The most eloquent and accurate definition of human consciousness comes from William James: "It is nothing jointed; it flows. A 'river' or a 'stream' is the metaphor by which it is most naturally described. In talking of it hereafter, let us call it the stream of thought, of consciousness, or of subjective life." Perhaps great minds really do think alike, or at least like James: Siddhartha spoke of the enlightened mind as if the river of life; William Blake said a single thought could fill immensity; Freud compared the conscious mind to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into a great subterranean pool; Virginia Woolf describes herself lost in thought as if a fishing line let down into stream, letting the water lift it and sink it; even the Beatles sang of thoughts flowing“like endless rain into a paper cup.” In the vein of such thinkers as Buddha, Blake, and the Beatles, my philosophy of education extends the metaphor of a stream of consciousness.

I imagine the mind as an infinite and intangible reservoir, a pool from which thoughts flow. Knowledge is what we store permanently in that pool, and it consists of facts and information as well as values and beliefs. The purpose of education is to fill the minds of students with the knowledge of how to live in the real world. I believe that every child should know they have options and the freedom to make their own choices; I believe they should know basic life skills, like how to open a bank account or fill out an employment; I believe they should know how to see things from a multicultural perspective; I believe they should know how to communicate effectively with others; and I believe that every child should know self-regulatory and metacognitive thinking skills. Knowledge of this sort—not just knowing thecontent of subject, per se—will fill the mind of every child with the sustenance needed to
survive in the world as it presently exists and to change the world into a better place.

I do not mean to imply that education is as simple as pouring knowledge into the mind of child as if water into an empty pail. While it is true that knowledge is like a reservoir or pool of information, it is wrong to assume that teaching and learning is as easy as filling or being filled with facts; the process is so much more complex. Education is a mutual exchange of ideas, a reciprocal and ongoing flow of information between individuals. “The teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-teaches,” explains Paulo Freire, “but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teach. They become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow.” If teachers hope to impart what they already know in their content area, they must also know the cultural and individual idiosyncrasies that affect each student’s way of making sense of that material; in other words, teachers must learn from their students in order to teach them. Real education happens when teacher and student are simultaneously the educator and the educated, a pair of individuals who understands the value of both giving and gaining knowledge.

Teaching refers more specifically to that part of the educational process in which information flows out of one mind for the purpose of getting into the mind of another. To teach is to irrigate the space between minds, to connect new knowledge with knowledge already learned. A good teacher surveys the socio-cultural environment in which each student lives, observes how each student absorbs and retains information, and studies multiple modes
of instructing each student given the reality of diversity among them.  The teacher provides equal access to the curriculum through universal design and by relating the subject matter to the lives, interests, and learning styles of all students. Teachers do not mold students’ passive minds as if lumps of clay but instead support or scaffold the students as they actively construct their own knowledge. Finally, the best teacher is a passionate teacher. A solid knowledge of specific subject matter is fundamental, but a dedication to stimulating the interests of a student is paramount. The most effective teaching—that is, the ability to connect what a student could know with that student already knows—involves the science of thinking, the art of pedagogy, and above all passion.

Learning is the part of education when knowledge finally flows into the mind. Children do not, however, simply soak it up like a sponge; rather, the mind incorporates or adjusts to new information in complex ways. My theory of learning is rooted in cognitive psychology because I believe that education should support—not work against—how the mind works. According to Jean Piaget, every person constructs for himself or herself a mental framework within which to make sense of reality. Learning happens when the mind assimilates information into this framework or reframes itself to accommodate new information. Although I much respect Piaget and the constructivists, the architectural metaphor assumes that every child builds knowledge and that ultimately this will result in a completed building. In my mind, the skyscraper expands infinitely; I simply do not believe that we ever stop learning.

Education, as I have said, is a system through which thoughts flow as if water. Knowledge, like water, is highly vulnerable to its environment: Sewage and other waste pollutes our rivers, lakes, and streams; chemical spills poison and kill marine life; and a slight change in temperature can cause water to freeze, melt, or even evaporate. In the same way that our physical environment affects the quality of water, so does the environment in which we teach and learn affect the quality, clarity, and virility of what we ultimately know. I believe that education is best served within an intimate, comfortable, and locally controlled environment in which every student has an equal opportunity to learn. Smaller schools facilitate closer relationships between teachers, students, and the community; children are less anxious and tend to express themselves more openly when in the comfort of others who know them well; and laws, policies, and decisions regarding education are best made by the people who work closest to the students such legislation will affect. 

In this philosophy I have heretofore defined knowledge as the sustenance of one’s mind, education as a reciprocal exchange of knowledge, teaching as how knowledge flows out of the mind, learning as how it flows into the mind, and the school system as an environment which inevitably affects this flow. The only question now is why, for what, and to where it flows. No person has more whole-heartedly validated the meaning of education that Marian Wright Edelman, president and founder of the Children’s Defense fund. In her own words: "Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than when you found it.”

This I know for sure: Knowledge will flow; information will spread. James was right to speak of the mind in such fluid, organic terms; and Edelman neatly explains the impetus behind its flow. While education could carry such diseases as racism, sexism, and ignorance, it should spread virtues like peace, freedom, and happiness. A better world depends on the health of education. It is therefore my mission as a professional educator to never be part of the problem, but rather always part of the solution.