I
purchased a science book from 1953, and after reading through
it, it became apparent that the modern approach we’ve taken
towards teaching is drastically different from the antiquated
approach. This book presents us with simple questions and
engaging imagery, instead of spoon-feeding line after line of
information to the reader, as modern textbooks often do. This
book establishes open-ended scenarios, urging us to make
observations and draw our own conclusions. Through this
“question and answer” process, there are life lessons be
learned. These books promote learning through discovery.
Wood grain is an excellent metaphor for quality of growth.
Most wood grown and harvested today is of much lower quality
and strength than wood used just 50 years ago. Trees that are
grown for harvesting grow much quicker, leaving looser ring
structure, and producing more branches, resulting in more
knots. Wood harvested from old-growth forests is of much
higher quality because it has been given the time to grow
naturally, without interruption. There are also fewer defects
and diseases in old-growth trees.
Using appropriated imagery from the book, overlaid on photos
of the grain structure of wood, I want to combine and convey
these ideas together, comparing the natural growth process of
trees to the process of human learning. There have been long
lasting comparative relationships between people and trees. I
want to bring attention to the idea of learning through
questioning, as in vintage science books, and shed light on
this particular form of childhood discovery. This process
teaches simple lessons that we refer back to for the rest of
our lives. The growth of a person’s intellect is the same as
that of the growth of a tree: When it happens naturally,
through experience, the lessons have a much greater resonance
and validity. So much of the information we’re exposed to
today is intended to satisfy our need to be instantly
gratified. This information is second-hand, passed down to us
and poorly assimilated. The likelihood of it promoting
understanding is much lower. The essence of learning is
discovery through play, not dictation.
I
purchased a science book from 1953, and after reading through
it, it became apparent that the modern approach we’ve taken
towards teaching is drastically different from the antiquated
approach. This book presents us with simple questions and
engaging imagery, instead of spoon-feeding line after line of
information to the reader, as modern textbooks often do. This
book establishes open-ended scenarios, urging us to make
observations and draw our own conclusions. Through this
“question and answer” process, there are life lessons be
learned. These books promote learning through discovery.
Wood grain is an excellent metaphor for quality of growth.
Most wood grown and harvested today is of much lower quality
and strength than wood used just 50 years ago. Trees that are
grown for harvesting grow much quicker, leaving looser ring
structure, and producing more branches, resulting in more
knots. Wood harvested from old-growth forests is of much
higher quality because it has been given the time to grow
naturally, without interruption. There are also fewer defects
and diseases in old-growth trees.
Using appropriated imagery from the book, overlaid on photos
of the grain structure of wood, I want to combine and convey
these ideas together, comparing the natural growth process of
trees to the process of human learning. There have been long
lasting comparative relationships between people and trees. I
want to bring attention to the idea of learning through
questioning, as in vintage science books, and shed light on
this particular form of childhood discovery. This process
teaches simple lessons that we refer back to for the rest of
our lives. The growth of a person’s intellect is the same as
that of the growth of a tree: When it happens naturally,
through experience, the lessons have a much greater resonance
and validity. So much of the information we’re exposed to
today is intended to satisfy our need to be instantly
gratified. This information is second-hand, passed down to us
and poorly assimilated. The likelihood of it promoting
understanding is much lower. The essence of learning is
discovery through play, not dictation.
