Using Your Thinking Power to Make Things Better

12/26/2022

Using Your Thinking Power to Make Things Better

I believe finally, that education must be conceived as a continuing reconstruction of experience; that the process and the goal of education are one and the same thing.
John Dewey, philosopher and educational reformer, 1859-1952

In Making Adjustments, Misa Okayama shares 4-year old Tsuki ‘s reflection on a photo of her block construction from months earlier:

"This is Kouhei and Charlie. They are riding a motorcycle. Kouhei is on. Fumiya wants to ride, too, and Charlie is thinking if he can share. I had an idea! Maybe I put a block so I can sit on there and Fumiya can be a driver. I need to make (an) adjustment so it won't hurt our butt." She chuckled. "Look what happened! Joseph and Sebastian want to go on. So I made that part, too, so everyone can get on! Then more people wanted to come, so I arranged. I made a seat for everyone. They are so happy. I'm happy, too."

Okayama continues:

After she described this construction and play, I invited Tsuki to "Draw what it was like when you were building."… Here's how Tsuki described her drawing: "That's me having an idea. Idea to 'adjustment' because then a lot of people can ride on the motorcycle" I was curious to find out what the word "adjustment" meant to her, so I asked for clarification:

"What does 'adjustment' mean?" Tsuki responded, " 'Adjustment' means that maybe you can use your thinking power to make things better. You can make something out of your brain." She paused and continued on. "Like fixing things. Like when other people may want to play with my creation."

This experience stayed with me for a long time. It meant much more than Tsuki's intricate "building skills" or Tsuki "learning to share." As I've thought about Tsuki's construction and her drawing and her words, the story opened into many resonances, provocations and metaphors.

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