Running head: EDUCATION: INTIMATELY SUBJECTIVE 1

Education: Intimately Subjective

Tiffany W. Morrissey

Northern Illinois University

CAHA 533
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Education encompasses such a vast array of philosophies, theories, levels, objectives,

circumstances, and beliefs that I have come to realize more and more that ones view of

education and what it should entail and should be is dependent on ones own truths. There are too

many players in the game, so to speak. This has consistently been my problem with complex

fields; when there are too many components, there is no collective truth. There is no known, if

you will. Therefore, education is intimately subjective.

I believe education plays a role in self-actualization. Perhaps for the majority of

individuals involved, this concept is unknown, subtle, overlooked, or not considered. For me,

however, especially now that I am in graduate school, I know that education plays a deep and

intimate role in who I am as a person and what my role in this life is supposed to be. With that

being said, without education, I do not believe I would be able to meet myself. Education opens

my eyes to what I am capable of and what my future holds. It pushes me further into wanting to

know and wanting to discover. It supports my innate need for lifelong learning. I, unfortunately,

do not know many people who feel this grand effect education can have. And, thus, I feel that

much more inclined to explore my belief that if one can realize educations role in self

development and fulfillment, one can better oneself and, in turn, better the world.

As an educator, I harness a part of me that one may label life coach, motivator, or self-

esteem booster. I have recognized over the years, in my field of adult basic education, that my

students lack support, confidence, and motivation. They generally lack quality holistic

educational experiences that assist in self development and growth. I have to come to notice that

many, many students lack this, regardless of the specific field of education I work in. Education

has a negative stigma attached to it: boring/mean teachers, too many rules, not enough art, no
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personal expression allowed, no support, not enough freedom, too much discrimination, too

much oppression, et cetera. I take this into consideration when teaching. I want my students to

enjoy learning. I want them to leave my class each day knowing something they did not know

before they walked in. If this is not specifically content related, then so be it. If it means they do

not know that the moon would be dark if it were not for the sun, but they know that an APR of

23% on a credit card is a horrible deal, then I feel I have done my duty. I want my students to

learn something that will be useful to them in life, in the world. I use humor and relate to

common, everyday life situations when I teach. I tap into current social media trends, music,

movies, or TV. I do whatever it takes to get their attention, to make them laugh, to remind them

of how capable they are as human beings. This is my truth as an educator, but I know I have not

yet found the right fit for me in terms of the content I teach. I want to teach something more

aligned with personal fulfillment, growth, or impact. Maybe psychology, diversity, human

growth and development, multiculturalism, a course on motivation, a course about perception

and how reality is whatever one perceives it to be who be a snug fit. I am clearly all over the

board with this. I guess when all is said and done, I want to impact my students. I want them to

think critically about things they have never thought about before, to have them realize personal

potential, to allow them to see what matters most, and to break unhealthy cycles they currently

run in. I prefer learners be in my class by choice; I find those type of learners to be the most

motivated, willing to engage, and open to personal growth or change.

I tend to see education as an all-over-the-place, everyday occurrence. It does not have to

be formal. In fact, I may believe that the less formal it is, the more successful it has the potential

to be. There is a lot of pressure that goes into formal schooling. This pressure takes away from

the learning that could and should be taking place. Though I do think formal education should
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have a professional tone to it, if you will, I believe taking a step back from the rigid formality of

it and looking at it from a humanistic lens is important. In the end, we are all just humans. We all

have knowledge to offer and knowledge to gain. We all have insight and experiences to share.

The environment need not be formal; rather, it should be comfortable, relaxed, collaborative, and

supportive. It ought to hold the feel of community, safety, and respect. I do not want to be an

authority figure; I would rather be a guide, a support, or a facilitator. This is the type of

environment I envision to be ideal. I want people to want to be there. If that is the tone I can set

in my teaching environment, then I will be satisfied.

As I stated in the beginning, when there are too many players in a game, you cannot

actually play the game, and you certainly cannot win. Thus, education cannot always be a

winning endeavor. It is very personal to each player involved, whether we are referring to

teachers, students, administration, parents, the public, politicians, counselors, et cetera.

Therefore, I think it is important for me to be who I want to be in the field. I need to be my truth

as an educator. If that means content sits aside because my students are in need of learning a life

skill, then that is okay. I think we are so bogged down by content, content, content that we are

missing out on holistic education. Let people learn to be people, to be human, to be themselves.

Let identities form via self-discovery, and let those identities continue to flourish and alter

throughout life. Allow potentialities to be recognized and met. For me, education can be deeply

personal and intimate. It plays a critical role in my figuring out who I am and who I want to be in

this world. And I truly believe that as we better ourselves, we are, in turn, bettering the lives of

those around us. And this beautiful cycle, opposite of the vicious and toxic cycles that have been

socially constructed and run rampant in our educational system, has the potential to spread across
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our communities, our nation, and our world. If all the players in the game envisioned this,

perhaps the field could be intimately objective.