo Freire and for demonstrating his approach to teaching without reducing it to a method, I also acknowledge your vast contribution to my understanding of curriculum as “being.” Dr. Moore, thank you for introducing me to the concept of “sensing gaps” and problem finding. Imagination needs intentionality, and your work on writing across content areas as a process of self-discovery provided a practical focus for this work. Dr. Coreil, thank you for always being a “muse of fire” concerning the realm of the imagination through our many telephone conversations. Your passion and breadth of understanding of this topic convinced me that I needed to carry on your legacy! I also want to acknowledge the life and work of Maxine Greene. Her writing has become a voice in my head, “lighting the slow fuse of the possible!” 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................7 PROLOGUE ......................................................................................................................12 Context: The Era of Standardization............................................................13 Autobiographical Roots of This Inquiry.......................................................16 Focus of This Inquiry....................................................................................18 Imaginative Dialogue as a Theoretical Framework ......................................19 Imaginative Dialogue as a Literature Review...............................................22 Writing as a Method of Inquiry ....................................................................23 Audience .......................................................................................................26 Wall Metaphor ..............................................................................................27 Panoramic View of the Chapters ..................................................................30 CHAPTER 1 AN IMAGINARY DIALOGUE BETWEEN MAXINE GREENE AND PAULO FREIRE……………………………………………………………...33 What Is Imagination? ..................................................................................33 Imagination and Hope ................................................................................34 Imagination as a Mirror ..............................................................................37 Preliterate Imagination ...............................................................................39 Generative Imagination ..............................................................................40 Critical Imagination.....................................................................................42 Cartesian Influence in the Cognitive Model................................................44 9 The Praxis of Emancipatory Literacy..........................................................47 2 WALLS OF STANDARDIZATION………………………………………...49 Banking Education and Seeing Things Small .............................................49 Dark Imagination and the History of Standardization.................................52 Walls of Fragmentation Between Subjects .................................................56 Sputnik and Increased Meritocracy .............................................................58 A Brief Glimpse Beyond the Wall ..............................................................60 Walls of “Excellence” .................................................................................61 The New Eugenics.......................................................................................62 The Mega-Business of Building Walls .......................................................64 Students as Human Capital..........................................................................67 3 METAPHOR: THE LANGUAGE OF THE IMAGINATION .......................69 The Unfinished Conversation Continues ....................................................69 Orwell’s Newspeak and Standardization ....................................................71 What is Metaphor? ......................................................................................71 Metaphor Defined by Personal Experience .................................................73 Two Trees of Developing Metaphor ...........................................................74 Metaphor in Preliterate Cultures .................................................................75 Greek and Medieval Uses of Metaphor.......................................................77 Metaphor in Modern Philosophy.................................................................79 Romantic Uses of Metaphor........................................................................80