Individual/organization relationship LO95
Bill Weber (bweber@umce.umext.maine.EDU)
Mon, 13 Feb 95 12:26:00 EST
Hi, let me introduce me to you. I do a lot of work with teachers and
volunteers who work in educational systems; most of my work is focused
on youth, and helping them begin to sense what they do with money and
entrepreneurial aspirations and why. I have a couple of thoughts
that consistently appear as I do my work. One is that there is
substantial resistance in young people to the learning organiztions to
which they belong, namely their families and schools. The irony is that
most seem comfortable in giving away their power and responsibility
for learning to the very system they resist, a paradox which
frustrates teachers and administrators. Given this training oppor-
tunity for future workers, why would "adult" systems be any different
without an enormous effort to undo what we have learned from infancy?
So, I think that the work does need to have a thrust in early ed-
ucation.
Second, I see more and more signs of differences between males
and females in learning. Gilligan, Lyons, et al, have done some
work in exploring this. My question is, what does this mean for the
learning organiztion? Does not an LO have both feminine and mas-
culine energy...my intuition tells me yes. I am eager to hear what
others think. Thank you. bweber@umce.emext.maine.edu