In
a New Key: Ted T. Aoki[i]
Rita L. Irwin
University of British Columbia
In
the mid-1980s, I read an article that would influence
my academic and personal life for all time. This article
came to me with little fanfare. In fact, it was not
given as a class handout or suggested to me by a professor.
As I reviewed several monographs loaned to me, I happened
upon the article entitled: Toward Curriculum Inquiry
in a New Key
by Ted T. Aoki. Little did I know then that this article,
its author, and the author’s lifetime body of
work, would make such a profound difference to my
life. I remember to this day my first reading of this
article. It resonated with my very being. Suddenly,
everything I had been learning came together in an
elegant, yet transformative way. It offered me insights
into the worldview of others, myself, and the selves
I was becoming. It provided a safe space for me to
take on the role of interpreter and critic. But most
importantly, it legitimated for me that art education
was the powerful learning force I knew it to be. For
this paper was originally written for a conference
entitled Phenomenological Description: Potential
for Research in Art Education hosted by the Fine Arts Graduate Studies Program at
Concordia University (April 6-8,1973). Some time later
Ted would craft the paper into published form for
the Curriculum Praxis Occasional Paper Series, No.2 (University of Alberta). I am today, as I was
then, quietly pleased to witness a curriculum scholar
bridging curriculum concerns with art education, not
only for those of us in art education, but for everyone
interested in curriculum studies.
I
did not know Ted then but I came to learn of his teaching
and leadership at the University of Alberta and the
University of British Columbia. As a doctoral student
at UBC, I soon learned that Ted’s work influenced
generations of education scholars, some of whom taught
me. In reading the article Toward Curriculum Inquiry
in a New Key,
I realized that Walt Werner, an important curriculum
scholar at UBC, had been a doctoral student of Ted’s.
In time, I came to appreciate that several scholars
at the University of Victoria, where I completed my
master’s degree, also studied with Ted. These
are only a few of the scholars Ted mentored who would
in turn influence me, and many, many others. I am
sure I am not exaggerating when I say that Ted’s
incredible ability to teach ideas through personal
and theoretical inquiry has more than touched thousands
of learners: his pedagogy has changed their thinking,
their being, their lives. He embodies curriculum.
As
I carried Toward Curriculum Inquiry in a New Key
with me throughout my doctoral student and professorial
life, I was reminded of the day when the excitement
of Ted’s ideas made me search out new directions
for my work. The excitement was never boisterous,
but then I am not boisterous. The excitement was teeming
inside me, nurtured by an extraordinary human being,
sharing his being, and his becoming, with others.
Being in the presence of humble greatness inspires
one to find one’s own inner greatness. Ted’s
writing did that for me and I am certain that Ted’s
mentorship of his graduate students and his many colleagues
nurtured an excitement for curriculum that has never
been replicated in Canada.
Though
I first read Ted’s work in the mid 1980’s,
it would be the mid 90’s before I met him. I
have never been one to make myself known. I would
rather do the work that needs to be done and through
the context of that work, meet and work with others.
As I look back, I realize that Ted and I shared several
institutional homes: Lethbridge School District #51
(he also taught in Rockyford, Taber, and Foremost,
Alberta) where he was a teacher and vice-principal
(he taught for 19 years across these school districts);
the University of British Columbia where he was the
Director of the Centre for Curriculum and Instruction
(3 years) and later, an adjunct professor (17 years);
the University of Alberta where he obtained his Bachelor
of Education degree (1949), his Master of Education
degree (1963), was an Assistant, Associate, Professor
and Chair of the Department of Secondary Education
(18 years) and now holds professor emeritus status.
One institutional home we did not share was the University
of Oregon where Ted completed his Ph.D. (1969). Despite
sharing some of the same institutional homes, our
paths did not cross. Though I was a student, teacher,
or professor in the same educational settings, I kept
him on the pedestal I created for him. Then one day,
following a talk we both attended, a colleague introduced
us. Here was a gentle, soft-spoken man, who was shorter
than me (and I am not tall). Yet his extraordinary
reputation as a curriculum scholar imbued his aura:
in front of me stood a great man.
In
the intervening years, Ted and I have been on a number
of thesis committees together and have shared tales
of leading a university department. He often writes
me handwritten memos in which he shares his latest
thinking or the latest book he has read or the connections
he has made at a recent event. And several times a
year, I slip away with Ted and June for a sushi lunch
at their favorite restaurant. In these moments, his
wisdom almost pours out of him. Although not the only
reason, Ted’s dedication for Canadian curriculum
studies played a significant part in my personal re-commitment
to curriculum studies, a commitment that lead me to
become active in the Canadian Association for Curriculum
Studies (CACS). Through my conversations with Ted,
I knew that the next surge of scholarship in Canadian
curriculum studies would only happen if curriculum
scholars took up the task of (re)conceptualizing the
forgotten spaces lingering within the etymology of
the words we hold dear, as well as the very premises
from which we understand curriculum today. Inspired
and energized, I took on the role of President of
CACS, a position I hold today. I do not make any claims
to changing curriculum scholarship in Canada, but
in the compiling of this anthology, I feel that Canadian
scholars are recognizing a giant among us, a man whose
career as a classroom teacher, vice-principal, scholar,
teacher educator, and chair of a university department,
has touched the lives of countless Canadian educators
and students. His influence has not only been felt
in Canada, but internationally as well, and especially
in the United States.
One
of the most impressive attributes Ted has is his abiding
dedication to curriculum studies and curriculum inquiry.
