Paper instructions:
A key “attitude” in John Dewey’s notion of reflective action is whole-heartedness.“Without whole-heartedness, there exists indifference, and the energy to observe and gather information about learners and their learning, one’s teaching and so forth is not there. It is therefore essential to reflective thinking. On the other hand, if a teacher possesses an attitude of whole-heartedness yet works in a context that beats it out of the teacher, such as having too many students, a curriculum without flexibility, tests that must be taught to and no time to share with other teachers, let alone time to reflect, whole-heartedness obviously suffers, and too often withers to resignation and even bitterness.”
Rodgers, 2002, p. 859
John Dewey’s notion of whole-heartedness is described in Grant and Zeichner’s article (http://www.wou.edu/~girodm/foundations/Grant_and_Zeichner.pdf) and in the above quotation by Carol Rodgers. Use either or both of these sources to answer the following question: How does Brené Brown’s explanation of “whole-heartedness” relate to John Dewey’s notion of whole-heartedness as an “attitude” that is necessary for reflective action?
Dewey believed that reflective action differed from routine action, which was based on impulse, tradition and authority. For Dewey, reflective action involved active, persistent and careful consideration of our beliefs and practices and the consequences of our actions. Dewey also believed that in order to be effective, practitioners need to actively reflect on the educational, social and political contexts in which their practice is embedded. His ideas about reflective thought are often a key starting place for theories and models of reflective practice. We will therefore begin by considering this week the three “attitudes” that Dewey describes as “prerequisites” for reflective action – open-mindedness, responsibility and whole-heartedness.
In this Ted Talk by Brené Brown (2010) called The Power of Vulnerability (http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability), you will hear more about the idea of “whole-heartedness”.
Brené Brown argues that we need “courage” if we are to allow ourselves to be vulnerable and therefore more likely to have a sense of fulfillment in our lives. Dewey refers to curiosity and the desire for growth as important “attitudes” for reflective action because “without these, the courage required for truly reflective work would be absent. Truly to inquire into one’s practice in a whole-hearted, direct, open-minded, responsible way demands the courage to release not only what one holds dear but the elements of one’s very identity” (Rodgers, 2002, p. 863). Carol Rodgers (Links to an external site.)refers to a quotation by the psychologist Robert Kegan (1994) in making this point:
“Being able to think [reflectively] is not just a discrete skill, it is an active demonstration of a mind that can stand enough apart from its own opinions, values, rules, and definitions to avoid being completely identified with them. It is able to keep from feeling that the whole self has been violated when its opinions, values, rules, or definitions are challenged” (p. 231).
Consider how this quotation relates to Brené Brown’s story and what she needed to do in order to embrace the notion of whole-heartedness.
Kegan, R. (1994). In over our heads: The mental demands of modern life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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