Several years ago, right before I turned 50, I learned to ski. It was scary. I had tried skiing once when I was younger and it didn't go well and for more than a decade I had avoided the slopes. After some encouragement from friends to step outside my comfort zone and let go of my fear. I made a decision to not let the discomfort and self doubt get in the way of trying something new, even though I knew I might fail and be embarrassed.
I am grateful, I was able to feel that discomfort so that I could learn something new. I had the time of my life. It was exhilarating and scary and so much fun.
As educators, the cycle of worry, discomfort, courage, new learning is at the heart of what we do. It is the magic of teaching and learning. The job of the teacher is to guide the student through this cycle while acknowledging the fear, helping folks understand that guilt about not knowing sooner is also part of the process. Learning cannot happen unless people get comfortable with not knowing. Embrace the fear of embarrassment, take the risk and try on a new idea. The job of the teacher is not avoid causing this guilt and discomfort but to shepherd students safely through the process.
This morning I heard a story on NPR that has me deeply troubled. According to the story, "Under a bill proposed by Florida's governor, schools and businesses would be banned from teaching courses and offering training that cause white people to feel "discomfort" on account of their race."
My heart breaks. Teachers must courageously make people feel uncomfortable about everything, otherwise learning cannot happen. If kids don't become uncomfortable sitting on the floor, they will not learn to walk. If they don't get uncomfortable with the pace of walking they won't learn to run, ride a bike or drive. As I said before, the job of the teacher is not to avoid the discomfort but to help the learner walk through the discomfort. This is an important skill in and of itself.
This is the same for adults, if you are not uncomfortable with the amount of drinking you did during Covid, you won't learn new and better coping strategies. If you don't question the health of your habits, you may never learn to cook, or swim or ski. As adults in the world, it is essential that we learn to navigate discomfort and help kids learn to do the same.
Florida's governor said, "Equity is an excuse to smuggle in ideology." I think a better way to say this that he feels his ideology being challenged. Having our ideas and ways of thinking challenges is at the heart of learning, changing and becoming better more well educated people.
His assumption that American history or even our history of enslaving Black people is a single story of great heroes fighting to free an oppressive king and downtrodden people being rescued by Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King, Jr. Isn't just a dangerous ideology, it ignores the complexity of history in those times and today.
In her amazing, comprehensive account of American history, The 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah-Jones writes:
Those outside the academy tend to think of history as settled, as a simple accounting of what events happened on what dates and who was involved in those incidents. But while history is what happened, it is also just as important what we think about what happened and what we unearth and choose to remember about what happened. Historians gather at conferences, present research, and argue, debate and quibble over facts and emphasis all the time They regularly publish articles that analyze, question or disagree with the respected and peered reviewed of their colleagues. p. xxvi
History isn't done. We are still learning. What if we taught our students to analyze, question and disagree? What if we asked kids to keep digging when they feel uncomfortable? What if arguing, debating, quibbling and teaching kids to manage the discomfort that follows making mistakes and learning were part of the curriculum?
A representative in the Florida legislature said, "The moment that there is any sort of hesitation from an educator as to whether they should say something or not, it is always safe and prudent for them to err on the side of caution and not say it."
Teachers who choose to err on the side of caution are depriving children of one of the most important learning opportunities they may ever have - the ability to grapple with new ideas, examine the evidence and make informed decisions.
I wonder if I had been taught how to manage discomfort, think differently and change my mind when given new information, if I would have been skiing my whole life. Here I am with my dear friend on the slopes.