I am inspired by Michael Gilbert’s response to my open question about connection to comment on the teacher’s role in defining the study.
He says, among other things: “Why do you care about being done? Do you believe that there is such a thing as ‘complete’ understanding?” He asks, “why not see this neverending quest as a good thing?” He tidies up with: “you’re done when you say you’re done.”
All this is hard to argue with; I have yet to see a subject that cannot be continued in many directions for longer than I have time to study. Ultimately only death finishes (or perhaps changes) our studies for us, unless we determine a finish before then.
But how does the student know they are done? This neverending perspective can leave out an important element of the teacher-student dynamic: graduation. If we as teachers take the position that the study is never done, we may be clumsy in letting the student go, forcing them to push away from the study, push away from us, to move onto something new. If they ever do.
The study may never be done, but the student can be. There is a time to move on, to call the study complete — at least for now, for this student. When is it time for a particular student to move on? This can be hard to know, especially when it comes to multiple levels of teaching, especially when the teacher is invested in the student. This is one of the positive uses of grades, ranks, tests, and graduation guidelines: they allow the student to move from one phase or study to another, whether the teacher is ready or not.
There is much to be said for the clean slate. I am, for example, very likely done with a formal study of calculus. I no longer carry my book. I do not prepare for exams. I do not keep relevant formulas in mind; if I need them, I look them up. Where I used to keep these things I now have room for other things, new things.
I agree that the edges of studies are indistinct and connected, as Michael says. But there is a time to call the study done anyway, to close the book, to move on. As teachers, it is important that we see the benefit to our students of a clean slate, that we be willing to assist them in putting aside this study for something else, whatever that might be, when the time comes. That we look for that time to come, when we can help them graduate.
It is easy to underestimate the power of a teacher’s advocacy to move forward, to clear a space for something new, especially when you are that teacher. A teacher’s help in making this transition can allow the student to focus on something new with confidence. A teacher’s approval for moving on, for being done, can be a great and freeing gift.
