As we go about our
lives, the one thing that makes us feel whole, makes us feel as if we have a
purpose in life is love. It gives us the strength and motivation to finish what
we started and continue fighting whatever may stand in our way. Love, being an
intense feeling of deep affection can take our minds and souls and open them up
to changes we would have never imagined.
When we say, “love is in
the air,” there is a connection that is established between individuals and this
sense of community begins to develop. Rather than creating conflict, we start to
feel more comfortable around one another, which lead to more open-minded and
passionate interactions and communication.
In Bell Hooks, “A Pedagogy
of Hope,” she quotes Parker Palmer as saying, “The origin of knowledge is love…the
goal of a knowledge arising from life is the reunification and reconstruction
of broken selves and worlds.” This pertains particularly in the classroom when
it comes to learning and understanding new or different concepts. She further
states that, “the act of knowing is an act of love, the act of entering and
embracing the reality of the other, of allowing the other to enter and embrace
our own. In such knowing we know and are known as members of one community.” When
love is involved with teaching it makes teachers less objective and gets rid of
this “dominator culture” that is promoting dehumanization and forms a
connection between teacher and student.
Essentially, love is
the binding agent that keeps communities together where open minds and hearts
are welcomed. It causes us to be challenged, to rethink the status quo and can
even change us as individuals for the better. Love is a combination of care,
commitment, knowledge, responsibility, respect, and trust that work
interdependently of each other. By including love, we are able to have a deeper
more meaningful understanding of various concepts while allowing us to get to
the heart of the matter constructively leading to a more hopeful future.
No comments:
Post a Comment