A Culture of Generosity

What is a culture of generosity and how can it be used to improve education?
A culture of generosity is one in which people rely on their intrinsic motivations to do things that benefit society, rather than being told what they should do by bosses or financial motivations. It is one of spontaneous versus enforced action, empowering people with choice.

I feel like the world of education may be a little stuck like the parent pick-up experiment was in the video below once they released the fine--our education system in the minds of many is already broken and that mentality is perpetuating itself in the minds of others . But we cannot allow ourselves to get hung up there. As Clay Shirky said, people like to create and to share with others, and we need to tap into that venue to cultivate and improve education. Encouraging teachers to give assignments that allow for student choice, or offering extra credit/acknowledge/recognition for students who use their cognitive surplus for the benefit of others could be some ways to to do this. Also, allowing students the time to be creative (like the 20% project theory) could do wonders in helping inspire students without an external motivation (like grades) hanging over their heads. The important thing is to encourage all acts of creation and cognitive, "stupid" or not, because it in turn will help foster the creation of amazing things both immediately and in the future.

What does it mean to say, "Free cultures get what they celebrate?"
I think it means that if we celebrate creativity and generosity, then we will see more of it in our students in return. But if we celebrate consumerism and acquisition then people will just acquire and consume, perpetuating our current culture rather than forging a new one.

How do you think this could work in education today?

Living in a Bubble (A Filter Bubble, That Is)

Have you ever stopped to think about whether you "live in a bubble" or not? I often have, especially because of growing up in a small, Midwestern town and attending a small, private, Midwestern college. It was easy at times to forget that there was a world around you that had very different realities and opinions than the one you were currently in--until you got shocked back to the real world by some event or comment that allowed you to look outside of your situation once again. Sometimes these bubbles we live in are of our own choosing, but other times they are completely out of our control. 
Have you ever thought that your online interactions could be putting you in a bubble? Allowing only certain bits of information in and keeping much more out? Take a minute to watch the TED talk below where Eli Pariser talks about "Online Filter Bubbles" and let it sink in for a bit. 

Whoa.... talk about living in a bubble! I knew that preferences and algorithms focused our online experience but I had no idea to what extent before watching this clip.  

This really got me thinking about what kind of filter bubble I am living in today. I don’t want to only receive certain types of information just because I ‘liked’ a friend’s Facebook post or clicked on something first. It also made me think about how having multiple people share my personal computer (e.g. my husband, sister, friends) can influence the types of information coming my way. My husband loves comics and action figures, but that doesn't mean that I want Google to update this into one of my preferred topics of interest. 

With as much as we focus on on trying to get students to develop a critical literacy with text and information it’s crazy to think that we ourselves are being limited to the kinds of information we have access to, perhaps without even knowing it. The idea of the Internet giving us what we want to see and maybe not what we need to see, as Pariser said, can be dangerous in that we are not becoming fully informed on topics, or even aware that they exist--and this lack of knowledge could perpetuate the uninformed, one-sided, "bubble" mindset that we hope to avoid.

So, what do we do? Can we even do anything about it? That, I am honestly not sure of. I do know that I want to see what else is out there, good and bad, and decide for myself whether or not it is relevant to me. Otherwise, how else can we learn?

What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to comment below--I'd love to hear other people's reactions or insights they might have on this!