The freeze that frees

One of my students wanted to cancel class so we could go out and have a snowball fight, but I pointed out that this isn't good packing snow.

"Packing snow? What's that?"

This is her first Ohio winter. I encouraged her classmates to take her out and educate her about the varieties of winter experience--but wait until after class.

I love giving students opportunities to educate each other because it creates a sense of shared inquiry, encourages students to be lifelong learners, and helps them function as a community of scholars, but this morning I was reminded of the fine line between community education and indoctrination. My American Lit Survey class examined the way Henry James's characters keep trying to "educate" Daisy Miller about the correct way to comport herself while visiting Rome and how their expectations stifle her inquiring spirit. Mrs. Walker invites Daisy into her carriage to offer knowledge of good and evil, but Daisy says, "I don't think I want to know what you mean." If she had submitted to her friends' instruction, she might have remained alive--but would she have remained Daisy?

Shared inquiry frees students to explore the world of knowledge and enrich the community's understanding, but Daisy's friends squelch questioning and move from education to indoctrination. Daisies don't thrive in that kind of environment.

But snow angels thrive in Ohio's environment. I hope my snow-deprived student will learn that important lesson from her classmates.