Fishing for Identity

             Lunenburg, Nova Scotia is my hometown.  As a proud Bluenoser, I grew up with an appreciation for the sea and the economic opportunities it provided to many in that small town.  Whether it was fishing or processing scallops, cod fish or lobsters, many men and women in the area supported their families by working in this industry. 

Today, this once flourishing industry is no longer the backbone of this town’s economy.  In fact, this past month, the largest fishing industry employer in the town announced that they were putting up for sale one of the two remaining freezer trawlers in their fleet that is utilized to fish scallops.  This potential sale could result in the loss of many jobs for local residents.

This could be another blow to a community that in the late 80s and 90s saw a staggering job loss that left many people unemployed with no transferable skills as many in the industry did not have a lot of education past high school.  Some would argue that many did not even complete high school as it was not a necessity to work in the industry and the job opportunities at the time were plentiful.  My Dad often tells stories of friends, who if they did not feel like going to school, would walk down to the wharf to see if a boat was leaving.  If the Captain was looking for crew members, it was not unusual for that person to hop on board and ask a wharf worker to let his parent’s know he would be back in a couple of weeks.  Education was not part of the identities of these people.

The past and current issues for those affected by the fall of the fishing industry came to mind in our discussion of Bracher and identity.  During our most recent class, we discussed that learning is shaped by motivations to keep our particular type of identity.  My thoughts remained with these fisherman who were now unemployed in the late 80s and 90s.  At the time, the government offered retraining programs that would provide these men with skills to start a new career in another industry.  Many struggled with this process.  After reflecting on Bracher and applying it to this scenario, I believe that identity played a major role in these men’s hesitation and boycott against these government programs. 

            Bracher (2006) defines identity as “... one’s sense of oneself and, more comprehensively, the sense of oneself as a force that matters in the world” (p 6).  Many of these fishermen no longer felt that they mattered.  Fishing, for many of them, was one of the sole ways they defined themselves and also put bread on their family’s table.  If they could no longer participate in a role that made up a large part of their identity, do they have a place in this world?

            I believe that many of these men had similar identity-bearing signifiers.  I would argue that some of them would be - Fisherman, Bread Winner, Rugged, Manly.  “These identity-bearing signifiers embody socially valued ideals and attributes that we strive either to enact or to avoid embodying in our behaviour” (Bracher, 2006, p 17).  These men did everything in their power to ensure that they were able to maintain these signifiers.  This included avoiding learning opportunities, such as the government retraining programs, that potentially could have assisted them in maintaining signifiers such as bread winner.

            Bracher (2006) states that, “Learning and the failure to learn are often at least partially motivated by the need to maintain one’s identity-bearing signifiers” (p 18).  This argument holds true in regards to the fishermen.  Learning to work in a new industry meant that they potentially would be losing a part of their identity (identity-bearing signifier).  For example, working in the tourism industry meant to some that they would no longer be working in a manly role.  For several of these men, this lead to a failure and opportunity to learn as they refused to participate in a retraining program.  This failure to learn stood in their way of maintaining some of their other identity-bearing signifiers such as bread winner as they lost out on an opportunity to provide a potential stable income for their families.

            Many of these fishermen also did not identify as being educated due to their lack of post secondary and in many cases high school education.  This also threatened their use of the retraining programs as they did not identify as someone who could take advantage of an educational opportunity due to their lack of success in a classroom.

            As adult educators we must be aware of the impact of identity for our students.  Bracher (2006) comments that, “A major problem for educators is thus how to help students protect their threatened identities in ways other than resisting the identity threatening knowledge” (p 25).  I believe this involves communication on all parts including overcoming stereotypes.  Some of the fisherman may have been more open to the idea of retraining if they fully understood how their identity as a fisherman could be utilized in the tourism industry. 

            Successful transitions into the tourism industry included a former lobster fisherman who now operates a successful whale watching business.  Additionally, some fishermen who were close to retirement chose to retire and work part time at the museum delivering presentations on the history of the fishing industry to tourists and school children.  These are just some of the examples of how learning opportunities can be utilized to assist adults in maintaining their identity-bearing signifiers in alternate settings.

            Lunenburg has transitioned into a tourist destination.  While industry still plays a part in the town, tourism is now its backbone.   For those who choose to live in the area and work in a declining industry, they must be prepared to learn to change their identity if it ensures they are able to maintain their desired lifestyle and identity.

