Brief discussion about knowledge using quotes from google images. Raises a lot of questions about how to define knowledge and how the discussion of knowledge is pertinent to life inside a classroom, whether as a teacher or student.

1. Defining Knowledge
Embarking on a New Journey of Thought
Lisa Langford
August 22, 2015

2. I started a new class this past week called “Content Area
Literacy”. During our first class, we were given the question to
explore, “What is knowledge?”. We all gathered ideas from
conversations with each other, twitter feeds and previous
reflections.
I personally found a lot of inspiration through a few targeted
google image searches. The following are some of my findings
and how they contributed to my ongoing thoughts of how to
define knowledge and the quest we are all on to attain it,
whether we are aware of it or not.

3. We’ve all heard this one before.
Not surprisingly when you google
search “knowledge is…”, this
quote is the most prevalent of
thoughts on defining knowledge. It
sounds clever but it leaves a lot of
questions. Who is knowledge
powerful for? Why is it powerful
and under what circumstances?
Are there specific things to know
that give power or does this
pertain to all knowledge?Picture Citation

4. Building on the words of Francis
Bacon, perhaps knowledge is
not powerful unless one takes
action. There are many who
have great knowledge but do
not use it to make a difference
in the lives of others or in the
world as a whole. What will
happen to that knowledge once
they are not longer here to have
it? Is it possible that my
knowledge, if not used, may in
Picture Citation

5. How can I empower my students not only to
attain more knowledge but to put it into practice?
If knowledge is only valuable when it is used,
what does that mean for how our classrooms
should operate? I would argue that this points us
to a way of teaching that might differ greatly from
what many conceive as a traditional classroom
setting.
Picture Citation
Picture Citation
Picture Citation

6. And yet again, here is someone
qualifying when and how
knowledge is power. Perhaps it
is about taking action and that
action is in fact the sharing of
knowledge with others. Does this
mean that knowledge is socially
constructed? Or is it just jointly
discovered? How can I empower
my students to take a leading
role in discovering knowledge,
rather than just being receivers
and memorizers of information
that I am using to fill them?Picture Citation

7. What is the relationship between knowledge and wisdom?
Does experience produce one or both? Is one more
valuable?
Picture Citation
Picture Citation Picture Citation

8. Perhaps it’s not important to have all of the right answers. Maybe it is more
important to be able to analyze knowledge and be able to question information
that is presented. How can I help my students to develop these important skills
even as early as first grade? I feel that during my time in school, having the
right answers was often held in higher esteem than constantly asking new
questions. While I believe that there are certain answers that are essential to
know, I think being able to ask difficult questions is a key component to finding
many of those answers. Picture Citation

9. Sometimes the people who claim
to have the most knowledge are
in fact those with the least.
Picture Citation

10. This quote brings me back to where I
believe the power of knowledge lies.
Knowledge is something that everyone is
attaining whether they know it or not. It
transcends race, ethnicity, gender,
career, wealth, age, and the list goes on
and on. While there may be some forms
of knowledge that are held in higher
regard, knowledge is something that is
available to everyone. My job as a
teacher is to help students unlock the
skills and drive to pursue it. I am not so
much teaching my students new
knowledge as much as equipping them
to find it on their own. This leaves me
with perhaps more questions than
answers but it is a quest that I amPicture Citation

11. How do you
define
knowledge?
Join the
conversation on
twitter:
#knowledgeis
*collage created using