Menos es Más – Less is More

A fundamental idea that permeates my approach to teaching and learning can be found in the tenets of constructivism and in the phrase “Less is more” (“Menos es Más”). In an educational sense following the constructivist method (el método constructivista), this idea is put forward to classroom curriculum and interactions, in that schools need to focus on fewer topics, but in greater depth. The push in this sense is for learning to go deeper to activate critical thinking strategies (estrategias de pensamiento critico) including analysis and synthesis of ideas. What really happens in schools today, at least as it seems to me, is that the emphasis is on the breadth of topics without going too depth on anything. Researchers have called this approach to curriculum “a mile wide and an inch deep”, implying that although a lot is covered, it is only done in a superficial way (una manera superficial).

This is also relevant in life, as we often are besieged with information, especially in this day of the Internet, and we tend to know a little about a lot, rather than knowing how things are connected, how things work, and taking what we have learned in one context and applying it anew. I find that I have to consciously challenge myself to go deeper, not only in an academic sense, but within the scope of my daily life (mi vida diaria). Often, I do try and cover a lot of ground, and feel that the wealth of my experiences, the expanse of my journeys, is enough to qualify me as a wise and knowledge-filled individual.

One strategy for doing this is to not only visit another country, but actually live in it and see how that strategy of less is more can be applied in a daily sense. For example, we had a problem with the toilet (inodoro) in our apartment (never a lot of fun) and since we only have 1 toilet (we have 4 at home), I knew I had to address the problem directly. At home, such a problem would have resulted in a call to a plumber (el plomero) or in the least, a trip to the local Home Depot for a bag of plumbing parts in the hopes that one would help to solve the problem. The solution would be more of a cost of money than time, and would inherently produce extra parts and materials in the home, in fact, the opposite of a “less is more” approach.

Yet, here in Santiago, I had to take my time, not only because I do not have the resources, financial or logistical, to take care of any problem (alguno problema) in one fell swoop. No, here I have to look at the problem to make sure I truly understand it, not only in the terminology, but also the root cause of the issue, before I ever can venture out and purchase anything or communicate effectively to anyone about this issue. In fact, I studied this problem for days, much to the chagrin and displeasure of my wife, as I was found often sticking my hands (mis manos) into the toilet to see what might be the cause and effect of different strategies to fixing it. This “hands-on” approach ultimately lead me to discover the root cause of the problem and to hypothesize a solution that resulted in my fixing the toilet with a twist tie from the supermarket.

To me, this is a good and practical example (un ejemplo práctico y bueno) of the idea of “less is more” in application and the use of critical thinking in order to solve a unique problem. I thought my solution was creative and seems to work, and I did learn from my friend Claudio that people here in Chile often joke about fixing things with twist ties, such as their automobiles or home appliances. In some ways, maybe I am becoming more Chilean than I realize, and by slowing down and being in the moment, rather than looking past it or avoiding it altogether, I am less skimming across the surface and more diving deeper in life.