Leaving Freedom Behind
At the end of last February, I started a post that I called, "Taking Freedom to Task." It began as follows:
"One of my favorite books that I never finished reading was Erich Fromm's Escape from Freedom. Fromm attempts to explain why Totalitarianism was so popular at the beginning of the last century. He argues that the breakdown of the caste system left people feeling aimless and without meaning in their lives. The structure that predetermined lives with few decisions provided was replaced with loneliness and freedom in excess."
That's all I got to, back in February. This book had a huge impact on me, and it explained to me why the Torah is a huge blessing to people, and how somehow, being subjugated to something greater than oneself is liberating. I didn't understand how far reaching these lessons were, however, until more recently.
Having started teaching, I've been in a kind of "Freedom Laboratory." Before the school year began, I read a delicious book called, "How to Teach so Kids Can Learn." The book emphasises giving information and stating expectations so that students will come to make good decisions on their own. I implemented much of what the book told me, and while I was getting feedback from parents and students that I was well liked (which was hardly my agenda-- at least consciously), I discovered on a recent test that I gave that the students are aching for the bondage of rules and detentions. They feel like I give them too much freedom. The principal has echoed the sentiment. I need to be the queen in my classroom, and rule over the students with a strong hand.
The structure the kids are craving was surprising to me at first. I couldn't understand why kids would want to fight against me, when I am just concerned for their well being that I want to help them learn. But the truth is that, put in their place, I probably would have done the same thing, back then. Too many choices for kids who aren't used to making decisions like, "what am I going to have for dinner?" is overwhelming, and intimidating. The kids don't say so, at first. They rebel, and rejoice in their newly-found freedom. But they end up feeling that the classroom is too chaotic, and they long for structure.
Last week we read Parshat Noach in Shul, and I would like to invite everyone who struggles along with me to take this opportunity to move from the destruction of the mabul (flood) back into a recreation of structure, which will nurture an environment for growth and opportunities. It is the tohu vavohu (some kind of cosmic, primeval mess) of water (which is fluid and without boundaries) that needs to be divided and distinguished from land that makes the vast and beautiful ocean. Without that, there is no room for life. Only chaos.
If anyone has thoughts, comments, similar experiences or any other insights, please share it with us.
posted by Ellie @ 8:30 PM
1 Comments:
Escape From Freedom is indeed a magnificent work. I believe that Fromm would agree with you that children need structure... the truth is they don't necessarily "need structure" when left on their own. Many children can manage themselves just fine for hours with a doll, a living room couch pillow, and a toothbrush (presumably for the doll to use to fly over the impassable mountain/living room pillow).
However, put in the social setting of a classroom where you have 15 (if you're lucky) students in one room with one teacher... well yes, structure is called for. At the end of the day, no matter how much freedom you want to give them, they are not adults. They cannot get up and leave whenever they want, eat whenever they want, etc.
What's interesting about Fromm's observation is that adults, grown people, and in some cases whole societies seemed to "regress into childhood" in some sense and prefer the lack of freedom which, while it's constriction is necessary to various extents during childhood, is in fact itself the hallmark of adult life... freedom that is.
Adults, in spite of all the complaints about work, their boss, high gas prices, the bills are in fact free to make their choices of how they wish to spend their time, whom they wish to spend it with, where they want to live, etc. But the price is very high, it requires that one have a sense of "self" worthy of freedom, an independent and cogent identity with which one "carves out a life" much as an artist creates a statue from an uncarved block. This is too hard for some, and they would rather their "uncarved blocks" be used, not as statues, but as bricks in some great pyramid scheme to reach the sky so that somewhere way up there I am holding up some god or dictator and I can identify with them and through them feel alive.
Still, as you so rightly point out, freedom is very challenging. Freedom to succeed means freedom to fail. Freedom of speech means that stupidity, even evil, are given a podium. Freedom even to reject and seek escape from freedom itself! Rav Kook alluded to this paradox when he met with President Coolidge in Washington DC on April 15th 1924 (Orot Journal Vol. 1, Rav Kook's Mission To America by Joshua Hoffman) when he mentioned the inscription on America's Liberty Bell: "And You Shall Proclaim Liberty Throughout The Land."
Later on during his trip, on June 22nd in Philadelphia at Independence Hall, where the Liberty Bell is located, Rav Kook explained that the bell,which rang out the freedom of America, spoke of liberty achieved after 49 years of work. Freedom is so important, he said, that one must work 49 Years in order to achieve it. This is true, continued Rav Kook, regarding the individual to whom the verse refers, and even more so for a nation. He then placed a wreath of flowers on the bell and said that freedom can be a crown of thorns or a crown of flowers, depending on how it's used. In America, freedom is used properly and therefore, it is a crown of flowers.
Amen, Ken Yehi Ratzon.
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