First, you're welcome about the reference(s).
Second, I avoid the notion of "mastery" in thinking about learning, as I
sometimes think it's a term invented by state departments of education as a
vehicle for measuring something that, I think, can not be measured. Rather, I
think about how we're driven to learn for particular, and personal, reasons.
I kept thinking about Sally's example of cancer patients, and the intense
interest they had about learning all they could about 'their' disease. I kept
thinking about when I gave birth to my son, which was by c-section. I had to
figure out the whole system of the hospital I was in. I figured out the
nursery schedule so that I could get some relief when I needed some rest, I
borrowed as many books as I could from the little hospital library to read
about this pretty uncomfortable state I was in, I made friends with the
nurse's aide who taught me about breast feeding because the lactation
"specialists" were overwhelmed and couldn't help me, and I figured out (pretty
fast) that the head nurses were the ones with a lot of power. I kept saying to
myself, "If I ever go through this again I will..." knowing as a result of
this experience what I wanted to see happen if there was to be a next time
around. I certainly didn't give a damn to 'master' enough of the knowledge of
child birthing to become an obstetrician or nurse (even though I did toy with
the idea of learning to be a midwife -- but that was silly). This drive I had,
I think, was simply a way to gain knowledge about, participate in, and gain
some control over, a complex set of cultural practices which affected me. As
I think about the work I'll be doing with young people at a community based
youth agency, I know I'll look at what it is that they feel passionate about
and participate in. What engages them? Why is it so important to them? Why
does it count? How do they go about learning what they want to learn? This,
to me, subsumes what, exactly, they're learning, and how much.
Cheers,
Sara