Burdens of Expertise

   People tend to think that being an expert is something to be desired, and I am even inclined to say that it's essential to acquire a deep knowledge in one's chosen subject areas. It may not be something one has to do, but deeper learning tends to ground a person in something, much like what we see when we observe someone learning a certain trade, such as baking bread. Sometimes, it's not the skill itself that matters so much as the acquisition of a certain grounded relationship to the world, where a person needs to carefully examine different options in resolving problems in the field.

  This having been said, I sometimes wonder if the notion of being grounded in a subject has been gradually supplanted by a competitive orientation toward expertise. It's as though only one person can be an expert, and this creates a kind of elitism around having knowledge to share. In fact, this 'cult' of knowing has the effect, it seems, of mystifying the knower, rather than serving to clarify who knows, and what. More so, such a cult of expertise can sometimes lead to the insecure fear that someone will come along who has even greater expert knowledge than you do--as though this were a death knell to one's status or power!

   What would knowledge authorities think or feel if they could reflect that it is not necessary for them to be 'perfectly knowing' as a means of holding onto their position in the community? I think this less burdened space might help them realize that they can be both learners and knowers, in equal parts, within different contexts. There would also be a diminished fear around being found out as not necessarily knowing all the answers. In my tutoring of ESL learners, I have lately noticed the sense of shame I felt in not knowing how to interpret a quote from a Shakespeare play, only to find that my student became more engaged when I was able to admit to my sense of loss. It is as though, in abdicating my sense of authority in knowing, I was able to provide a space where I could co-discover with my learner, and this seemed to make the learner much more engaged.