A space of mutual learning

As an academic I hope to inspire students to learn and think critically about the social world in which they are situated. I am always amazed and proud when one of my students offers uncommonly astute insite into social-economic-political phenomena. My hope is that they surpass my meagre attempts at theorizing and understanding.

At the same time, I understand the classroom as an open space for dialogue, debate, and, most important, mutual learning. Unlike some in my profession, I do not consider students empty vessels into which I pour my (vast?) wisdom. I do not stand at the head of the class lecturing ad nauseum about what and how students should think. Rather, I attempt to provide students with tools to make sense of their being in the world. Armed thus, it is my hope that students will offer insite or critique of which I had not thought. I mean this sincerely, it makes me feel proud when one of my students gets me thinking in ways I had not before. These are good days.

Is there linkages that can be drawn between the BJJ mat and the classroom? Is the mat a forum for debate and mutual learning? Or, is it a space on which the professor reigns and is not to be challenged, questioned, or surpassed? What happens when this occurs? That is, when a student consistently taps out the professor. Does the latter celebrate their students success and learn from this situation? Or, is there something endemic not only to BJJ, but to martial arts, that prohibits such interactions?

I'm not saying that all professors, whether academic or BJJ (not that they are mutually exclusive), think or behave along these lines. Rather, my point is to suggest that perhaps the mats can be viewed as a space of mutual learning which may push the boundaries of not only learning, but the martial art itself. I'll have more to say about what got me thinking along these lines in a subsequent post.

Best,

Bryan

bjjstudy@blogspot.com