A Brother Asks: Is Parroting a Learning or Teaching Problem?

 

A Brother Asks: At my last meeting of my new lodge, one of our brothers mentioned "parrot mason".  He explained these were members who were fluent with the rituals and lectures but only says them without understanding the full meaning behind the lectures and ritual. Which makes me wonder, is it a learning problem or a teaching problem?

Coach: Brother, please look up the word "telos".

Brother: An ultimate object or aim?

Coach: Yes. The problem is the perceived telos.

Brother: So what's wrong with the mission? Are Masons not understanding what masonry is all about?

Coach: Before we go there, what's a "parrot"?

Brother: Someone who repeats back what they hear, with no understanding of what they are repeating back.

Coach: Yes! Let me expand it.  The archetypical parrot mason's telos is "to memorize and give back"; not "to learn, understand and apply".

Broather: YES!  So how do we fix this?

Coach: Great question.  First you must establish and maintain a telos that's 1) clearly what you want to accomplish for everyone involved, and 2) concise toward that end.  Then you must 3) have it unwaveringly supported by all involved.

Brother: So better communication and better everything?

Coach: No. Make sure everyone involved supports a prescribed telos that actually "makes good men better" rather than only "giving it lip service and no results".

Brother: So practical application then? sorry I'm just not understanding this.

Coach: You asked: is it a learning problem or a teaching problem. I'm telling you it's a telos problem. The parrot telos is "memorizing and giving back without understanding and application".  This only brings about more parrots.

Brother: Ah! Okay...  I get it now.

Coach: The Masonic telos is not "to parrot"; that's a Freemasonic telos. The Masonic telos is "to make good men better".  Parrots actually think parroting makes them and others better. They are mistaken.  That being said, without them, ritual performances would likely stop altogether.

Brother: Huh?

Coach: Think about it.  Parroting in and of itself is an invaluable service to the Lodge. 

Brother: What!?

Coach: Members who memorize and give back are providing an important aspect of support to the craft in that their lived out parrot telos keeps ritual performances going.  They preserve the code and hand it down to the next generation!  In this respect, they should be respected and honored for what they contribute, not for what they themselves lack.

Brother: Interesting!  I had not thought along those lines.

Coach: Good response!  So, what is the problem?

Brother: Understanding and Accepting that each member contributes in their own way and each should be honored and respected for what they choose to give.

Coach: Indeed!

A Brother Asks... Why isn't Memorizing Enough?

A Brother Asks: Why isn't memorizing proficiencies, ritual and lectures enough?

My Response: Without any doubt, memorization of these things is laudable. However, Memorizing with no intention whatsoever to Understand and Apply what is Memorized is shameful.

Parroting serves a purpose as far as providing a valuable service in the preservation and conveyance of Ritual, and for internalizing information for later access and retrieval. But when it becomes the ideal -- the "be all and "end all" -- it is not serving Masonic purposes.

What is memorized are maps.  These maps are handed down from one generation to the next, with some intended additions and some deletions.  (Yes, "innovations" do occur all the time and with the blessing of the body of men referred to as "The Craft".)

When these maps are just memorized and they are not followed because no one knows how to read them, much less follow where they're intended to lead the readers, what then is the true purpose served in maintaining an organization whose premise is to provide Light that no one recognizes, understands, follows or benefits from? 

The point is memorization is not enough! It's a great start, but this act alone falls short in far too many ways.  To hold those who do nothing more than memorize in high regard and as examples of the pinnacle of Freemasonic Achievement may suit Freemasonic purposes, but is ultimately counterproductive to Masonic Ends.

 

Speaking the truth of this is not holding those who memorize solely in any less regard though. It is viewing them in proper Light and not viewing them in a regard that is improper.

 

 If you ever get caught up in debating the value of parroting, take time and step back from the debate and consider this: 

• All these "Rituals, Lectures, Proficiencies" were made up within the last 300 years.  They were not shared to fill Lodge time.  They were not shared to give challenge to members to memorize them for verbatim delivery to the next group of candidates coming through. They were written to provide specific Light and to do so in such a way that this Light would be ultimately Recognized, Understood and Acted upon by those who listened.

If you have not connected the dots on this, let me spell it out: There is the major problem within the Craft.  The speaker-audience disconnect is growing wider with each generation of Brothers because the Craft believes that if it keeps on doing the same thing over and over again, the results shall change.

This has not been proven to be a successful strategy.  Do you want proof?  Look where this strategy has led the Craft so far.

Understand this though: Flawless Lecture Deliver shall never Trump Masterfully Mature Communications -- ever!

F&S,

Brother John S. Nagy