References

Bracher, M. (2006). Radical pedagogy: Identity, generativity, and social transformation. New

York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Officer Hanson’s Experiences

           Crash was an excellent movie that depicted the interaction of members of various communities of practice and the effects they have on each other.  After watching the movie in class and reflecting on the impact of communities of practice in the movie, my mind continued to wander to Ryan Phillippe’s character of Officer Tom Hansen and his experiences. 

In the beginning of the film Matt Dillon’s racist cop character, Officer John Ryan, warned Officer Hansen that he had yet to find out who he really was and how we would react to certain situations.  When you consider this conversation within a community of practice, Officer Ryan could be seen as the master warning the apprentice that he has yet to fully establish his identity within their community of practice due to his lack of experience.

            Wenger (1999) states,

                        An identity, then, is a layering of events of participation and

reification by which our experience and its social interpretation

inform each other.  As we encounter our effects on the world and

develop our relations with others, these layers build upon each

other to produce our identity as a very complex interweaving of

participative experience and reificative projections (p.151)

Based on Wenger’s definition of identity in communities of practice, I can understand Officer Ryan’s advice to Officer Hansen.  As an apprentice in his community, he has yet to fully engage in participating in facets of what a police officer does as part of his duties.  As well, he has not had the time to experience and utilize all the various forms of reification that allows him to operate in the culture and geographic community he serves.  Until he has the 17 years of experience that Officer Ryan has accumulated, who is he to pass judgement based solely on observing one experience.

            Officer Hanson’s interaction with his Lieutenant also provides an example of the importance of tacit knowledge within a community of practice.  He approaches his supervisor to request a transfer as he no longer wants to partner with Officer Ryan due to his racist and inappropriate actions.  His Lieutenant provided Officer Hanson the options to make his transfer happen, along with warnings of what the repercussions could be if he approached his request in a certain way. 

            Based on his previous experiences, the Lieutenant recommended an avenue in which Officer Hanson would receive an approval for his transfer without causing unnecessary issues for the Lieutenant and Officer Ryan.  While this was a very selfish act on the part of the Lieutenant, he is providing a learning opportunity for Officer Hanson that he would not have the opportunity to learn from through the normal structures of participation and reification of the community of practice. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzdmSL-i8gg&feature=related
This link will take you to a youtube video of CRASH.  Forward to the 4:42 mark to review the scene between Officer Hanson and the Lieutenant

            I believe that Officer Hanson also experienced issues with boundaries as a result of being a member of a community of practice of police officers.  Wenger (1999) comments that,

                        In a world complexly structured by interlocked communities

of practice, we are constantly passing boundaries – catching,

as we peek into foreign chambers, glimpses of other realities

and meanings; touching, as we pass by outlandish arrangements,

objects of distant values; learning, as we coordinate our actions

across boundaries, to live with decisions we have not made.  Not

all that we encounter becomes significant and not all that we meet

carries our touch; yet these events can all contribute in their own

ways to our experience of identity (p.165)

As a result of his membership as a police officer, I believe he had issues participating in the realities of other communities of practice that he came into contact and communicated with throughout the movie.

            An example of his boundary issues can be identified in his interaction with one of the car jackers he picks up hitch hiking at the end of the film.  He assumed the worst about this person due to his membership in a community of practice as a police officer.  When the car jacker went for his pocket he assumed he was reaching for a gun.  Instead, the car jacker wanted to identify with Officer Hanson as a member of another community of practice of safe travelers with the statue of Saint Christopher. 

Unfortunately, Officer Hanson shoots the car jacker as his instincts as a police officer kick in as he assumes the car jacker is reaching for a gun.  Due to his participation in a police officer community of practice, he developed a boundary that made him unable to fully relate with a member of another community of practice that he is passing through.  Wenger (1999) suggests that boundaries are not only used to keep out outsiders, but to keep insiders in.  

Officer Hanson’s interaction with the car jacker is an example of a boundary keeping an insider in the community of practice.  He solely refers to his experience as a police officer during his engagement with the car jacker and reacts accordingly.  He only identifies as a police officer in this instance and does not allow his memberships in any other communities of practice factor into his reactions and decision making in that moment.

This character is one of many characters in the movie that interact with several communities of practice.  Their experiences are based on their various memberships, along with the effects of culture, tools and artifacts of participation and reification.  Crash shows us how we identify ourselves and the boundaries we choose to keep affect our interactions within communities of practice.

