Voices

Voices Magazine is a place for reflection and expression. It does not take the place of active learning, listening, and expression for you, the reader. Instead, it should inspire you to rise up and give voice to your experience. If the writers have not inspired you to change, they have not done their jobs. And if you, the reader, are not making an active change, you are not doing your job. We all have a responsibility. This responsibility is to ourselves, to our mothers and our daughters, to change our world for our generation, and the generations that are to come.
Enjoy!
Rachel Bloch, editor,
Philosophy Section

How to Become More Than a Container

Aura Bogado

There are many good reasons for remaining a Container, but the important thing is that you realize that it's never too late to become more than a Container and become an Active Learner. "Learner," you say? "Of course I'm a Learner. I've learned History and Science and…" Yes, of course you have. You've usually learned it in a way like this: come to class not trusting your own experience and knowledge, or that of your fellow students. In fact, ignore these other students, for they may potentially be your enemy. Instead, come to class and always believe, rely on and memorize what the teacher at the front of the class is saying. Let your brain, your soul--in fact, your entire self, become an open, unquestioning Container for what the teacher is saying, no matter how absurd. The teacher has a piece of paper called a degree that legitimizes him or her, and pieces of paper mean a lot around here. When class comes to an end, kindly close your Container back up so as not to spill the absurdities in front of friends or family. No, only access your Container for a future quiz or test date. As stated earlier, memorization is vital to the Container System. We are all aware the Container can only hold so much, and that is why the Container loses much of its memory of old absurd things to fill it with new ones every semester. Passive. Easy.

Since you learn to become a Container in the classroom in this country around age 5, you can easily adapt it to everything else in life as you get older. This Container thing will get you pretty far. If you can be a Container all day long while in class, watching t.v., eating, or just walking down the street, then it's good. You can get a good job where you can remain a Container and sometimes, you get people to be Containers for you and you can fill them up with trash, too. Like I said, easy. You might memorize many trivial things, but never really have to think. Thinking will be done for you and handed down to you.

Charity Tooze Every once in a while, though, you might question something. This is your opportunity to become more than a Container. The first step is to accept the fact that you, as a human being, have the natural right to question things, even authority. Be aware, though. Once you take the first step in becoming an Active Learner, your whole life may very well change.

The second step may take a while to actually manifest. Let me explain. See, it's one thing to question something in your mind and let it burn inside of you. But it's another to put a voice to what you are experiencing. This can be intimidating. You might get so caught up in the authority you've already granted the teacher since the minute you first entered the classroom, that you are scared to truly question what he or she said. It's true, you have blindly invested your life into this teacher for the next semester and you want to protect your projected earnings. It is at this time, however, that you must realize something: yes, we need teachers, but they also need us. In fact, if they knew anything, it's that they, too, should be students, learning from us the way we wish to learn from them. Unfortunately, teachers rarely center the teaching around the 30 or so students that are actually paying their salary. Instead, they center the teaching around themselves and their biases. That is why your voice may be intimidated to speak. At this point, just remember step one--you have a natural right to use your voice. It's only when your voice is not used that you are in real jeopardy.

The third step is taking a good look around you. If you are sitting in a classroom, do it now. Who do you see? Obviously, people that are here to learn. Now, look deeper. Learn deeper. Every person sitting around you has had a wealth of experience that they can share with you. In other words, every person sitting around you is your teacher, not your competitor. They are not here to do better or worse than you; they are your equals, and they are here to teach you. They might not have that piece of paper yet, but they are legitimate human beings with a story, with many stories. This is your community for the next few months. Be aware of them. Talk to them. In some classrooms, it has been because of the students that I even learned anything.

The next step is a bit of a mystery because sometimes you take it without even noticing it. Somehow, once you become active in a classroom, you become active in your whole life. Watching the nightly news on t.v. is no longer just watching the nightly news on t.v., it's a Learning experience in deciphering information from propaganda. Walking down the street is no longer just walking down the street, for we've all walked down different streets in life, and you'll start asking yourself, "Hey, why are there less trees on this street where the poorer folks live? Why does the trash get picked up more often on this street where the rich folks live?" Even sitting down to a meal, you'll start asking questions. "Where was this lettuce grown, and how? Was it grown in a laboratory and injected with ingredients that might give me cancer in twenty years? Or was it grown by humans who earn per day just about what the head of lettuce cost?" It won't stop. I've already warned you, Active Learning might change your entire life.

Here comes the final step, which at first may be hard to grasp. Perhaps it's hard to grasp because we have been so conditioned in the Container System. In that system, your final step is when you get that piece of paper, and you get to stop. You're done. You can pursue different pieces of paper, all in the same way and you will be satisfied because you can measure the exact beginning and the exact end and put it all in a frame. How nice. In Active Learning, however, the final step is one that will never end. You are always taking that final step; you are always becoming an Active Learner. There is no homework; there are no tests. No one will give you a piece of paper because no one can judge you with personal biases. I challenge you to take the first step. Once you start truly Learning, you will never stop.