The style of inquiry which I most closely identify with, and that which I have “chosen” is Transformative Inquiry. Transformative Inquiry, as stated on the University of Victoria website, is “a dynamic process that helps educators negotiate the complex and vibrant terrain of learning~teaching … [and] is a way of taking time and space to draw on personal passions and put that energy to use within a relational framework in order to address burning issues” (UVic Education). This speaks to me on a personal level because through my learning journey thus far, I have solidified more and more the fact that I want to be an educator that fosters passion in students through creative inquiry.
When I started the program, my most burning question was regarding what I personally cared about as an educator. While I was, and still am sure that I want to fill a role within therapeutic counselling with a focus on trauma survivors, and that my greatest passions within the classroom involve Social Studies. While those certainly provide guiding directions, to me they only composed the “outline” of the drawing; the rest was yet to fill in.
Transformative Inquiry, to me, seems to emphasise community interconnectedness. It is about fostering the ways that we can foster energy, growth, passion, and creativity in one another, while receptive to that socio-environmental input that contributes to our own energy and creativity. Connectedness, for me especially when it comes to other people, is a fascinating concept. Primarily I think because of my own experiences and dispositions in comparison to a more “baseline” experience has created a disconnect where rather than experiencing connectivity as a passive effect of social exchange, I instead have spent a substantial portion of time studying and considering the ways in which others become “connected.”
This initially caused inner turmoil as I approached the program. I was thinking to myself, how does someone with my social inhibitions truly perform as an exceptional educator? That question was answered for me, by the same source which I can honestly say had accounted for a substantial portion of my learning, and optimism thus far. I met a man in my cohort; his name was Brad.
Brad taught me that connection is largely about mutual inspiration, recognition, and encouragement. Building off of this, he helped me to realise that when I step into the role as a teacher, as an educator, I am actually stepping into the perfect opportunity to facilitate that connection. One thing that I am very good at sharing, is information and discourse about things I feel passionate about. In a very paradoxical way that doubles round into a bit of an infinity complex, I feel passionate about inspiring intrinsic and lasting passion and optimism in my students. When I consider it that way, I realise that I can begin to step outside the shoes I fill in my personal life, and focus on the fact that I have the potential to help people.
When I retire, when my legacy is done, I want to remembered not for the amount of hours I spent staying late at the school, or for the accolades I accumulate along the way. I do not wish for my legacy to be about personal achievements or amassed wealth. I want my legacy to last in the impacts I leave in the conversations and dreams I share participation in inspiring. I want to pick up the torch and continue on in the legacy of a dear colleague, and beloved friend.
That is why for block three, I have two primary goals which will undoubtedly be supplemented by others as they present themselves.
- Practice trusting myself to go off script. The more confident I become, and the more personal progress I make, the more this will begin to show itself. I was never meant to reiterate what I have already written, I just became reliant on the safety. How can I cultivate my expression of passion in a way that inspires learners to want to feel that too?
- Practice my ability to wait, to let students come to the questions they have, to answer those questions they might just need that extra 30 seconds to answer. Become comfortable with silence, and know that the void is not aimed myself. Present myself as a facilitator of personal interest, rather than as a philosopher of old.
My new question going forward: “How can I utilise Transformative Inquiry in order to honour myself as a person, honour my learners as individuals, and to honour those whose profound legacy has inspired and contributed to my journey so far.”
Thank you.