References

Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity (1^st ed.). New

York: Cambridge University Press.

Thank Goodness for Participation and Reification!

            Similar to my fellow bloggers out in cyberspace, I am a member of several communities of practice.  The most notable one that continuously pops into my head as I read Wenger is my membership into the community of practice at my workplace.  We constantly have to deal with new policy and product changes, along with staff turnover.  Some of you may question – “Does Lindsay work for a horrible organization?”  Absolutely not!  Yes, my job involves a high stress level at times and there is pressure to perform, but when you work hard, you reap rewards.  My recent trip to New York is a great example. 

I think anyone can relate to stressful times at work and at home.  I attribute much of our staff turnover to promotions both inside and outside the company.  As far as the policy and product changes are concerned, I may not always agree with them, but they are a part of my practice.  New government regulations and changes in the economy are always bringing changes to my practice.  As I read Wenger, I realize how important a role his processes of participation and reification play in this community of practice.

Wenger (1999) defines reification in various, yet similar ways.  According to Wenger, reification allows us to project ourselves onto the world and become organized in order to provide meaning within a community of practice.  Wenger states that reification is a, “...process of giving form to our experiences by producing objects that congeal this experience into ‘thingness’” (p 58).  

Within this community of practice, various forms of reification include the computer system we must utilize to process transactions and the strict lending guidelines and access to basic banking rules the federal government has outlined.  It is the numerous forms we must utilize with every transaction.  I can identify with Wenger’s Ariel and the forms she must use and the phone calls that interrupt a transaction you must terminate in order to deal with a phone call.      

            Without reification in the financial industry, there could be chaos in Canada’s economic system.  No policies and procedures, no government regulation and regulators mean that almost anyone could open a financial institution and determine how they can invest or lend money.  This is not a good idea!  The United States over the past few years is a prime example of how lack of regulation and reification can lead to disaster.  Due to the lack of government regulations and codes of conduct banks were expected to follow, financial institutions were being opened that did not have the backing of major financial institutions. 

When the economic problems hit, these institutions did not have the capital to sustain themselves or the mortgages they provided their customers.  Therefore, when the customers who could no longer pay when their interest rate increased, they defaulted their mortgage.  With no capital to cover the cost of the mortgage and pay back their investors, they default as well.  This issue was a huge contributing factor to the fall of the United States economy and why the Canadian government’s policies in mortgage financing continue to change.  I could write a blog alone on the recent changes to mortgage financing and how it has affected my community of practice.

Along with reification, participation is an important element of a community of practice.  Wenger (1999) describes participation as an action and connection, a source of mutual recognition between community of practice members.  Wenger states that, “...participation in social communities shapes our experience, and it also shapes those communities; the transformative potential goes both ways” (p. 56-57).  Participation involves taking the objects, tools and artifacts that result from reification and utilizing them within your community of practice.

Participation allows the community of practice masters to teach the apprentices how to work within their community of practice.  When Lave and Wenger’s (1991) strategy of legitimate peripheral participation is utilized, it allows for a transformative process to potentially occur within the practice.  Apprentices will be able to observe the master and learn the tacit knowledge of that master and others within the community.  Once the observation is complete, the apprentice will be able to apply their learned skills and potentially be able to provide new ways of completing tasks and utilizing tools and artifacts of reification.

Due to constant change within my community of practice participation is essential.  masters are constantly called upon to work with apprentices to pass on their knowledge.  When reification changes occur, participation is needed in order to implement the changes in a fashion that works for that specific environment. 

Every branch within a financial institution is different, especially in culture and the geographic area it serves.  How to implement a new procedure in a “big” city, may not work in a “small” town.  Through participation and community of practice member’s tacit knowledge, the implementation can be smoother as the members will have the knowledge in place to make this reification work in their area.  A recent change in mutual fund policies involves the branches having to reprint new account applications and have the customers sign them for accounts that were opened prior to the year 1998.  As a result, we implemented a rule that every time we meet with a mutual fund customer, we must pull their file prior to the appointment to verify if an account application is completed.

Participation and reification lead to the negotiation of meaning (Wenger, 1999).  These processes allow us to understand why we complete tasks the way we do within our community of practice.  The financial industry is an extreme example of the importance of these two processes and how they allow a community of practice to function properly.

