In Praise of Slowness
"There is more to life than increasing its speed."
-Gandhi
Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com
One of the original COPPER themes and a topic that generated the most lively discussion in our blog's two plus years of existence was the issue of "teaching too much" which evolved into a broader discussion of "doing too much." While a number of thoughtful replies detailed the stress that our busy lives create, there were no clear strategies for addressing this dilemma. However, what became evident is that we are not alone in dealing with the demands of a fast-paced life with multiple commitments.
In his book In Praise of Slowness, author and journalist Carl Honore describes how the cult of speed has impacted the lives of millions of people worldwide. He also details how a surprisingly organized international movement (The Slow Movement or Slow Philosophy) has challenged this trend. From the Slow Food Movement, Slow Cities initiative, to the Slow Sex approach, individuals and groups are making conscious choices not to burn themselves and their environments out in the pursuit of speed and efficiency.
Of particular interest to our community is the "slow schooling" movement, stimulated by the work of Maurice Holt, professor emeritus of education at the University of Colorado, Denver. In his article The Nature and Purpose of Education, Holt uses food and the process of eating as a metaphor for learning. While the slow schooling approach has had an impact in the K-12 community, many of its principles are applicable to higher education as well. Active learning strategies such as problem-based learning, cooperative and collaborative learning, learning communities, seminars and the "less is more" philosophy all slow down the speed of content coverage in order to make learning a more meaningful and powerful experience.
"The whole struggle of life is to some extent a struggle about how slowly or how quickly to do each thing."
-Sten Nadolny, author of The Discovery of Slowness (1996)
Honore' emphasizes that the slow philosophy is not about doing everything slowly, but rather about finding a balance, making a conscious decision about the appropriate pace of one's activities.