Inviting emptiness into a cluttered curriculum: Infusing pedagogical practice with Taoist philosophy as a healing balm

Abstract

In this article, I propose the use of the Taoist philosophy of "emptiness" as a healing balm for the increasing anxiety experienced by both students and teachers in the American educational system. While in Western culture, "emptiness" carries with it negative connotations of sadness, loss, meaninglessness, and nothingness, from a Taoist perspective, it is theorized as an open, generative space, with limitless potential. For pedagogy and curriculum, Taoist "emptiness" can dynamically supplement the Western perspective and provide pathways for both learning and healing. To connect Taoist theory and pedagogical practice, I narratively reflect on some of the ways in which I emptied and de-cluttered my secondary school and graduate curricula of culturally prescribed assumptions that served to limit learning. Overall, I found that drawing on the Taoist techniques of metaphor, paradox, ambiguity, juxtaposition, and an understanding of nature to question students' and my own cultural beliefs could serve to re-humanize and internationalize Western curriculum.