References

Lave, J. And Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation.

            Cambridge, Mass.: Cambridge University Press.

Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity (1^st ed.). New

York: Cambridge University Press.

Acquisition Theory vs Situated Theory in Communities of Practice.... Implications in Lifelong Learning

Communities of practice can be found everywhere.  Everyone, when prompted, would be able to claim membership in several communities.  Learning is an extremely important aspect of these communities as it ensures the knowledge of these communities is continuously communicated to newcomers (apprentices) via the old timers (masters).  Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger write about two learning theories that are utilized in communities of practice that assist members in lifelong learning.  These theories are acquisition and situated learning theory.   

Lave and Wenger describe acquisition as more of an individual learning theory.  Everything is internalized and knowledge is not always shared between the old timers and the newcomers.  It is very task oriented where everyone learns a task that contributes to the completion of a project (the meat packers example in a grocery store is an example).  If a person only learns the one task and never has the opportunity to learn the whole cycle, they will never be able to become an old timer in their community of practice.

Situated theory is a more holistic approach to learning.  Lave and Wenger argue that it goes hand in hand with legitimate peripheral participation as newcomers have the opportunity to learn from the old timers.  “Legitimate peripheral participation provides a way to speak about the relations between newcomers and old-timers, and about activities, identities, artifacts, and communities of knowledge and practice” (Lave and Wenger, 1991, 29).  It concerns the process by which newcomers become part of a community of practice. Newcomers learn about their community of practice through observation and implementation and are able to utilize their acquired knowledge in efforts to improve the practices and tools of the community. 

I recently had the opportunity to act as the old timer!  I spent several days at another branch in which I was assigned the opportunity to teach a new employee my role in the bank.  This opportunity began with the newcomer participating in what Lave and Wenger would consider acquisition theory.  She was responsible for completing several computer courses to familiar herself with information about the products, procedures and policies of the bank. 

This is a very much an internalized way of learning as they are solely learning on their own and not benefiting from the knowledge of their co-workers that surround them.  While this is a great way to familiarise yourself with the theory involved in working for this organization, until you get to put this knowledge into practice, you do not fully understand why you are expected to complete transactions and offer products in the ways that you encouraged to follow.

Lave and Wenger’s situated theory of learning in a legitimate peripheral participation environment is also utilized in this example and in my opinion is a much better way to learn in this particular community of practice.  During our time together, we began with her observing my customer interactions.  This included explanations from myself about why I performed a certain task or made a certain recommendation in particular situations.  This time also allowed her to ask questions and make references to concepts she learned during her acquisition of learning period.

After a brief period of observation, we agreed that she would begin to perform transactions while I observed.  Therefore, we moved into the next step in legitimate peripheral participation.  While hesitant at first, she eventually became comfortable interacting with customers and completing transactions, as she had the peace of mind I was by her side to provide guidance and answer questions as needed. 

Our time together consisted of putting the knowledge she had already gained into use.  As well, she was able to benefit from the tacit knowledge I had gained in my role as I was able to show her tips and techniques I had gained from working in the role and the knowledge I acquired from the old timers that took the time to assist me in my learning journey in this community of practice.  We were then able to reflect on transactions and how they can be improved next time, along with how she can perform the tasks in a way that works best for her.

We all participate in various communities of practice in both our personal and professional lives.  We take these opportunities to learn from old-timers how they are and are not successful and utilize this tacit knowledge to improve ourselves.  If we internalized all our knowledge, I believe this would lead to demoralized workplaces and uninspiring communities of practice, similar to Lave and Wenger’s examples of meat packers, in which only old timers reside and there are no opportunities for improvement or social interaction.

What are the implications for lifelong learning? Lave and Wenger show us that while both situated and acquisition learning are important forms of learning, situated learning theory is extremely important in communities of practice.   I believe situated learning allows newcomers to learn the required knowledge to perform their required tasks, along with the tacit knowledge from old timers that can assist them to perform these tasks in a more efficient manner. 

Situated learning through peripheral participation allows us to implement the knowledge we acquired through acquisition learning theory, instead of internalizing it.  Learning by performing the tasks allows us to understand why we are completing the task and how it affects our co-workers and the customers.  We are able to share what we have learned, which may lead to new techniques, tools and techniques that can enhance the abilities of those within the community of practice.

