Using a metaphor to understand and explain a concept has its limitations. At the start of this semester, I was interested in how the idea of a puzzle could shed light on and develop the notion of learning communities. A few weeks ago I came across an old recycled Valentine’s Card in a box of craft items. The outside of the card is adorned by a heart made up of red puzzle pieces glued together. One piece however, is missing from the puzzle. It stands alone, next to the unfinished heart.
Reflecting on this new puzzle has expanded and challenged my earlier view of learning communities. In particular, I have seen that a community values care for its members, a healthy community growths in the tension of transformation and change and that genuine communities can show up in unexpected places.
Firstly, the Valentine’s card draws our attention to the uniqueness of the individual puzzle piece. In a meaningful, well-functioning community, individual members should be valued and respected. When speaking about friendship, Nel Noddings (2002) reminds us that “fidelity should not be to a principle or even to an attribute of a person, but rather guided by an ethic of care for the other.” Care can look different depending on the needs of each individual. It may mean giving space and time for the individual to step out of the community to rethink, reflect and then re-enter without judgement. In resilient communities, members wait for each other even if it means slowing down or travelling the long way around (Wheatley and Frieze, “Walk Out, Walk On”). Sony (2013) suggests that as co-members we should see our role as “essentially a relational experience where the character of the relationship takes precedence over the content of the curriculum. Within this intimacy, all participating members must place care as a vital centrepiece, with forgiveness, freedom, failure and fidelity as foundations qualities (2013, 30).”
I always work at a puzzle with an end result in mind. The finished picture on the puzzle box is what informs my decision making. Satisfaction occurs when there is completion; when all the pieces are in their correct position. I would suggest however, that in a learning community, there is very seldom a completed picture. The puzzle continues to shift and change and in some cases it never reaches the prescribed ending. A sense of purposeful uncertainty evolves from collaborating together. This spiral of critical reflection and action should inform each other (Freire, 2000) in transformative sites of learning (Sonu, 2013). The ever-changing picture is exciting and messy when meaningful spaces of vitality and growth are encouraged (Wheatley and Frieze). There is tension and growth in this mediated space that involves unknown endings and different versions of the same puzzle.
Communities are often found in unexpected places. I was surprised to come across this heart shaped puzzle/card that explored new ways of understanding my metaphor. The red heart shape suggests that there is a passion and commitment that holds a community together. During the “Open Spaces” panel discussion at SFU, Wendi Palmer and Trevor Found told stories of unanticipated communities found amongst students who experienced acceptance and connection. Sue Montebello suggested that “we live in the crossroads of dilemmas, challenges and joys and that it is our job to come to an understanding of how our lives fit into this.” As Palmer encouraged, we need to pay attention and be astonished at what we see. A community may already be happening. Honouring community is being willing to find it in unexpected places and then take the risk to nurture it and live amongst it.