Better the world with intellect? Or with intellect, character & spirit?

Arthur Costa and Bena Kallick believe schools should teach 16 habits of mind.

In their words:

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1

This chapter contains descriptions for 16 of the attributes that human beings display when they behave intelligently. In this book, we refer to them as Habits of Mind. They are the characteristics of what intelligent people do when they are confronted with problems, the resolutions to which are not immediately apparent.

The authors believe this, so they sell 16-habits training to teachers and administrators.  (If any “trained” teachers/administrators are reading this, please comment on how your school improved by teaching these habits.)

Chapter 2, Paragraph 2

These Habits of Mind seldom are performed in isolation; rather, clusters of behaviors are drawn forth and used in various situations. For example, when listening intently, we use the habits of thinking flexibly, thinking about our thinking (metacognition), thinking and communicating with clarity and precision, and perhaps even questioning and posing problems.

Apparently, the 16 habits are interconnected in all situations, just like the six virtues of the educated person.  The purpose of this blog is to illustrate that the 16 interconnected habits are covered in the six interconnected virtues.  If that is true, we should teach the simpler list of two intellectual, two character and two spiritual virtues, instead of 16 habits of mind.  Teaching is already difficult.  We shouldn’t make it complicated, too.

The authors identified 16-habits by thinking deductively.  They started with the general principle that teaching is an applied social science and then they identified specific ways teachers can apply what has been found to be “effective.”

The 16 Habits of Mind just described were drawn from research on human effectiveness, descriptions of remarkable performers, and analyses of the characteristics of efficacious people.

They started with twelve and now they have 16 and they want more because the social science paradigm always points toward “more.”

It also points toward greater complexity.  If you need proof, just read Habits of Mind, or an education research report.  The idea that teachers should apply what has been found to be effective makes teaching enormously complex.  I ask researchers, teachers, administrators and policy makers to describe what it looks like to apply research findings in an actual school/classroom.  None have responded yet, probably because describing it is too complex.  Think of how complex it would be to actually do it:

1.  Decide if a classroom situation called for a specific research finding about “what works.”

2.  Decide which “what works” method to try in that situation.

3.  Determine which “what works” qualifiers need to be considered.

4.  Use the method in a way that is true to both its purpose and the school’s purposes.

5.  Decide how much “method time” to give to different groups of students in different situations.

6.  Figure out how to assess the method’s effectiveness.

7.  Create the assessment.

8.  Administer the assessment.

9.  Ask if a different “what works” would have achieved the same or better results.

10.  Try some alternatives.

The list goes on indefinitely because that is the nature of social science and deductive thinking (general principles give way to specific methods, and the singular essence gives way to multiple descriptors).

Cut the Social Science Crap

An aesthetic paradigm, on the other hand, uses inductive thinking.  It points from the multiple specifics at the perimeter to an essential, general principle at the center.  Simple is valued over complex, and “less” is valued over more, when “less” points to the essence.

Looking from the perimeter to the center points to the essence of all improvement.  All the specific ways teachers do their work are covered in the general principle that teaching is an art.   Therefore, improving teaching is like improving an art — teachers bringing creativity, dedication, and appreciation to their work.  It’s simple, not complex.  Education improves when teachers create more beautiful classroom and school experiences.

Inductive thinking enables us to see that all 16 habits are covered in the six-virtue definition of the educated person.  Here is the list of 16 habits and the combinations of virtues that make them desirable.  Think from the 16 specific habits to the general principal that educated people demonstrate six virtues:

(1)  “Persisting” requires understanding and strong character (U & S).

(2)  “Managing impulsivity” requires understanding, imagination, strong character, humility and generosity (U, I, S, H & G).

(3)  “Listening with understanding and empathy” requires understanding, imagination, humility and generosity (U, I, H & G).

(4)  “Thinking flexibly” requires understanding and imagination (U & I).

(5)  “Thinking about thinking” requires understanding, imagination, courage and humility (U, I, C & H).

(6)  “Striving for accuracy” requires understanding, imagination, strong character, and humility (U, I, S & H).

(7)  “Questioning and posing problems” requires understanding, imagination, strong character, and courage (U, I, S & C).

(8)  “Applying past knowledge to new situations” requires understanding and imagination (U & I).

(9)  “Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision” requires understanding, imagination, strong character, courage and humility (U, I, S, C & H).

(10) “Gathering data through all senses” defines the virtue of understanding (U).

(11) “Creating, imagining, innovating” defines the virtue of imagination (I).

(12) “Responding with wonderment and awe” requires understanding, imagination, and humility (U, I & H).

(13) “Taking responsible risks” requires understanding, imagination, strong character, and courage (U, I, S & C).

(14) “Finding humor” requires understanding, imagination, and humility (U, I &  H).

(15) “Thinking interdependently” requires understanding, imagination, strong character, humility and generosity (U, I, S, H & G).

(16) “Remaining open to continuous learning” requires understanding, imagination, strong character, courage, and humility (U, I, S, C & H).

All 16 interconnected habits are covered in the six interconnected virtues because these virtues are the definition of what it means to be educated.  If teachers are going to take back their profession, they have to start with the inductive thinking that says teaching is essentially an art.

Unfortunately, many teachers don’t want to see their work in aesthetic terms because they lack: (1) the imagination needed to create beautiful lessons, (2) the courage needed to appreciate their students and ask their students to appreciate them, and (3) the humility needed to shine a light on the accomplishments of their students and others.

But it’s not their fault.  They lack these virtues because they were taught to be intellectually incompetent (sit down, stay quiet, and don’t ask too many questions), fearful of truth (why they teach is more important than what they teach and how they teach), and proud (always expressing pride in themselves and their students).  This is impossible to see from inside the social science improvement paradigm, where “educated” means acquiring random knowledge and skills.

Artistic teachers work from inside an aesthetic improvement paradigm.  They are inspired to create beauty in their classrooms and schools.  They know it’s difficult, but they also know it’s not complicated.