A community of practice can only benefit from the flow of new comers and old timers within its environment.  This allows for lifelong learning as new minds, mean fresh ideas and innovations which ensures the community of practice will always stay relevant.

References

Lave, J. And Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge, Mass.: Cambridge University Press.

My Cousin Scott

     My cousin Scott is autistic.  It took several years for him to get diagnosed, due to conflicting doctors and parents who had a hard time dealing with the diagnosis.  At the time, we did not know much about this disorder.  Why children are affected and what treatments are available?  To date, there are still debates in the medical field.  Although the argument that vaccinations play a role has been discredited, there are still many unanswered questions.

            The Autism Canada Foundation defines autism as, “a complex neurobiological condition...  It impacts normal brain development leaving most individuals with communication problems, difficulty with typical social interactions and a tendency to repeat specific patterns of behaviour” (www.autismcanada.org).  Scott would be considered a high functioning autistic child.  He is able to speak, but will not speak to you directly unless prompted.  As well, he will never make eye contact with you or look directly at you.  Considering forty percent of children afflicted with autism cannot speak (www.provincialautismcentre.ca), we are extremely grateful for the communication we are able to maintain with him.

            Scott continues to be in my thoughts as I read Tomasello’s book.  I feel this book is helping me better understand why Scott is unable to do some of the everyday things we take for granted.  Why he would prefer to sit by himself and line up my grandmother’s dolls in rows instead of playing games with the rest of the kids at family functions? 

            Tomasello states that at nine months of age, human infants begin to see others as intentional agents.  As a result, they are able to learn from others about their cultural heritage and take advantage of the cognitive skills and knowledge of these conspecifics. Autistic children are not able to comprehend that the people around them have intentional relations similar to their own.  They do not understand that these conspecifics have similar goals and could learn from them how to obtain these goals.  Autistic children live in their own world and some may never allow anyone else to enter that world. 

            Autistic children have problems with a variety of joint attentional skills which normally begin developing as an early age.  Tomasello states that they include imitative learning, engaging in symbolic play and learning and using linguistic symbols in communicatively appropriate ways.  Imitative learning, according to Tomasello, involves learning from and identifying with adults and their goal-oriented actions.  Understandably, if a child is not able to comprehend and identify with the actions of the conspecifics around them, they will never be able to communicate effectively that they understand them.  If a child cannot make eye contact, how will they ever understand the ability to follow someone’s gaze in search of an object or to make eye contact in order to catch someone’s attention?

Tomasello also believes that, “the difficulties of children with autism in understanding other persons as intentional agents leads to deficits in their symbolic skills...” (p.133).  As humans, we should be able to utilize our cognitive abilities to look at a situation from various perspectives which will help increase our vocabulary.  According to Tomasello, children with autism are unable to see the world through anyone else’s perspectives.    They will always approach a situation the same way.  It is this lack of perception that will limit an autistic child’s language capability and provides some insights into why many autistic children cannot speak.  A rose may only ever be a flower in Scott’s world and never a symbol of love and affection.

Along with Tomasello, I also agree that social and physical environments do play a role in the development of cognitive abilities as a child grows, whether they are affected with an issue such as autism or not.  Once again, images of Scott as a child flood my thoughts.  If he had been diagnosed earlier and had the advantage of special programs and tutors would he be more functional today?  Could he be more self sufficient and communicate more effectively in this “normal” world?  Was/Is there an issue with his home environment that contributed to his diagnosis?  Is there an unknown environmental issue with his living situation?  Is there technology available that may help him communicate more effectively?  Tomasello mentions that sign language has been an effective tool assisting autistic children communicate.  Could it work in this instance?  What kind of educational programs are available for autistic children and adults?

Unfortunately, we may never know the answers to these questions.  Scott’s family do not have the financial means to seek out these answers.  As well, they have never been willing to take financial help or research alternatives.  As a family member and someone who does not deal with this disorder every day, I must respect their decisions. 

            Scott recently turned sixteen.  He does go to school, but is in a special program and is never in a normal classroom environment.  He is obsessed with video games and NASCAR and is able to quote any major statistic on any professional NASCAR driver and the car they drive when asked.  At family functions, he prefers to sit alone with his laptop or DS playing video games.  He continues to be in his own world and does not make any attempt to socialize with others.  It is my hope that in the future, answers will be discovered and funding will be in place so educational programs will be available to assist those dealing with autism live as “normal” a life as possible.  We must look to examples of those who are overcoming this disorder such as Temple Grandin who are able to lead productive and fulfilling lives.

