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Embracing Uncertainty: Spontaneity and Action in K-12 Schools
In a modern world where mass conformity and ‘organization man’ rule, how can we foster and protect our students’ capacities for spontaneity and action? This has often been a challenge in K-12 schools, where the behavioral agenda and EdTech have often created a coercive environment with power dynamics that can limit student autonomy.
A psychoanalyst and social philosopher, Eric Fromm, argued that individuals can become comfortable with their freedom while avoiding the stress and loneliness it usually brings by developing their capacity for spontaneous action. However, this concept can be difficult to maintain when confronted with the mass-produced spontaneity in our social media and technology-laden culture, which is really no more than a reaction economy. EdTech also creates a reaction economy in the classroom, where students can be overwhelmed by the possible reactions their actions might generate.
K-12 education has often been a microcosm of the larger society. This was especially the case in the mid-twentieth century when social criticism was preoccupied with the growing conformity of ‘mass society’ and ‘organization man’. As a result, schools sought to eradicate the child’s spontaneity and replace it with discipline and moral authority. Unfortunately for students, the implementation in K-12 schools for this…
