The Value of Dialogue

Inne and Outer learning

In Education I suggest there are two streams of learning.

Outer learning G the acquisition of knowledge and skills through teaching courses that lead to examinations and
qualifications, and inner learning. learning about ourselves, our thought and feeling and realtionship and motiva-
tions, fears, responsibilities and so on.

Parents, students and teachers alike are already focused on outer learning goals. Our goals is to ensure that
the two are held in balance. Education without this attention to inner learning is incomplete.

We aims to create a culture in which it is natural for students to be interested in inner learning so that it
becomes part of their own concerns, conversation and iquisitiveness. New students absorb this culture infor-
mally almost by osmosis.

One of the significant elements in ourmultifaceted approaches is discussion and dialogue. This can be
formal or informal and often rises spontaneously at meals or in the evening and sometimes even in classes. We
also have timetabled dialogues and discussions. These involve the whole school, either all together or divided
into groups. The staff also meet for a weekly dialogue.

Looking Inward

Our dialogues are about looking inward. Generally we start with a question that is relevant and accessible to
everyone. to find a good question is very important and it is useful if it relates to what is on students'
minds.

We may turn our attention to fear, anxiety and stress but look at them in the context of examinations. Stu-
dents are encouraged to explore their thoughts and feelings about exams. Further questions may uncover
parental expectations, worries about university entrance, or a dislike of the subject. Deepening the investigation
may look at how fear makes us act the effects of fear the very nature of fear itself, the feelings and patterns of
thought that give rise to this fear and to other fears.

During this process the student may realise that fear is not just his or her personal problems but is common
to all humanity. This realisation has come about by direct observation of thought and feeling, action and reaction.

Without Answers

It is important to recognise that dialogue does not give answer or draw conclusions. The topics discussed
are often too complex and profound. We are like archoeologists who find a fragment near the surface and then
dig deeper and wider to uncover the whole site. Archaeological sites, even as they add to our understanding,
raise a host of new questions. The object of dialogue is to awaken and exercise each individual's capacity to
discover his or herself, to develop understanding and discrimination and to function with care and affection.

Teacher's Role

Inner learning is intrinsically different from teaching a subject where students learn from the teacher. When
it comes to the inner world, educators are not in a superior position. We too struggle with fear, relationships,
feelings self-centredness and a host of psychological challenges. We cannot enter a dialogue with any sense of
authority or think that out perceptions are truer than the students'.

The student too has become used to the teacher as knowing more and may consciously or unconsciously
turn to the teacher for answers. So first and foremost, we have to break the habits of teaching and become
inquirers with the students, exploring the interior world with all its dark reesses. We are thinking and feeling
together. all observations are equally valid and need to be respected and examined. There should be no
judgement, argument or contradiction. All of this is easier said than done. Our teacherly instincts to plan, control,
direct and criticised the course of inquiry may prevent true dialogue and discovery. Dialogue may become
instead a vehicle for the subtle and perhaps unconscious transmission of ideas and values.

Consequences

it is not easy to measure the results of this focus on inner learning or relate cause directly to effect. It shows
in a lessening of tension, greater ease and confidence, better relationships particularly between staff and stu-
dents and more responsible behaviour. Parents are delighted by the changes that are obvious to them. it even
shows in improved performance in classes. However it is important that dialogue remains open-ended amd free
and not be seen as a means to an end as that blocks the flow of inquiry. We do feel though that it produces
confident, more mature, happier human beings with a sense of their place in the world who will affect society
positively.
Harsh Tankha
Brockwood Park