References

Tomasello, M. (1999). The cultural origins of human cognition. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Autism Canada Foundation    www.autismcanada.org

The Provincial Autism Centre     www.provincialautismcentre.ca

Put Yourself in Their Shoes

      As I read Tomasello and ponder cultural learning in humans versus non human primates, some old “South Shore” sayings come to mind – “Put yourself in their shoes.” “I would not want to be in their shoes right now!”  These old sayings, that I am sure we have all heard in one form or another over the years, keep appearing in my thought processes.  We sit at home watching the news wondering what it would be like to deal with the flood situations in Australia.  We learning how to tie a tie by watching it on Youtube.  Who knew that thought processes and learning opportunities like these, that we have every day, were such a distinguishable characteristic that puts us in a class by ourselves. 

Tomasello believes that humans have this capability due to our social cognition ability.  He states that this form of social cognition is “... the ability of individual organisms to understand conspecifics as beings like themselves who have intentional and mental lives like their own” (p.5).  This form of “mental shoes” that Tomasello refers to allows us to “... learn not just from the other but through the other” (p.6).    We can imagine ourselves in that situation and how we would resolve it.

Tomasello identifies three basic types of cultural learning that humans have to ability to participate in as a result of our social cognition abilities.  They include collaborative, imitative and instructive learning.  We see these various forms of learning all the time, including group work and lecture style.  Reading Tomasello reiterates the importance of a deep approach to learning and allowing humans to have the opportunity to critically reflect on what they have learned and the outcomes.  As a result, we will continue to contribute to Tomasello’s “ratchet effect” as we continually work to improve the tools of our forebears.

Humans have the advantage of being goal orientated, while non human primates do not.  This ability to investigate the causality in learning situations allows us to understand that there is a reason for why things happen and why there was a particular outcome.   After watching the Youtube video and taking the time to practice, my brother can now tie a tie.  So, the next time my brother has to attend a formal function in which he has to wear one, he has the peace of mind he can tie his tie himself and not ask for our father’s help.  He accomplished a goal and can continue with the Tomasello’s ratchet effect by someday passing on this newly learned wisdom to his offspring, who may even discover an easier way of accomplishing this task.

As humans, Tomasello comments that we also have the ability to recognize that our peers also set goals and learn how to accomplish them.  We can identify with why one of our peers learned to do something one way, whether we agree with it or not.  Yes, the ape learned from his mother that rolling over the log allows you to find termites to eat.  But what will happen to the ape when the next log is too heavy to lift on his own?  Since he only has the ability to learn through emulation, he will not be able to understand that he could use a stick to help him lift it and instead continues to search for a log he can lift and wait longer for his meal.  As humans, we would have known to use a stick through imitative learning, as Tomasello argues that humans are focused on learning the process of completing a task, not just the outcome.  This is part of the ratchet effect as we innovate new ways of completing tasks.

We are all participants in the cumulative cultural revolution as we continue to learn to innovate and improve the ways of our forebears.  As we continue to improve the processes of our ancestors and learn to solve problems of the past, Tomasello points out that we are putting ourselves in the “cognitive shoes” (p.39) of these previous innovators.  We learn how the previous innovators completed the task and then implement our modifications if we deem it necessary.  We allow ourselves to learn and evolve by participating in the types of social and cultural learning that enables us to utilize the tools and artifacts of the past in new and innovative ways. 

Two hundred thousand years ago, our ancestors began to migrate out of Africa.  We are able to modify their cultural traditions and tools in order to live in various climates as a result of cultural learning.  This makes me think that it really is okay to ask questions about EVERYTHING!  Even if it drives some people crazy!  Asking questions enable us to learn not only how to do something, but why we do something.   Is there a better way we can accomplish this task?  It is all part of our cultural learning as humans. 

As adult educators, we need to embrace cultural learning to ensure that lifelong learners are in environments, both physical and social, in which they can utilize the various forms of cultural learning and question is there is a better process to reach the desired goal.  All humans deserve a safe environment where they can ask questions, learn from others and reflect.   What would you do in that situation if you were in his/her shoes?

References

Tomasello, M. (1999). The cultural origins of human cognition. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard  

     University Press.