Now in his 80s, Ted has continued to teach at the
University of British Columbia, give talks at national
and international conferences, mentor graduate students,
and perhaps most importantly, nurture inquiry in the
many spaces experienced in a lived curriculum. Witnessing
his passion, intellectual curiosity, and amazing pedagogical
capacity even today, keeps his Canadian colleagues
spellbound. In the 1970’s when some considered
curriculum studies to be moribund, Ted took up the
challenge to reimagine what curriculum studies could
become. He opened our minds to reconceptualizing curriculum,
moving us away from curriculum-as-plan to the lived
curriculum. He made room for curriculum to come alive
in any learning opportunity. He had, and still has,
the ability to move our minds and our hearts in amazing
ways.
Although
I was never fortunate enough to take a class from
Ted, I know the power of his teaching. Over the years
I have sent many students to his classes and lectures.
In every case, students came back to me saying they
had been in the presence of a profoundly amazing teacher.
Ted’s greatest gift was, and remains today,
his ability to call out of each of us deeply felt
teaching and learning concerns that are transformed
through penetrating inquiry. He is a pedagogue of
pedagogues and because his pedagogy is so profound,
it lingers with us as we go forward and teach. The
genealogy of his powerful pedagogy is the legacy that
Ted leaves in the minds and hearts of countless curriculum
scholars, particularly in Canada.
In
celebration of his legacy, Ted has been recognized
for his achievements, influence and impact in a variety
of ways. Ted holds Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees
from the University of Lethbridge (1988), the University
of British Columbia (1991), the University of Alberta
(1992), and the University of Western Ontario (1999).
He is particularly proud of being given Honorary Elder
status from the Four Band Council, in Hobbema, Alberta
(1975). Ted has been given a “Certificate of
Appreciation” by the Korean Educational Development
Institute (1984), the “Distinguished Service
Award” from the Canadian Association for Curriculum
Studies (1985), the “Phi Delta Kappa of the
Year Award” by the University of Alberta Chapter
of the Phi Delta Kappa (1985), the “CEA Whitworth
Award for Research in Education” presented by
the Canadian Education Association (1985), the “Distinguished
Service Award” from the American Educational
Research Association (1987), the “Curriculum
Theory Project Award” presented by the Louisiana
State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2000), and
the “Mentoring Award” from the International
Institute for Qualitative Methodology (2001).
In
addition to these awards, he holds Honorary Memberships
in the International Honor Society in Education (1994)
and the Social Studies Council of the Alberta Teachers’
Association (2001), and was inducted into “The
Professors of Curriculum Circle” (limited to
125 members) through the Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development (1988). One other award
Ted received, “The Journal of Curriculum Theorizing
Award,” deserves special attention (1985). On
this award may be found the following citation: “The
Journal of Curriculum Theorizing honors Professor
Ted T. Aoki for distinguished contributions to curriculum
studies in the United States and Canada by establishing
the Annual Aoki Award.” This citation states
what virtually all of the other awards seek to celebrate:
the lifetime work of a distinguished and exceptional
scholar whose practice has changed the landscape of
curriculum studies. These accolades are particularly
poignant when one considers that after Ted completed
his first degree (Bachelor of Commerce, UBC) in 1941,
he was subjected to the federal government’s
policy to evacuate Japanese Canadians from the west
coast of British Columbia to southern Alberta immediately
following the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbour (1942).
Ted’s
ideas came into my life with little fanfare. Today,
as a friend and colleague, I know that Ted never wants
fanfare. It is his pedagogy that matters, his interactions
with individuals, and his pursuit of new ideas. Even
so, there is a community of scholars who would benefit
tremendously from reading Ted’s body of work.
Though it took some time to convince Ted of this,
it is with his blessing that we bring to you his contributions
to the field of curriculum inquiry. Though his scholarship
is his own, he would be the first to acknowledge the
love and support of his wife June, his sons Doug and
Edward, their wives and children.
The
collected works of Ted T. Aoki
has given me the chance to work with two of the greatest
curriculum giants in our field, William Pinar and
Ted Aoki, and for that I am truly grateful. Through
their generous spirits and intellectual rigour, we
have found profound professional respect and a lasting
affectionate friendship. I could not have asked for
more. I was also lucky enough to discover the best
editorial assistance one can find. I want to thank
Nicole McClelland, Labhir Bains, and Sara Hambleton
for their generous contributions to the success of
this volume. Together, we learned a great deal!
In
closing, the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies
stands as a national organization to which Ted’s
commitment to curriculum change was often directed.
His national pride is very strong. Through him, and
alongside him, Canadian curriculum studies became
a field of study. In the past, Canadians often denied
the power of their own ideas. Today, that has changed.
We want to celebrate those who have made a difference
and we want to conceptualize, perhaps reconceptualize,
Canadian curriculum studies. What better way to do
this than to celebrate the life’s work of Canada’s
own Ted Aoki. Through this volume we pay tribute to
Ted Aoki and his achievements. In the act of doing
this, readers will witness the development of Ted’s
ideas over time. This could be the greatest contribution
of all; to see firsthand how ideas developed, lingered
and found depth in the cracks within words most of
us never knew existed. In his lingering notes, he
nurtures continuous inquiry through the passions that
ground our dedication and curiosity.
Ted,
on behalf of countless teachers, administrators, and
scholars in Canada, the United States, and a host
of other countries, allow me to express our deepest
gratitude, admiration, and affection.
Rita
L. Irwin
Vancouver,
British Columbia
March
2003
