March 8 - Chaos Theory

Garry sparked my interest today when he made the comment – following a healthy discussion of the summary of approaches to curriculum design presented by Francis – that he believed in Chaos Theory. From this perspective it is a lot simpler to deal with the anxiety of what to teach and how to teach it. Denis responded that at some point we need to decide what we teach if for no other reason than to ensure that we don’t teach what is wrong and endeavour to teach what is right. This exchange has resonated with me ever since.

I tell my history students every year that if there is one thing we can learn from Canada’s history of colonial exploitation, deportation, assimilation and segregation it is that we may very well be doomed to make an error that our grandchildren will scoff at or worse, recoil in horror against. The trick is to figure out what that is. The problem with executing that trick is rooted in the history of the exploiters, deporters, assimilators and segregationists we now criticize with such assuredness.

In nearly every case the villains of Canadian history were not acting out of mere self interest or clearly racist motives. The Christians who founded the residential schools believed strongly that they were bringing life saving truth to the doomed futures of Aboriginal children. Those who signed treaties were perhaps less earnest but did have at least some sense that the ‘progress’ of civilization was desirable, inevitable and sure to steamroll Aboriginal people if they were not somehow accommodated. Some, in fact, were certain that they were selling the farm to clear the West.

While I am not trying to apologize for the errors and abuses of the past I am trying to make it clear that the assuredness our forefathers felt about their actions should give us pause in the present. The question posed by Denis about how we make sure we are not teaching what is wrong may be impossibly hard to solve. However, the comment made by Garry, that we must continue on as best we can and accept the inevitably chaotic results of our actions may be both right and the only way to ensure that we do leave a laughable and scornable legacy of teaching actions and decisions to our grandchildren.

This is part of the post modern dilemma. How do you act in a moral, constructivist way that seeks to create a more just future when the truths that support your sense of what is just and moral are impossible to believe in?