{"id":1011,"date":"2022-01-26T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.calbaptist.edu\/cshb\/?p=1011"},"modified":"2022-01-26T18:48:12","modified_gmt":"2022-01-26T18:48:12","slug":"part-2-we-are-both-artist-and-masterpiece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.calbaptist.edu\/cshb\/2022\/01\/26\/part-2-we-are-both-artist-and-masterpiece\/","title":{"rendered":"Part 2: We are Both Artist and Masterpiece"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By E. Russ Bermejo, MSW, Lecturer <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note:\u00a0In\u00a0my previous blog<\/a> entitled\u00a0Pouring Gold into Brokenness: How Japanese Art Shows Us the Way, I shared how author and artist,\u00a0Makato\u00a0Fujimura uses two ancient Japanese art forms to illustrate how fragmentation\u00a0presents us with a choice:\u00a0 We can\u00a0either be\u00a0artists making\u00a0something new\u00a0or\u00a0we can\u00a0hide in\u00a0our silos\u00a0missing any chance of being part of a something beautiful.\u00a0I closed Part 1 reflecting on my career in child welfare and the need for us to be better by working together\u00a0for\u00a0some of the most marginalized\u00a0families\u00a0in our communities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Part 2, I offer a mirror and window for us as Christian scholars to look at.  My hope is that we \u201cpart-take <\/em>in the co-creation of the New.\u201d  Thank you for reading.  <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Academic Silos<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, much of the siloing we see at the organization or systems-level begins to some degree in higher education and academic settings.  Peter Senge, systems scientist and most known as the author of \u201cThe Fifth Discipline \u2013 The Art and Practice of the Learning Organizatio<\/em>n\u201d (Doubleday, 1990) notes that true learning organizations pride themselves on shared learning.  Unfortunately, silos develop when a product or service is successful.  Consequently, the more successful the silo, the higher the walls.  Senge warns that success and pride suppresses innovation and collaborative experimentation outside of the silo.  This happens when you see learning and knowledge as proprietary or a commodity to be protected.  Senge explains that educators and higher ed institutions, unfortunately, oftentimes can have the tallest silos and be the least innovative by focusing on deep learning rather than engaging in interdisciplinary ideas and solutions.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But maybe there is a different path?  Just as nihonga<\/em> is impossible to teach outside of the artisan ecosystem, perhaps we can say the same about our respective disciplines.  It is impossible to teach social work without including the disciplines of psychology, sociology, education, public health, law, business, economics, etc.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Higher education must continue to adapt to an ever-changing world and explore how we are to educate our students to become the kind of citizens of a local and global community that is highly complex and interconnected, yet broken and fragmented.  We have the opportunity to shape the next wave of leaders who can see the world in new interdependent ways and draw from perspectives of many disciplines.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Austin Distel<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Here are some ways we can do this: <\/p>\n\n\n\n